First editions of scores, including “Don Giovanni” and “The Barber of Seville” sold at auction at Sotheby’s
Since the death of Pierre Bergé (1930-2017), bibliophile, former director of the Paris Opera and life and business partner of the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, his collections have been regularly auctioned by the Sotheby’s. The recent online sale started on October 14 and ended on October 28, 2024. It featured books, manuscripts and scores that were not offered at the previous six sales held in 2015-2022. In addition to literature, Bergé was interested in theater, poetry and philosophy, and amassed an impressive collection of scores by composers including Bach, Rameau, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mozart and Stravinsky.
During the October auction, a collection of 18 scores (19th century) for voice and piano from various operas by Giuseppe Verdi was sold for EUR 6,600, including: “The Maid of Orléans,” “The Two Foscari,” “Attila,” “Alzira,” “Nabucco”. The first edition of the complete score of “Fidelio” (1826) by Ludwig van Beethoven, together with the score of the overture to the third act of “Leonora” (1828), found a buyer for 1440 Euro. Also sold at auction were 19th-century scores of “Othello”, “Semiramis” and “The Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Rossini, and “Don Giovanni” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from 1791 (or shortly thereafter). The first edition in a contemporary binding reached the sum of 1,800 euros.
The highest bid was 44,000 Euro for the score of a ballet, namely “The Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky. The first edition of the piano score, dated 1913, contains a note to the conductor Pierre Monteux written by the composer.
The results of the entire auction are available tutaj, here, after registration.