Rossini “Comprimario”

The Istituto Liszt Foundation in Bologna possesses a substantial quantity of manuscripts not only from Liszt but also from musicians in his circle of acquaintances. Its stock comprises the nine letters by Gioachino Rossini dating from 1836 to 1865, which are presented here. In addition to their transcriptions, the contents of the mainly unpublished letters are analysed and annotated. This results in a wide range of characters and situations that Rossini dealt with during his long life. His well-known correspondence with his Sicilian friend and trustee Filippo Santocanale is complemented by two more letters. Details about Louise Carlier, to whom Rossini dedicated a legendary music album, can be amended thanks to letters written to Antoine Carlier and Édouard Bénazet. An appointment arranged with an unidentified B. Galeotti allows for specifying details of Rossini’s ‘flight’ from Bologna to Florence. Rossini the ‘banker’ is discussed on the basis of a loan to Cesare Aldrovandini for the benefit of Józef Joachim Grabiński. The cancellation of an appointment due to fever and headache addressed to an unspecified Cervini leads to comments on Rossini’s venereal disease. A letter of recommendation for the pianist Paule Gayrard to Julius Benedict enables us to date the piece Au chevet d’un mourant from Péchés de vieillesse and to identify the singing ‘girl’ and the dying man. An invitation for a meal of macaroni and music-making augments the number of well-known letters to the cellist Gaetano Braga.

Keywords: Cesare Aldrovandini, Julius Benedict, Gaetano Braga, Louise Carlier, Gioachino Rossini, Filippo Santocanale