Letter from C. Kallman to H. W. Henze, September 20, 1964
Kirchstetten (Westbahn)
Hinterholz 6
N.-Ö.‡, Austria
Enclosed a photo of angel Yannis (please return) who is six-foot-three in his
(big) bare feet.*
I don’t know if angeling over your househole (d?)‡ would suit
him, though I do know that he would be efficient as of now, and his Italian is
zero, though I have the highest confidence in his ability to "p‡ick up" either or
both fairly quickly. And that Evzone elegance of bearing would naturally be very
effective at answering doors and ladelling soup. How he would take to performing
such services when you had perhaps me and Kosta
Zu Gast, is of course another
matter. Yes? At any rate, he probably will have service until sometime in
December, so why not meet me in Greece and "interview" him yourself? Do make up
your dark creative mi‡nd about this trip. Mehr Licht.
* I am flying back to
Athens
on September 28th:
American Express, Athens
will be my address. But do‡
come; there’ll be some very amusing and intelligent American friends of mine
there too, besides all the|‡unutterable delights of the native population. Not to
mention me; and to add to my already considerable attractions, I won’t (except in
naturally one case) be giving any competition. Vieni, vieni meco…..*
Söderström made her first guest appearance at the Opera here last week as
Octavian.* She was quite wonderful, but I was only able to caxx‡ speak to her very
briefly after the performance, because she had to rush and catch a train to
Frankfort[sic]‡
. Flibberty-gibbet as I am, I forgot to take a copy of the Solitudes
in to her, but I told her about it and she was, naturally, quite quite pleased.
And so am I that you liked them. There is, however, on more thing I must know
before I can goose my Muse into muttering something in my ear about your
antiphonal piece: How long do you want it to be: time-wise? Let me know soon as
soon.*
Nothing ever happens here, which is nice, but hardly anything to write you about.
I’m struggling on, rather like trying to push my head through a ton of modelling
clay, with a very difficult long poem; we eat, we drink, we function. I wait
for the 28th. Write quickly.
From Nickstadt silence. From Renate too. I hope she hasn’t taken ill again.
*
How’s Folker? And send him my love when you write him.*
Editorial
Responsibilities
- Editor(s)
- Elena Minetti
- Transcription
- Elena Minetti
Tradition
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Text Source: Basel (Schweiz), Paul Sacher Stiftung (CH-Bps), Sammlung Hans Werner Henze, Abteilung: Korrespondenz
Shelf mark: Kallman, ChesterPhysical Description
- Document type: Letter
- Briefpapier_Kallman_Kirchstetten
- Faltung: 2mal längs, 1mal quer
- 1 folio
- 1 written page
- Dimensions: 292x210 [mm] (HxW)
- 1zeilig
- nicht eingerückt
- Leerzeile nach Absatz
- Rand: 2 cm
Material
Extent
Layout
Writing styles
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1.Typescript, Kallman, Chester.
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2.Handwriting, Kallman, Chester, ballpoint pen (blue).
Text Constitution
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"Hands Handsy"sic
-
"p""1" replaced with "p"
-
"i""e" replaced with "i"
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"o""i" replaced with "o"
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"|"added inline, handwritten, ballpoint pen (blue), Kallman, Chester
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"ca"deleted by overtyping
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"Frankfort"sic
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Following: handwritten, ballpoint pen (blue), Kallman, Chester
Commentary
-
"N.-Ö."abbreviation of "Niederösterreich".
-
"… Dearest Hands Handsy ,"As in previous letters, Kallman enjoys coming up with nicknames for Henze.
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"… in his (big) bare feet."Yannis was a member of the Evzones, the Greek royal guard, like Kosta, with whom Kallman had a relationship.
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"househole (d?)"recte "household".
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"… about this trip. Mehr Licht."Kallman often uses expressions typical of theater work in his letters. Here "more light" is meant to prepare for the big news of his long-planned trip to Greece.
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Vieni, vieni meco
- Come, come with me
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"… last week as Octavian ."Elisabeth Söderström had performed the role of Ocatavian in Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier on 18 September 1964, at the Vienna State Opera. See the Archiv online of the Wiener Staatsoper.
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"… me know soon as soon."Henze must have reacted positively to Kallman about the project, but a letter discussing this has not been located.
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"… she hasn't taken ill again."See the previous letters, in which Kallman explains that he was looking for a job as model for his lover Kosta in Munich.
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"… love when you write him."At the time, Folker was Henze’s partner and he was on a tour in South America and the southern part of the USA with his German theatre company.
