BERG, Albin; MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus; ORFF, Carl; PUCCINI, Giacomo; STRAUSS, Johann; STRAUSS, Richard; TSCHAIKOWSKY, Pyotr Ilyich; VERDI, Giuseppe; WAGNER, Richard

[Opera Archive] [Staatsoper] [Playbill] Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Ein Maskenball; Oedipus der Tyrann; Don Carlos; Wozzeck; Aida; Capriccio; Tristan und Isolde; Das Rheingold; Die Walküre; Siegfried; Götterdämmerung; Don Giovanni; Die Hochzeit des Figaro; Eugen Onegin; Die Fledermaus; Electra; Turandot; Der Rosenkavalier; Ariadne auf Naxos; Arabella; Così fan tutte

Vienna: Wiener Staatsoper, 1961-1962. A fascinating, remarkably complete collection of programs, playbills, and ticket stubs for performances during the 1961 and 1962 spring season at the Staatsoper in Vienna, then under the direction of Herbert von Karajan. For each of 25 performances, the archive retains the 4- or 6-page playbill (listing the evening's cast members and a précis of each act) and the pink, orange, or yellow ticket stub, in addition to four 54-page biweekly programs (dated May 16, June 1 and 16, 1961 and May 31, 1962), detailing each opera being performed during that two week period. A superb survival, each component of the archive in virtually pristine condition. Fine. Item #BB2676

Our indefatigable aficionado attended 19 performance during the close of May and through June of 1961: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (May 27), Ein Maskenball (May 28), Oedipus der Tyrann (May 29), Don Carlos (June 2), Wozzeck (June 3), Tristan und Isolde (June 4), Aida (June 5), Capriccio (June 6), Das Rheingold (June 7), Eugen Onegin (June 8), Die Walküre (June 9), Don Giovanni (June 10), Siegfried (June 11), Götterdämmerung (June 13), Die Fledermaus (June 14), Die Hochzeit des Figaro (June 15), Electra (June 20), Turandot (June 22), and Der Rosenkavalier (June 23). Perhaps exhausted (or short of funds) the following year, he or she made do with only six performances: Die Hochzeit des Figaro (June 2), Ariadne auf Naxos (June 4), Don Carlos (June 5), Götterdämmerung (June 6), Arabella (June 11), and Così fan tutte (June 14). The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper), one of the leading opera houses in the world, is a 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival theater built from 1861 to 1869 as the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road, after plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll and designs by Josef Hlávka. Interestingly, on June 4, 1961, the day on which Tristan und Isolde was performed, with Wolfgang Windgassen and Martha Mödl in the leading roles, President John F. Kennedy of the United States and Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union held a summit meeting in Vienna, just blocks from the opera house. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).

Price: $274.00