W.H. AUDEN LIBRETTI AND OTHER DRAMATIC WRITINGS

Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/As New Dust Jacket.. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. Hardcover. As New/As New. First Edition/First Printing. 760 pages. Definitive collection of writings for opera and drama. One of the greatest literary achievements by Wystan Hugh Auden and his collaborator, Chester Kallman. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only and as part of The Complete Works of W. H. Auden by Princeton University Press. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents W. H. Auden's and Chester Kallman's "Libretti And Other Dramatic Writings". The prodigious and enduring contribution to the performing arts by two literary giants. "Opera gave him the opportunity to rise to the High Style, not in an attempt to elevate his own status, but in service of the heroic voices of the singers. The works present their actions with an intensity unlike anything in even his greatest poems" (Publisher's blurb) . Among many gems, a few stand out: Auden's and Kallman's "The Rake's Progress" for Igor Stravinsky; their libretti for Hans Werner Henze's "Elegy For Young Lovers" and "The Bassarids"; and their celebrated translation of "The Magic Flute" and adaptation of "Love's Labour Lost". Possessing a more natural gift for the theater, Chester Kallman became Auden's full-fledged co-creator (and lover) , writing complete parts while working with Auden on the poet's assignments. Their masterpiece, "The Rake's Progress", is recounted by Robert Craft, Stravinsky's collaborator, as having been a seamless joint venture. On the vintage bookplate this copy comes with is handwritten evidence that HE, not Auden, wrote the tender, moving farewell of Baba The Bearded Lady from "The Rake's Progress: "I shall go back and grace the stage / where manner rules and wealth attends / Can I deny my time its rage? / My self-indulgent intermezzo ends. Chester Kallman". An absolute "must-have" title for W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman collectors. This title is a great book. Laid-in is a 5 X 3 inch vintage bookplate on which Chester Kallman wrote in blue ink-pen the parting words of Baba The Bearded Lady from "The Rake's Progress", demonstrating his full-fledged collaboration on the masterly libretto of Stravinsky's only opera. As far as we know, this is the only copy (with Signed And Lined Bookplate) of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Chester Kallman, who died in 1975, signed the vintage bookplate, NOT the book. A rare set thus. 1 signed and lined vintage postcard. Two of the greatest literary artists of the 20th century. A fine collectible set. . ISBN 0691033013.