Postcards represent a major category in the world of old paper collectibles.
What to collect can be divided roughly into two categories. There are view-cards representing scenes of various locations, which form the bulk of cards produced. And then there are topicals that represent everything else. Topicals can be distinguished by their physical appearance, the method of printing, and most often the subject matter depicted. The topics that are popular with collectors constantly shift over time.
Opera cards fall into a number of categories: opera houses, opera singers, pictures of real productions or artist’s fantasies.
Within my online album you will find part of my opera’s postcard collection.
In the years before movies became ingrained in popular culture, opera played a more important role. Any educated person would have been familiar with at least the most well known operas, their composers, and major performers. G. Ricordi & Co. published hundreds of opera-themed postcards that the public collected and mailed with especial enthusiasm.
Casa Ricordi is a classical music publishing company founded in 1808 as G. Ricordi & Co. by violinist Giovanni Ricordi (1785-1853) in Milan, Italy. Its classical repertoire represents one of the important sources in the world through its publishing of Rossini, Mascagni, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, and Puccini.
The company decided in 1874 to create an in-house printing operation to promote its music. It began by installing the most advanced German lithographic presses and hiring a brilliant master, Adolf Hohenstein, to train a staff of Italian artists. Under the tutelage of Adolf Hohenstein, a brilliant stable of graphic artists emerged at Ricordi. Artists including Leonetto Cappiello, Luigi Emilio Caldanzano, Ludovico Cavaleri, Marcello Dudovich, Adolfo Hohenstein, Franz Laskoff, Achille Beltrame, Leopoldo Metlicovitz and Giovanni Mataloni brought Art Nouveau, known as Stile Liberty in Italy, to a world class level.
With almost two hundred years of history behind it, Casa Ricordi is the oldest Italian music publishing firm still in business.
“Iris” by Adolf Hohenstein and
Giovanni Maria Mataloni – 1898
This is the complete collection of postcards from Iris. These beautiful cards were designed by Adolf Hohenstein and Giovanni Maria Mataloni, for the world premiere of Iris. Art nouveau accents and neglected style combine to make this a truly special set. They were allegedly published twice, once with a blank back and once with a printed back.
Iris is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an original Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Its first performance was at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 22 November 1898.
Adolf Hohenstein (1854-1928)
Russian by birth, he studied art in Vienna, where he produced his first paintings. After numerous journeys (during which he stayed in India, where he decorated the homes of the local nobility), he arrived in Italy in 1879. He settled in Milan, the economic and industrial capital of the newly formed Italian state, and began working as a set designer and costumier at La Scala, with excellent results. This brought him into contact with important composers. Soon, however, he began working in the field of graphics, becoming coordinator of editorial promotion for Ricordi. Giulio Ricordi appointed him as art director, with a project that included the creation of covers for libretti and musical scores, posters, playbills and postcards. This was the context in which Hohenstein produced his designs, including those for Iris, La Bohème, Falstaff, Tosca and Madam Butterfly. Hohenstein was also responsible for the macabre deathbed sketches of Verdi drawn at various hours. He worked for Ricordi for about fifteen years. His cultured and refined style was never strongly influenced by the trends of the period: art nouveau, for example, makes an appearance only in a few decorative elements.
Giovanni Maria Mataloni (Roma, 1869-1944)
The imagery and chiaroscuro shadings typify not only Mataloni’s work but that of Metlicovitz and Dudovich from about 1898 to 1910. But far from being an imitator, he in fact preceded those colleagues at Ricordi printing, where he arrived in 1890. He brought Art Nouveau to Italy.
Metlicovitz’s art nouveau “Tosca” set – 1900
Here’s a set of the opera Tosca done by renowned illustrator Leon Metlicovitz, and published by Ricordi. It consists of twelve postcards. The images were originally created in watercolor form.
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Victorien Sardou’s drama, La Tosca. The work premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on January 14, 1900.
The earliest postcards from this set are numbered:
060 – Tosca laying over Cavaradossi’s body.
061 – Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, takes refuge in a side chapel.
062 – Tosca hovering over the tortured Cavaradossi.
063 – Tosca with knife after stabbing Scarpia.
064 – Inside the church.
065 – Tosca and the dead Cavaradossi alone on top of the Castel Sant’Angelo.
066 – Scarpia offering his hand to Tosca.
067 – One of Scarpia’s henchmen delivering news.
068 – Cavaradossi painting while the sacristan looks on.
069 – Scarpia offering holy water to Tosca.
070 – Cavaradossi kissing Tosca.
071 – Cavaradossi in front of the firing squad.
Leopoldo Metlicovitz (Trieste, 1868 – 1944)
Like Hohenstein, he was a commercial artist, lithographer, painter, and graphic artist. He did many opera designs and many of his creations found their way to posters, postcards, and other paper media to advertise new operatic works or Italian products. His postcards can be identified by an “LM”.
“La Colonia Libera” by Achille Beltrame – 1899
Seven full-color souvenir postcards depicting the various scenes from the opera “La colonia Libera”, signed by Achille Beltrame.
Pietro Floridia (1860-1932)
Studied with Beniamino Cesi, Paolo Serrao and Lauro Rossi. As a young student he wrote and published several compositions for piano and at the age of 22 he produced his first opera “Carlotta Clepier”. After the Great success of “Maruzza” he composed “La Colonia Libera”, an opera based on Bret Harte’s “M’Liss” with libretto by Luigi Illica. This opera had its debut in Rome at the Costanzi theater (now called Teatro Dell’opera) on May 7Th 1899.
Achille Beltrame (Arzignano, Vicenza 1871 – Milan 1945)
A pupil of Giuseppe Bertini, in Milan, Achille Beltrame was the most famous and celebrated illustrator in Italy in the first half of the 20th Century. Beltrame edited most of the cover pages of the magazine “La Domenica del Corriere”, published by the Milanese newspaper “Il Corriere della Sera”, from its foundation in 1899 until 1945.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this information. My husband’s great grandfather was a 19th century Italian opera singer in Bologna, Italy by the name of Antonio Franchini. Although I collect vintage postcards (primarily Canadian) it had never occurred to me that there would be postcards depicting opera singers.
This will be another lead for me to follow in trying to track down my husband’s ancestors.
Evelyn in Montreal
Hola, Evelyn! Thank You for Your Comments! I greatly appreciate your thoughts and opinions.
3 Marzo 1876, Venerdì
prima rappresentazione nel Teatro Regio di Parma di “Romilda dei Bardi”, opera di Giuseppe Dell’Orefice, libretto di Nunzio Faraglia, dirige Gaetano Foschini, maestro del coro Giuseppe Griffini, scenografia di Girolamo Magnani {coi soprani Filomena Curti (Gemma) e Maddalena Porta (Romilda), il tenore Antonio Franchini (Guido Amidei), il baritono Giuseppe Belletti (Lando Dei Bardi), il basso Giovanni Tanzini (Ugo)}
Amici Miei:
Giusto una nota – una nota lasciarla sa che io il premiere l’aria – l’eterea di Divina al Teatro di Segnale in New York con il nipote di Giuseppe del Orefice – [Luigi del Orefice] in 1980 a un Gala con la soprano Eleanor Steber. Nelle avvicina a due ore che l’aria sarà affissa su Youtube.
Auguri
Davide M
Oh my gosh! Where is this information from? It is something that I can access?
Evelyn
This is the link 🙂
http://amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Giornata=Venerd%EC&Giorno=3&Mese=03
Thank you so much for sharing this lovely collection.
I love romantic-jugend type artwork displayed on your website. While I have no intention of copying the work for sale or such crude thing, it is refreshing to find those who will share what beauty they have collected with those who can appreciate it.
Your sincerely,
John Jason
Joensuu, Finland
I’m glad to receive the words you say. It’s good to know that people appreciate what I publish!
Sou brasileira e bisneta do maestro Gaetano Ferdinando Foschini ( 1836-Polesella/1908-Torino).
Consegui atraves de sites de musica Lirica algumas informações sobre meu bisavô.Gostaria de ter acesso a mais informações sobre ele,suas obras e sua vida na Italia.
O pai do Gaetano chamava-se Antonio Foschini tambem maestro. Dirigiu a Cologna Veneta( Verona).Quando morreu em 1850 o seu filho Gaetano ocupou seu lugar.
Poderia me ajudar a encontrar mais dados pois estou fazendo a genealogia da Familia Foschini.
Desde já agradeço sua atenção.
Saluti,
Marilyn
Io sono brasiliana e nipote del maestro Gaetano Ferdinando FoschiniGestiti attraverso siti di musica lirica alcune informazioni sul mio bisnonno.Gostaria avere maggiori informazioni su di lui.le sue opere e la sua vita in Italia.Il padre de Gaetano se chiamava Antonio Foschini è stato il maestro conduttore de la Cologna Veneta nel 1850 quando mori.Su bambino Gaetano o sostituito con 15 anni di età.Estoi a realizare la genealogia della Familia Foschini. Grazie.
Saluti.
Marilyn
bom dia Marilyn, quem da familia Foschini emigrou para o Brasil? eu li que o maestro Gaetano Foschini ensinou musica ao mestre Pedro Angelo Camin quando morava na Italia. Camin se tornou famoso em Mococa e Sao Paulo como composidor e editor musical…
Caro Ugo,
O 1o. Foschini a chegar ao Brasil foi Edmundo,filho de Gaetano em 1887.Gaetano veio a passeio uma vez e a 2a. vez morou aqui na rua da Gloria,reduto de italianos em 1905 e 1906, época que teve escola de musica.Voltou para Torino e faleceu em 1908. Estive no lançamento do CD da pianista Valdelice a qual colocou dentre várias valsas uma do Gaetano e outra do Camin ( Nimac).
Agora já tem meu email,escreva-me.
marilynbarbosa@terra.com.br
Att.
Marilyn
Grazie mile per le magia di questi immagine, sono maravillosas!!
Beautiful postcards, I’m particularly fond of all the ones from Tosca!
Thanks!!!