Lettere di Jules Massenet a Madame Marchesi

Letters from Jules Massenet to Madame Marchesi

Among the recent documentary acquisitions of the Fondazione Istituto Liszt, two letters from the composer Jules Massenet (1842–1912) to the German singing teacher Mathilde Marchesi (1821–1913), active in Paris at the turn of the century, stand out.
After a brief biography of Marchesi and her family, the professional relationship between the two artists is outlined and the two unpublished letters (16 October 1887 and 14 November 1899) are transcribed and commented on, explaining the references to facts and things therein mentioned.

Keywords: Mathilde Marchesi, Blanche Marchesi, Nellie Melba, Jules Massenet, singing schools, XIX century opera in Paris