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Cendrillon
Libretto of the 1759 pastiche-style comic opera "Cendrillon," by Louis Anseaume. The songs were contributed by the singer-composer Jean-Louis Laruette and Egidio Duni, which they likely adapted from fashionable tunes. "Cendrillon" (Cinderella in English) premiered in Paris at Foire St-Germain on February 21, 1759. The opera underwent two revisions before the definitive version of 1764. Anseaume adapted the plot the fairy tale by Charles Perrault. This copy includes (from pp.54-63) notated melodies of airs and recitatives.
Orfeo ed Euridice
This is the libretto of "Orfeo ed Euridice" by Ranieri de Calzabigi, published in vol 2 of "Raccolta di melodrammi serj scritti nel secolo XVIII." The original volume contains works by Apostolo Zeno, Giuseppe Parini, Marco Coltellini, Castone Rezzonico della Torre, Ranieri de Calsabigi, and F. Saverio de Rogati. On the back of the t.p. appears a quote in Virgil's "Georg.," iv, 465: "Te dulcis conjux, te solo in littore mecum, te veniente die, te discedente canebam." The libretto includes a prologue and list of characters.
Prima la musica e poi le parole
This is a copy of Giovanni Battista Casti's libretto for the comic opera "Prima la musica e poi le parole". On the back of the t.p. appears a list of characters and names Antonio Salieri as the composer of the music. The one-act opera was commissioned by Emperor Joseph II. Members of the Burgtheater's Italian troupe premiered it at the Schönbrunn Palace on February 7, 1786. The library's copy is bound with the libretto of Zaccaria Valaresso's "Rutzvanscad, il giovine."
Proserpine, tragedie en musique
This is a copy of the libretto of "Proserpine," a tragedy in five acts by Phillipe Quinault. The tragedy was set to music by Jean Baptiste Lully, superintendent chamber composer of the court of Louis XIV, and performed in the King's presence at Saint Germain-en-Laye on February, [3] 1680. The month and year of the opera premiere are indicated on the t.p., but the day of performance was left out with a blank space. The library's copy shows errors in pagination. The number of p. 25 was scribbled with ink and rendered illegible. A second p.66 should read p. 67, and the last page of the libretto, numbered 70, should be p. 68. The libretto contains an engraving of one of the stage settings by J. Le Pautre, after a design by J. Berain. The item contains a prologue and list of characters.
Rutzvanscad, il giovine
This is a copy of Cattuffio Panchianio's "Rutzvanscad, il Giovine," a parody of Greek tragedy. The library's copy is bound with the libretto of Giovanni Battista Casti's "Prima la musica e poi le parole." Clarification notes relating to terms and characters of the tragedy appear on the back of p.79 together with a list of printing errors.
Le tonnelier
Libretto of the comic opera "Le tonnelier" (The cooper) by Nicolas-Médard Audinot in collaboration with Antoine-François Quétant. The music of this one-act opera is a pasticcio of works by Gossec and other contemporaneous composers. Typical of the genre, the opera contains a variety of musical forms (airs, romance, vaudeville, and recitatives) and the dialogues are interspersed with additional airs, possibly using popular tunes. This copy includes (on pp. 52 and 54-56) notated melodies of airs.
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