Igor Stravinsky correspondence on "The Rake's Progress"
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Scope and Content
The Igor Stravinsky correspondence on The Rake's Progress consists of correspondence, dated May 1950 to May 1951, between Stravinsky and his lawyer in New York, L. Arnold Weissberger, concerning the mounting of his opera, The Rake's Progress. Also included are copies of letters to F. H. Ricketson of the Central Civic Opera House Association, Denver, Colorado; Lincoln Kirstein; Howard Taubmann of the New York Times; and Betty Bean and Dr. E. Roth of Stravinsky's publishers, Boosey & Hawkes, London. The letters discuss business matters pertaining to the production of the opera, financial support for the work, where to stage the premier (including discussions about a possible staging at USC), locations for the opera's American debut, problems associated with Italian singers performing in English, and various other financial and administrative matters pertaining to the completion and production of the work. Stravinsky's letters to Weissberger are on his personal letterhead with his Los Angeles address, "1260 N. Wetherly Drive, Hollywood 46, California."
Dates
- Creation: 1950 - 1951
Creator
- Stravinsky, Igor (Person)
- Kirstein, Lincoln (Person)
- Ricketson, Frank H. (Frank Henry) (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Historical note
Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress, set to the libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, was inspired by William Hogarth's series of paintings. Stravinsky had wanted to write an English-language opera since arriving in the United States in 1939, and was inspired to do so by seeing the paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago on May 2, 1947. The opera premiered in Venice on September 11, 1951.
Extent
0.21 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Igor Stravinsky correspondence on The Rake's Progress consists of correspondence, dated May 1950 to May 1951, between Stravinsky and his lawyer in New York, L. Arnold Weissberger, concerning the mounting of his opera, The Rake's Progress. The letters discuss business matters pertaining to the production of the opera, financial support for the work, where to stage the premier, locations for the opera's American debut, problems associated with Italian singers performing in English, and various other financial and administrative matters pertaining to the completion and production of the work.
Acquisition
Purchased from J & J Lubrano Music Antiquarians, March 2011.
Subject
- Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers -- Correspondence (Organization)
- Ricketson, Frank H. (Frank Henry) -- Correspondence (Person)
- Stravinsky, Igor -- Correspondence (Person)
- Weissberger, L. Arnold -- Correspondence (Person)
- Kirstein, Lincoln -- Correspondence (Person)
- Stravinsky, Igor -- Archives (Person)
- Title
- Finding aid for the Igor Stravinsky correspondence on The Rake's Progress
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sue Luftschein
- Date
- 2011 March
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the USC Libraries Special Collections Repository
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0189 United States
specol@usc.edu