METRODORO CONTI (1810-1887)
Five scenic designs for Giovanni Pacini's opera "Saffo." Scenes include Greek temples, courtyards, churches, architectural circuses. "Saffo" was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on November 29, 1840. Watercolor, graphite, and ink. Initialed "C.M. into" [invento] in lower left, captioned in lower margins, and number inked in upper right. General sheet size 223x295 mm; 8¾x11¾ inches. Tipped to early window mattes.Metrodoro Conti was a set designer and theater manager for the Teatro Petrarca in Arezzo, Tuscany in the 1830s to the 1860s. He was a contemporary of Pietro Bertoja, who also created stage designs.Saffo, the dramatic opera based on the legend of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, was set to a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, and based on the play by Austrian dramatist Franz Grillparzer.