Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- [195-] (Accumulation)
- 1932, 1937, 1951 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
20 drawings + 1 page of textual records
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
G. Ricordi & Co. (Canada) Ltd. was the Canadian branch of the Italian firm (Casa Ricordi, established in Milan in 1808). In the early 1950s, Gordon Wry was Ricordi's agent, before Bruno Apollonio (a former music publisher in Trieste) took over this position in 1953. In 1954, he established G. Ricordi & Co. (Canada) Ltd. in Toronto. He served as the managing director of the company until his death in 1983. His wife, Wally Apollonio, was in charge of promotion for the publishers. As well as distributing and promoting works by the parent firm, Ricordi (Canada) also published orchestral works by Canadian composers, including Murray Adaskin, Robert Aitken, Harry Freedman, Steven Gellman, Otto Joachim, Pierre Mercure, Oskar Morawetz, Francois Morel, André Prévost, and Harry Somers.
In 1963, Leeds Music (Canada) took over sales of Ricordi's printed music, including Canadian publications, followed by Boosey & Hawkes in 1980.
Repository
Archival history
This collection of set and costume designs was given to Bruno and Wally Apollonio by Ricordi. Their son, Bruno Apollonio (a Toronto architect), donated the collection to the University of Toronto Music Library in 2016.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Collection consists of set and costume designs by Nicola Benois for the following Teatro alla Scala productions: the premiere production of La Fiamma (The Flame) by Ottorino Respighi; Respighi's ballet Gli Uccelli; and Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini.