Inventory of the Inez Fabbri collection, 1858-[ca. 1908]
Processed by The Music Library staff; machine-readable finding aid
created by Xiuzhi Zhou
Music Library
Hargrove Music Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-2623
Email: music_reference@berkeley.edu
URL: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/music_library_archives
© 1997
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Inventory of the Inez Fabbri Collection, 1858-[ca. 1908]
Collection number: ARCHIVES FABBRI 1
The Music Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Contact Information
- Hargrove Music Library
- University of California, Berkeley
- Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
- Phone: (510) 642-2623
- Email: music_reference@berkeley.edu
- URL: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/music_library_archives
- Processed by:
- The Music Library staff
- Encoded by:
- Xiuzhi Zhou
© 1997 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Inez Fabbri Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1858-[ca. 1908]
Collection number: ARCHIVES FABBRI 1
Creator:
Fabbri, Inez, 1831-1909
Extent: Number of containers: 3 boxes & 1 large oversize
portfolio
Repository: The
Music Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Shelf location: For current information on the location of
these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Donor:
Constance Horstman, Sacramento; The E. B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, October, 1976
(see item 22).
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in
writing to the Head of the Music Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Inez Fabbri collection, ARCHIVES FABBRI 1, The Music Library,
University of California, Berkeley.
Biography
Madame Inez Fabbri, 1831-1909, was prima donna assoluta, originally in Frankfurt am Main,
later in San Francisco, Calif. She toured South America, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the
United States.
Scope and Content
Collection includes newspaper clippings and scrapbooks; studio photographs of Madame
Fabbri wearing her opera gowns, photograph albums of her colleagues and family; an
unpublished draft of a romance of Madame Fabbri's life by her grand niece, Agnes Jacoby;
a tape recording of an interview by John A. Emerson with Katherine Shortridge in 1977
concerning her great aunt; a volume of 16 published compositions by Fabbri's first
husband, Richard Mulder; and other memorabilia.
Twenty-four (24) items in 3 boxes (item 24 is placed in a large oversized portfolio
numbered "193," not in a box.)
Box Box 1 , item 1.
Scrapbook of newspaper clippings containing reviews of musical performances by Madame Fabbri.
Scope and Content Note
Bound volume with the cover inscription "Fabbri Album." 125 pp. About 300 clippings
dating from May 20, 1858 through January 25, 1862. They cover Madame
Fabbri's tours of South America, her first American tour, and performances in Canada and
Puerto Rico.
Box Box 2 , item 2.
Scrapbook of newspaper clippings containing reviews of musical performances by Madame Fabbri.
Scope and Content Note
Bound volume (with loose covers) bearing the front cover title "Song Book." 138 pp. About
760 clippings covering the period 1862 through 1897. These clippings
cover Madame Fabbri's Germany/Frankfurt period, her second tour of the United States, and
the San Francisco period. There are also a few clippings from her period of retirement
(after 1880).
Box Box 1 , item 3.
Scrapbook containing nosegays, letters, invitations, and signature of friends and colleagues.
Scope and Content Note
51 leaves (leaves 38-51 are blank). Bound volume (both covers are loose) with gilt edges.
Materials dated 1862 to 1898.
item 4.
Promptbook containing favorite arias and songs sung by Madame Fabbri.
Scope and Content Note
Words and soprano melodies. 188 pp. Bound volume with gilt edges; the front cover bears
the inscription "I. F." [Inez Fabbri]. Prefaced with a partial table of contents.
item 5.
Richard Mulder, first husband of Madame Fabbri.
Scope and Content Note
16 published compositions for piano (opus 7-22). Bound volume with a red cover bearing
the inscription "I. F." [Inez Fabbri].
Spine title: Richard Mulder / Piano / I.
Probably there was a second volume of Mulder's published music, but it is not in the
Berkeley collection.
Pazdirek lists 49 opus numbers by Mulder (see enclosure in
volume).
item 6.
The back cover--only--of a missing scrapbook.
Scope and Content Note
Very likely this scrapbook contained newspaper clippings of musical performances from the
years 1864-1871, when Madame Fabbri was the "Prima donna der
Frankfurter Oper."
item 7a.
Twenty-three (23) studio photographs (12 + x 9 3/8" each) of Madame Fabbri wearing her opera gowns.
Scope and Content Note
These dresses were associated with various roles she sang. The photographs date from her
Frankfurt period (1864-71) and were made by Hermann Emden,
Frankfurt. Portfolio with loose covers bearing the inscription "Fabbri Album." The first
photograph bears the printed inscription:
"Fabbri-Album / Photographien / von /
Hermann Emden, / in / Frankfurt a. M."
- Photo no. Composer
- Opera: Role
- 1. Beethoven
- Fidelio: Leonora/Fidelio
- 2. Bellini
- Norma: Norma
- 3. Donizetti
- Lucrezia Borgia: Lucrezia
- 4. Glinka
- Russlan & Ludmilla: Ludmilla
- 5. Gluck
- Iphigénie en Tauride:
Iphigénie
- 6. Gounod
- Faust:
Marguérite
- 7. Halévy
- La
Juive: Rachel
- 8. Marschner
- Templer &
die Juden: Rebeca
- 9. Meyerbeer
- L'Africaine: Selika
- 10. Meyerbeer
- Les huguenots: Valentine
- 11. Meyerbeer
- Le Prophète: Bertha
- 12. Mozart
- Clemenza di Tito: Vitellia
- 13. Mozart
- Don Giovanni: Donna Anna
- 14. Mozart
- Idomeneo: Electra
- 15. Mozart
- Nozze
di Figaro: Gräfin
- 16. Nicolai
- Lustigen Weiber: Frau Fluth
- 17. Verdi
- Ernani: Elvira
- 18. Verdi
- Ballo in
maschera: Amelia (Melanie)
- 19. Verdi
- OtelloDesdemona
- 20. Verdi
- Traviata:
Violetta
- 21. Verdi
- Trovatore:
Leonora
- 22. Wagner
- Tannhäuser:
Elisabeth
- 23. Weber
- Oberon: Reiza
item 7b.
Thirteen (13) duplicate photographs (as above).
item 8.
Photograph album containing about 170 photographs (3 + x 2 1/4" each) of professional colleagues of Madame Fabbri.
Scope and Content Note
These photographs, for the most part, appear to date from her Frankfurt period
(1864-71). Bound volume with green covers, brass studs, and gilt
edges. Front cover inscription (on a brass plate) "Ines Fabbri."
Box Box 2 , item 9.
Photograph album containing 125 photographs (3 + x 2 1/4" each).
Scope and Content Note
Among these photographs are 55 of Madame Fabbri.
There is a photograph of Richard Mulder, the first husband of Inez, photographs of
colleagues, and a series of humorous photos. One picture of a burning cathedral bears the
inscription "Father's house burnt down and set fire to the Cathedral." Bound volume,
plain leather covers, no front cover or spine inscriptions.
item 10.
Family photographic album. Most of the photographs (5 1/4 x 3 3/4" each) are members of the Jacoby family (Los Angeles) and
their relatives and friends.
Scope and Content Note
Conrad and Katherine Toth Jacoby were married in Los Angeles in 1876.Thick bound volume with deeply embossed front and back covers and gilt edges.
item 11.
Two (2) metal crowns.
Scope and Content Note
Madame Fabbri was honored with five major testimonial benefit concerts during her years
in San Francisco (1872-1909). The silver crown (sans a gold star)
was presented to her on October 29, 1877 and the other gold crown was presented on
November 3, 1907.
item 12.
Tape recording: Interview with Mrs. Katherine Shortridge West by John A. Emerson concerning her grand aunt, Madame Fabbri.
Scope and Content Note
Tiburon, California, Saturday, May 15, 1977.
Box Box 1 , item 13.
Jacoby, Agnes (1883-1972), grandniece of Madame Fabbri, who had a passionate admiration for her all of her life.
Scope and Content Note
Drafts and notes of a biographical romance on the life of Madame Fabbri. Never completed,
never published. The earliest memoir is dated April 4, 1907. Agnes
was then 24 years of age, and was living in the same home with Madame Fabbri.
Unquestionably the memoir is of value, because Madame Fabbri certainly related these
tales directly to Agnes. The remaining biographical information is of dubious value, for
it is filled with factual errors and sentimental exaggerations. About 50 leaves.
item 14.
Eleven (11) miscellaneous items:
Scope and Content Note
2 obituaries from New York newspapers; prospectus for the "Fabbri-Mueller's School of
Opera, Concert, and Oratorio" (dates ca. 1905, because of the
address); 5 opera programs starring Madame Fabbri (Vienna, May-December, 1863); program
"Second Fabbri Opera Night" (San Francisco: California Theater, February 26, 1873);
"Souvenir Program: Grand Jubilee Tendered [to] Mme. Inez Fabbri-Mueller in Celebration of
her Sixtieth Anniversary on the Lyric Stage" (San Francisco: Van Ness Theatre, Sunday
afternoon, November 3d, 1907); a newspaper clipping containing a caricature of Madame
Fabbri.
item 15.
Studio portrait of Madame Fabbri. San Francisco, ca. 1908 (Madame Fabbri was 77 or 78 years of age).
Scope and Content Note
Photograph by Arnold Genthe.
item 16.
Studio portrait of Madame Fabbri. San Francisco, ca. 1908 (Madame Fabbri was 77 or 78 years of age).
Scope and Content Note
Photograph by Arnold Genthe.
item 17.
Ten (10) studio and commercial photographs.
1. Madame Fabbri, ca. 1880.
2. Madame Fabbri, probably 1890's.
3. Jacob Mueller, probably 1890's. Inscription: "Jacob Mueller in Aida, Tivoli Teater, San Francisco."
4. Jacob Mueller, probably 1890's. Inscription: "Muellers last appearance at the Tivoli, S.F. -- Aida."
5. Jacob Mueller, Pawnee Chief "Black Flying Eagle," and others. Omaha, Nebraska, after 1875.
6. Camillo von Starhemberg, Archduke of Austria and cousin to Emperor Maximillian of Mexico.
7. Fürst Camillo von Starhemberg.
8. Emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria, Hungary, 1858. Photo dated 1889, Budapest.
9. Jan Kubelik and his wife, Countess Csaky Szell.
10. Baldwin Theatre, San Francisco (Gustave Frohman, Lessee).
item 18.
Theater bill.
Scope and Content Note
Souvenir on blue silk. Inscription: "Wade's Opera House. Fabbri Opera, Opening Night.
Sunday, January 23rd, 1876. The Huguenots. Grand Opera with Ballet
in 5 Acts by G. Meyerbeer."
item 19.
Mulder, Richard, d. San Francisco, December 22, 1874.
Scope and Content Note
Four (4) photographs. Mulder was the first husband of Madame Fabbri. They were married in
Santiago, Chile, November 6, 1868.
The photographs date ca. 1863, 1869, 1873 or 1874.
item 20.
Mulder, Richard.
Scope and Content Note
Apparently a flyleaf from a volume of music (perhaps item 5) which bears an inscription
to his sister Caecile:
"A ma bonne et chère Soeur / Richard Mulder / [musical
incipit] / Paris ce 14 Dec. 1853. R M [Richard Mulder]."
item 21.
Jacoby, Agnes.
Scope and Content Note
Thermofax copy of a memoir of "Ines Fabbri-Mueller." Dated [San Francisco]
April 4, 1907 (see folder 13 for a Xerox copy; this copy is very
fragile and should not be used).
item 22.
Documents pertaining to the acquisition of the Fabbri memorabilia.
Scope and Content Note
The collection was first presented to the E. B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, by Mrs.
Constance Horstman, 4208 Corona Way, Sacramento, California, 95825, on August
20, 1976. In turn, Mr. Richard Vincent West, Director of the Crocker Art
Gallery, deposited the gift with the Music Library, University of California in October,
1976. This transfer was approved by Mrs. Horstman.
item 23.
Emerson, John A.
Scope and Content Note
Article entitled: "Madame Inez Fabbri, Prima Donna Assoluta," published in
Encore:
The Archives for the Performing Arts Quarterly,
vol. 1:1 (San Francisco,
Winter, 1984), pp. 2-5 [a biographical sketch of the life of Madame
Fabbri. Another biography will appear in the forthcoming
Grove's Dictionary of
Music of the United States
(1986) by the same author].
Oversize Portfolio, item 24.
Portraits.
Scope and Content Note
Hand-drawn and colored of Madame Fabbri and Jacob Mueller (1876). On
the occasion of their performance of Marschner's
Der Templer und die Jüden(24 x 21").
Stored in a large oversized portfolio; Archival no. 193;
Inventory no. Z-970.