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“LA RONDINE [IS] MY MOST BEAUTIFUL OPERA—
IN MILANTHEY’LL RUIN IT”
251
●
PUCCINI, GIACCOMO. Autograph Letter Signed, to “Dear . . . Borromeo,” in
Italian, complaining of the irritating sea air, reporting that he has finished the libretto of
Turandot
, noting that [Giulio] Gatti-Casazza visited him, complaining of Tuscan food and
women, worrying that his “most beautiful” opera
La Rondine
would be ruined in Milan,
explaining that he would take their money so that
Turandot
could come out well. Possibly
incomplete (verso begins with incomplete sentence). 2 pages, 4to, “Viareggio” stationery,
written on the recto and verso of a single sheet; remnants of prior mounting at corners
verso, faint scattered staining, folds, closing written vertically in left margin recto.
“San Giacomo” [Venice], 25 July 1922
[1,000/2,000]
“
. . . I have a denatured spirit and Euterpe disgusts me.The sea air irritates me . . . —perhaps I’ll go
to the mountain without pity.Turandot is here that sleeps like winter snakes. I finally have the fin-
ished libretto—I’ll do it, but with my Catrina. Milan won’t see me for now. Perhaps in the winter . . .
.We are old, but what can you do?
“
Gatti-Casazza came . . . to visit me—it had been 6 years—I found him well.
“
. . .Are you afraid of the olives trees, the umbrella pines, the c[rap] eaten by Tuscans, the fragrance of
the myrtle . . . . Or the women? I have put it aside—finished—and that’s all. You know La
Rondine? It’s my most beautiful opera—In Milan they’ll ruin it. . . . I bear it because they give me
money to live well. La Rondine amuses me—andTurandot will be able to come out well . . . .”