AMQS signed "G. Verdi," one page, 15.75 x 11, Rome, February 25, 1859. Verdi pens nine bars of music and lyrics the song "È scherzo od è follia," a piece from his opera "Ballo in maschera [A Masked Ball]," writing the music in a two-stave system. The opera had premiered at the Teatro Apollo in Rome just nine days earlier, on February 17, 1859. Affixed to a same-size sheet and in very good to fine condition, with light overall rippling, and light show-through from unrelated handwriting on the reverse. A large and impressive autograph musical quote from the hand of the Italian master.
Based on the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, Verdi's opera was extensively revised and adapted to comply with the pressures of political censorship, relocating the setting from Stockholm to colonial America. The opera explores themes of political intrigue, love, jealousy, and fate, culminating in a tragic masked ball where the protagonist, Riccardo, is murdered. Verdi's score is celebrated for its blending of the conventions of Italian serious opera with the spirit of French opera comique, and its vivid and dramatic evocations of varying emotions.
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