Georges BIZET Autograph letter signed The pretty girl from Perth

Georges BIZET (1838 - 1875), French composer

Autograph letter signed to the music publisher Antoine de Choudens. Slnd (circa 1863); 1 page ½ in-8°.

Bizet informs his publisher that he had to revise the quartet for the new transposition of the piece: "Coco, I am obliged to be at 8 o'clock at the Français for the premiere of Pailleron [the writer Edouard Pailleron]. Now, what should I do? ... Dine at your place and leave you at 8 o'clock minus 8 minutes or postpone until another day the pleasure of spending a few hours with you? ... As you wish. Give your answer to the messenger who will give you everything I have for you. I was obliged to revise the quartet for the transposed piece, the double and triple strings no longer being possible in the new key (...) Fevaut was right. I took 5 days. The 9th beat must not be marked (...)"



This modification probably concerns his opera Les Pêcheurs de perles published by Choudens in 1863 on a commission from Léon Carvalho. It is an opera in three acts performed for the first time at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris on September 30, 1863 followed by eighteen performances. The libretto was continually reworked throughout its creation up to and including rehearsals. Despite a good reception from the public, the critics were rather hostile and contemptuous, with the exception of Berlioz who noted in the Journal des Débats: "a considerable number of beautiful expressive pieces full of fire and rich coloring"