Telegramm von C. Kallman/W. H. Auden an H. W. Henze, 29. September 1965

Schreibstile

• 1.

  Maschinenschrift.
• 2.

  Handschrift, Kugelschreiber (blau).
• 3.

  Handschrift, Bleistift.

Textkonstitution

• 1.

  "davere un dio Semele K e Zeus A )"sic
• 2.

  "… K e Zeus A )"Apparently, the addition of the last words ("davere un dio Semele K e Zeus A") here is an error.
• 3.

  "… K e Zeus A )"The paper strip is pasted on top of the following data row of the telegram and prevents some pre-printed indications from being read.
• 4.

  " 29/9 "in der Zeile hinzugefügt, handschriftlich, Kugelschreiber (blau)
• 5.

  " "unter der Zeile hinzugefügt, handschriftlich, Kugelschreiber (blau)
• 6.

  ""unsichere Lesung
• 7.

  "… Castelgrandolfo ( Roma ) 29.-9.1965"The stamp is located above and overlaps the word "DAVERE" in the top line.
• 8.

  "Poeltn"sic
• 9.

  "… Poeltn 17 24 29 1515"The paper strip was pasted to the previous pre-printed line of the form.
• 10.

  "1,83"in der Zeile hinzugefügt, handschriftlich, Bleistift
• 11.

  "112"in der Zeile hinzugefügt, handschriftlich, Bleistift
• 12.

  "davere"sic
• 13.

  "… "The two preprinted columns are close together when the telegram is folded vertically and open like a window to read the message inside.
• 14.

  "… Telegramma"The whole area is glued overhead on the opposite side of this column (bottom). The telegram was originally folded so that this flap served as a seal.
• 15.

  TintenfleckTextverlust durch Tinte
• 16.

  "… Roma Italien ==="This is written on the piece of paper glued at the top to close the flaps of the folded sheet.

Einzelstellenerläuterung

• 1.

  davere un dioSemele K e Zeus A )

  • to have a god in the family, Semele and Zeus.
• 2.

  [Rundstempel]Poste Castelgrandolfo (Roma)29.-9.1965

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  Für weitere Informationen siehe den Apparat.
• 3.

  "Num."Abk. von "Numero".
• 4.

  Che piacere davere finalmente un Dio nella famiglia bravo = Semele K e Zeus A

  • What a pleasure to finally have a god in the family, bravo, Semele and Zeus.
• 5.

  "… Semele K e Zeus A"The two librettists congratulate Henze on finishing the composition of The Bassarids, which was completed on 28 September 1965 (see Henze’s Autobiography, p. 208). They sign using the names of Dionysus’ parents, namely Semele, mortal daughter of the king of Thebes Cadmus and Harmonia and sister of Agave, mother of Pentheus, and Zeus. The myth of the birth of Dionysus tells that the goddess Hera, Zeus’s wife, blinded by jealousy over her husband’s affair with Semele, went to her, assuming the guise of the servant Beroe, and to persuade her to demand that her lover prove himself in all his divine splendor. Semele is so insistent in her request that Zeus agreed, reducing her to ashes with his thunderbolt. But Zeus rescues the son the woman was carrying, Dionysus, and transplants him into her thigh, from which the child will be born in due time. Because of this double birth, appellations of Dionysus are 'the twice-born' or 'the child of the double door', to indicate the one who came twice to the gates of life. Precisely because of his gestation in the thigh of Zeus, Dionysus has a fully divine nature that mere paternal inheritance would not have assured him: in fact, as usual in Greek mythology, from the union of gods and mortal women would be born an exceptionally talented being, but still subject to the human condition.
• 6.

  [Abbildungsbeschreibung]Picture of a telephone.
• 7.

  [Rotation]Abschnitt, Text im Uhrzeigersinn gedreht (180°).
• 8.

  [Rundstempel]Poste Castel Gandolfo * (Roma) * 29.9.1965

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  Für weitere Informationen siehe den Apparat.