Rare ALS, three pages on two adjoining sheets, 5.5 x 7, no date. Hastily penned letter to opera singer Lawrence Tibbett, in part: “Many thanks for your kind letter. It is impossible for my son to be in London before you sail. Nevertheless I hope you will give me the pleasure of making your personal acquaintance when you come to Paris next. My son and daughter—had met you in New York a couple of years ago. My son’s career as a singer then was cut short by acute…trouble which made him at 27 a nervous wreck, unable to control his voice. He came back to Paris and underwent an operation on his thyroid gland last year and is now…better. He made his debut in France over the radio last Tuesday. Your agent Mr. Merker gave him an audition and likes his voice. Mr. Merker, as it happens, is an old friend of mine as he was my agent twenty…years ago when I had a company of English Players in Switzerland during the war. I am sorry I missed your Rigoletto through illness. But I much admired your Iago, both vocally and histrionically. I am very tired of the attempts made by singers to turn this troublesome lunatic into a Mephistopheles. But Desdemona…must have mothered Othello before he came on his stage by way of anticipation…I thank you for having given me the opportunity to applaud in your most intelligent artist endowed with a remarkable and most expressive voice.” In fine condition. An exceptional letter offering unique insight into Joyce's family and musical acumen; Joyce himself bore considerable musical talents, playing both the piano and the guitar. Additionally, he was an accomplished tenor and won the bronze medal in the 1904 Feis Ceoil. Handwritten letters from Joyce are among the rarest and most desirable of all the literary greats.
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