Verdi letters go back home

Verdi letters go back home

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norman lebrecht

July 16, 2015

A ruling by Italy’s culture ministry has resulted in the sale of a cache of unbuttoned letters by Giuseppe Verdi to the care home for retired musicians that the composer founded in Milan.

The 200 letters between Verdi and his friend  Opprandino Arrivabene, ripe with rude language, were put up for auction last year. They were blocked from leaving the country by ministerial order, resulting in a knockdown sale to the Casa Verdi for  €120,000, AP reports.

verdi desk

Comments

  • Stephen says:

    I have a book of letters to Arrivabene: they have evidently been heavily censored!

    • Hilary says:

      Why should they be censored? None of the people denigrated would still be alive! It’s important to get the full picture.

      • Furzwängler says:

        It may of course be that their letters contain things which put 50 Shades of Grey in the shade?

      • Stephen says:

        What I meant was that the letters in my book are not ripe with rude language. It was edited in France.

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