George Frideric HANDEL / Alexander An Opera HWV 21 Full score 1726

Description: Alexander. An Opera. [HWV 21]. [Full score] Author: HANDEL, George Frideric 1685-1759 Title: Alexander. An Opera. [HWV 21]. [Full score] Publication: [London]: [J. Cluer], [1726] Description: Quarto. Full ivory vellum with double rules to edges of both boards. 1f. (recto subscriber list, verso blank), 112 p. List of subscribers typeset, music engraved. Named singers include Sigra. Cuzzoni, Sigra. Faustina, and Senesino. The music includes the overture, solo arias, and a duet written for Cuzzoni and Faustina, "Placa l'alma quieta il petto."With "The Opera of Alexander" and "F. G. Upton" in contemporary manuscript and "afterwards Greville Howard" in pencil to front pastedown.Binding worn, rubbed, and bumped; pastedowns worn, soiled, and creased; free endpapers lacking. Slightly worn, browned, and soiled; closely trimmed at lower margin, not affecting text or notation; list of subscribers dampstained, with small tear to outer margin repaired with archival tape to verso; minor loss to lower outer corner p. 5; tear to margin of pp. 7-8, affecting lowest stave, repaired with archival tape; small tear to upper outer corner of p. 63 repaired with archival tape; paper abraded to pp. 63-65; tear to final leaf, affecting one stave; three stab holes to blank inner margins from earlier binding. Lacking title and index First Edition, first issue. Rare. Smith p. 12, no. 1. BUC p. 425. RISM H82 and HH82. Rare Book Hub records only two copies having come to auction since 1950. Alessandro, in three acts to a libretto by Paolo Antonio Rolli based on Ortensio Mauro's La superbia d'Alessandro (1690, Hanover), was first performed in London at the King's Theatre on 5 May 1726, featuring two of the leading female divas at the time, rivals Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni. "The 1725-6 season hung fire until Faustina finally appeared in Handel's Alessandro on 5 May 1726, the time meanwhile having been filled in by a pasticcio (Elisa), revivals and Handel's hastily prepared Scipione (12 March 1726). The choice of subject for Alessandro (Alexander the Great's simultaneous wooing of the princesses Roxana and Lisaura), and Handel's ingenious equalization of Cuzzoni's and Faustina's music, amusingly but perhaps unwisely pointed up the rivalry between the two prima donnas." Anthony Hicks in Grove Music Online"Cluer published the score on 6 August 172, having invited a subscription on 27 May. There were eighty subscribers for 106 copies, some from as far away as Dublin, Hamburg, Stockholm, and New York ("Mr. Cook."). Dean: Handel's Operas 1726-1741, p. 34. One of the earliest examples of an American resident, "Mr. Cook, at New-York," having subscribed to a foreign musical publication. There is a strong likelihood that this "Mr. Cook" was related to the "Cooke" mentioned by Smith: "This edition may have been preceded by the two collections of songs presumably issued by Cooke." Smith p. 12. Seller ID: 39688 Subject: New Arrivals J & J Lubrano Music Antiquarians The firm of J & J Lubrano Music Antiquarians, established in 1977 by John and Jude Lubrano, has come to be recognized as one of the leading international antiquarian dealers in the specialties of Music and Dance. Items handled by the company include autograph musical manuscripts and letters of composers; rare printed music; and rare books, prints, drawings, photographs, and memorabilia relating to music and dance dating from the 15th through the 21st centuries. The firm has issued over 90 catalogues and numerous lists over its 45 years in business. Terms All domestic orders ship within two business days by USPS Priority Mail. Expedited and international shipping are also available; please contact us for rates. We would be happy to combine shipping costs on orders of multiple items. All items are guaranteed to be authentic. Material may be returned within 30 days of receipt for a full refund provided that it is in the same condition as when sent and is packed, shipped, and insured as received.This listing was created by Bibliopolis.

Price: 2070 USD

Location: Syosset, New York

End Time: 2024-12-24T07:57:17.000Z

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