Original scientific paper
The Collection of Librettos in the Scientific Library (Znanstvena Knjižnica) in Dubrovnik: A Survey of the Research to Date and the Description of the Collection
Marinela Rusković Krištić
Abstract
The Research Library in Dubrovnik houses a valuable collection of librettos compiled in the mid-nineteenth century by Luka Drobac (1812-1876). Together with his elder brother Antun (1810-1882), Luka kept the Fratelli Drobaz family pharmacy. They were both passionate collectors: Antun was keen on natural history, and Luka on librettos. Antun’s natural history collection developed into Domorodni muzej, while Luka’s collection resulted in 64 volumes of some 770 librettos , of which available today are 716 librettos bound in 59 volumes. After Luka’s death the collection was deposited in the Domorodni muzej, and later, due to space shortage, in the Scientific Library in Dubrovnik (founded in 1950), where it is currently kept. Nada Beritić was the first to draw attention to the existence of the collection of Luka Drobac in a text published in 1953. In 1985 the collection was included in the RISM Directory of music research libraries (C-series) edited by Lilian Pruett, who outlined its contents. However, a most comprehensive research has been conducted by Stanislav Tuksar, whose results were published in 1993 and 2003. The collection consists of 705 opera librettos, 3 operetta librettos, 1 libretto for oratorio and 5 ballets printed separately, in addition to one vaudeville, a dramma and one scena tragica-biblica in versi to be performed without orchestral accompaniment. The librettos were published in Italian, most commonly for the Italian theatre stage. The collection also files 17 librettos prepared to be performed outside Italy, of which five were printed for Rijeka, Zadar and Dubrovnik. Preserved in the collection are also two librettos – programme booklets of the Zadar poet Giovanni Kreglianovich Albinoni, performed at the Venetian theatre La Fenice in the 1820s. In addition, the Ragusina collection of the Research Library files 14 librettos from the period 1785-1864, printed for the local needs in the printing houses of Dubrovnik (Carlo Antonio Occhi 1785; Antonio Martecchini 1804-1834; Pietro Francesco Martecchini 1838-1840) and in Milan (Tito di Gio. Ricordi 1864).
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
85360
URI
Publication date:
10.7.2012.
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