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Giuseppe Verdi letters bought by retirement home he founded Giuseppe Verdi letters bought by retirement home he founded
(35 minutes later)
A home for retired musicians created by the composer Giuseppe Verdi has secured a cache of his joking and sometimes off-colour correspondence with an Italian count for €120,000 (£84,000).A home for retired musicians created by the composer Giuseppe Verdi has secured a cache of his joking and sometimes off-colour correspondence with an Italian count for €120,000 (£84,000).
The 82 letters, which were sold on Wednesday, failed to go under the hammer at an auction last year – despite international interest – because of restrictions by the culture ministry that the buyer must be an Italian resident. The 82 letters, which were sold on Wednesday, failed to go under the hammer at an auction last year – despite international interest – because of a ruling by Italy’s culture ministry that the buyer must be an Italian resident.
Related: Letters by composer Giuseppe Verdi to go under the hammerRelated: Letters by composer Giuseppe Verdi to go under the hammer
That excluded the many foreign universities that expressed interest, according to the Bolaffi auction house handling the sale. But it allowed the Giuseppe Verdi Foundation Rest Home for Musicians, where the composer and his wife are buried, to snap up the documents. That excluded the many foreign universities that expressed interest, according to the Bolaffi auction house handling the sale. But it allowed the Giuseppe Verdi Foundation Rest Home for Musicians in Milan, where the composer and his wife are buried, to snap up the documents.
The cash-strapped home negotiated the price down from the €150,000 starting bid, and raised the sum in five months through the Italian crowdsourcing site Smartika, said Roberto Ruozi, the retirement home’s president.The cash-strapped home negotiated the price down from the €150,000 starting bid, and raised the sum in five months through the Italian crowdsourcing site Smartika, said Roberto Ruozi, the retirement home’s president.
The auction house said the letters – which Ruozi called a “rich testimony of Verdi’s life and work” – may have fetched as much as €250,000 in an open, international auction. The auction house said the letters – which Ruozi called a “rich testimony of Verdi’s life and work” – might have fetched as much as €250,000 in an open international auction.
While the money has been paid, the letters won’t be delivered until the sale is cleared by culture officials, Ruozi said.While the money has been paid, the letters won’t be delivered until the sale is cleared by culture officials, Ruozi said.
The letters are among 200 exchanged between Verdi and Opprandino Arrivabene, one of his closest confidants over a 50-year friendship. Some of the others are at the Beinecke Library at Yale University, but many have been lost. The letters are among 200 exchanged between Verdi and Opprandino Arrivabene, one of his closest confidants over a 50-year friendship. Some of the others are at the Beinecke library at Yale University in the US, but many have been lost.
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The missives, which remained in the hands of Arrivabene’s heirs until their sale, include references to contemporary politics that provide a glimpse into the social climate of the times, while the use of swearwords belied the friends’ intimacy, said Alessandro Turba, a musicologist.The missives, which remained in the hands of Arrivabene’s heirs until their sale, include references to contemporary politics that provide a glimpse into the social climate of the times, while the use of swearwords belied the friends’ intimacy, said Alessandro Turba, a musicologist.
The pair also at times jokingly exchanged letters under their dogs’ names. Writing as his dog, Blach, Verdi chastised Arrivabene for not visiting, saying “you would have been received with open paws”.The pair also at times jokingly exchanged letters under their dogs’ names. Writing as his dog, Blach, Verdi chastised Arrivabene for not visiting, saying “you would have been received with open paws”.
“They are very confidential in tone. The conversational style is very frank,” Turba said. “Verdi, the man, comes through.”“They are very confidential in tone. The conversational style is very frank,” Turba said. “Verdi, the man, comes through.”
The 223 pages will be made available for study, and experts expect some surprises despite the fact they were previously published, albeit in the 1930s under Italy’s Fascist rule raising the spectre of censorship. “Maybe, just maybe, we can discover some omission,” Turba said. The 223 pages will be made available for study, and experts expect some surprises despite the fact they were previously published, albeit in the 1930s under Italy’s fascist rule, raising the spectre of censorship. “Maybe, just maybe, we can discover some omission,” Turba said.