Parigi, 6 febbraio 1835
Parigi 6: Febrajo 1835:
Mio caro Florimo – Io ti carico di lettere, ma credo che mai ti siano state piacevoli come in questa occasione: Dunque con la lettera d’avanti ieri (ed una grossa lettera) t’avvisai aver ricevuto
Salutami Cottrau
Donizetti jeri ha incominciate le prove: come potrai credere non è contento dell’accoglimento che ho ricevuto dal pubblico di Parigi –
Deux Siciles
à Monsieur François Florimo
à Naples
t.p. paris bureau | 6 fev 1835 - […]
380
45.
Paris, 6 February 1835
Vincenzo Bellini to Francesco Florimo. Letter.
Aut. I-Nc, Rari 4.3.6 (47). One bifolio, four sides plus address and partially preserved seal in red wax on the verso.
Ed. Florimo 1882, pp. 491-493; Cambi 1943, pp. 514-516; Neri 2005, pp. 375-377.
Paris 6 February 1835
My dear Florimo - I'm bombarding you with letters, but surely you've never found them more pleasant to receive than they are now. So then, in the one I wrote the day before yesterday (and it was a fat one) I informed you that I had received the order of Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur from the King, to which I'll now add that yesterday I went before the Queen to thank her for her patronage etc., and to offer the dedication of my opera to her as a token of gratitude. She acknowledged the offer with great satisfaction, so as of now I puritani is dedicated to the Queen of the French people, which I want Cottrau to add to the extracts he'll reprint from the ones published in Paris, understood? The Court will host another grand concert on next Wednesday the 11th, this one virtually in my honor because only my music will be sung: the first part consists of five or six pieces from I puritani, and the second part of as many pieces from Norma, which I was told the Court particularly wanted to hear because everyone speaks of it so enthusiastically. I've been invited to participate and will take the opportunity to thank the King for his extraordinary benevolence toward me. I've heard nothing from you for ages and anxiously await your letters, but I do hope you'll be pleased with your Bellini! And who could have dreamed of more, my dear Florimetto, eh? Would you ever have expected me to be awarded anything like the Cross of honor? So rare a decoration, so absolutely exalted among the fine arts that it's been given to only five foreigners including me? Enough - All of Paris is content, and even people who don't know me but have heard I puritani exclaim: You fully deserve the honors you have received. Florimo, how I wish I could talk to you!!! to describe the immense satisfaction that fills my heart, as it will yours, and then that of my dear relatives and all of our true friends. - I'm still overcome with joy, as if I were stunned in amazement. I was expecting a favorable reception, but hardly one so general that barely any newspaper dared to differ, apart two or three of them. Everyone in Paris knows it's personal, either as a matter of theatrical politics or in order ingratiate oneself with the great Maestro — but he's told everyone he's pleased, and he continues to say so to me. I never miss an opportunity to visit him as frequently as possible, and I hope his heart remains constant and his affection never wanes, because I do nothing but speak well of him and wax enthusiastic over his music (which actually has been and continues to be my honest opinion), so I do hope he'll always want the best for me. - I may have an appointment with the Director of the Grand Opéra in the next few days to arrange things with him, as I told you in a previous letter, so I'm anxious to hear from you whether I puritani will be accepted and therefore if the contract with Naples will be [...] operas. - Enough, I'll wait for your latest. - I'm enclosing more newspapers, and who knows how much longer this will go on. You'll have read about it practically everywhere. - Farewell my good friend - Do remember to send all of the newspapers to my family, and write to my uncle your [...]. Try to have someone speak to Del Carretto [...] Gualtiero; but only after I've received approval here from our King to wear the Order of the Légion d'honneur. Enough, make it such that the issue is raised by the Neapolitan public and not by me for now, then we'll see. - Let me know immediately if the members of the Accademia Borbonica of Naples have a uniform for Court appearances, and if so send me a colored costume design etc. etc. Keep thoughts of your Bellini close to your heart -
Give my salutations to Cottrau.
Donizetti's rehearsals began yesterday. As you can imagine, he's not exactly pleased about the warm reception I've had from the Parisian public. -
Deux Siciles
à Monsieur François Florimo
à Naples
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