Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924). L.A.S., Torre del Lago September 23, 1920, to Renzo VALCARENGHI; 2 pages small in-4 at his address; in Italian. Interesting letter as Puccini begins work on Turandot. [Valcarenghi was, with Clausetti, Puccini's privileged correspondent at the publisher Ricordi. Giuseppe Adami (1878-1946) had begun work on the libretto of Turandot]. Adami quickly promised him material to advance the work. But he had to wait until he had finished the entire libretto before sitting down at his table, which was the only logical way to avoid unforeseen surprises. That means he'll spend the whole winter waiting. That's three years of inactivity, which is a crime for his art, for him, and for his publishers. You can't blame him for not accepting booklets that don't fully convince him. He lost a year and a half with Sly [or The Legend of the Awakened Sleeper, libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, which was eventually set to music by Wolf-Ferrari], which Forzano was to give in November, with a new third act and Sly's suicide, which left Puccini sceptical. He has money worries with the cursed construction of Viareggio, and he asks for an advance of 100.000 lire. Finally he mentions the bankruptcy of Thomas Beecham. It is good for Italian art in London, and he hopes that the Trittico will be performed there next year...