Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Autograph letter signed (‘G. Puccini’) to Sybil [Seligman], Grand Hotel Quirinale, Rome, 31 January 1909
In Italian. 3½ pages, 212 x 135mm, bifolium, printed heading of the hotel. Provenance: Sotheby’s, 27 & 28 November 1986, lot 611.

Puccini confides in Sybil Seligman, his friend and former pupil, his feelings in the immediate wake of the ‘Doria affair’, one of the most famous celebrity scandals of all time. Puccini writes three days after the death of his servant Doria Manfredi, who the previous week had attempted suicide and with whom Puccini’s wife suspected he had been having an affair: ‘I am still here and will remain here until the practicalities of my forced separation from [my wife] Elvira are clear.’ He further reveals that Manfredi’s family are planning legal action against his wife: ‘beyond the practicalities with Elvira it seems that other troubles are on the horizon – since poor Doria’s family mean to sue my wife because she was the direct reason for her suicide.’ He is conscious of the consequences that this will bring about for both of them. He prays that the Manfredi family will hold back, for his own sake since he is in such a tortured mental state. He sends his best wishes to Seligman’s family.

After Puccini’s wife Elvira discovered his affair with their servant Doria Manfredi, she dismissed her and forced her to leave the village. Manfredi attempted suicide on 23 January 1909 and died five days later. Elvira Puccini turned out to be mistaken. When the Manfredi family brought her to trial, on 6 July 1909, the court found her guilty of defamation, libel, and threats of violence. She was sentenced to five months and five days in prison, as well as a fine. The Manfredi family settled for a payment of 12,000 lire. The affair brought about a major creative depression in Puccini’s career.