Renata Scotto

Renata Scotto (born 24 February 1934), Italian soprano and opera director. Original, vintage, pen and ink, "on-the-spot" illustration by George 'Georges' Krishizki. The hand drawn illustration has been signed by Scotto and additionally signed, dated and titled by Krishizki: "Georges / 1973 / Renata Scotto / An Evening of Rossini."

For more than 40 years, Scotto performed in operas written by 18 composers and her repertoire included some forty-five roles. She is best known for her performances as Violetta in La traviata, Gilda in Rigoletto, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, Mimì (and occasionally Musetta) in La bohème, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Adina inL'elisir d'amore, Liù in Turandot, Nedda in Pagliacci, all three leading soprano roles in Puccini's Il trittico, Adriana Lecouvreur, and Francesca in Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini.

She also had success at the Met in Meyerbeer's Le prophète, Ponchielli's La gioconda, as Vitellia in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito. Moving into the heavier Verdi repertoire in the 1970s, she sang Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Luisa Miller, Lady Macbeth, Leonora in Il trovatore and the Requiem, all under the baton of the Met's music director James Levine.

George 'Georges' Krishizki (March 22, 1924 – December 20, 2001), Russian-Polish-American illustrator who came to the U.S. in 1949. While he earned acclaim for his renderings of the city’s architectural landmarks, it was his on-the-spot drawings of musicians in performance that attracted an especially appreciative audience. In a 1973 article published in conjunction with two simultaneous exhibitions, Georges explained the genesis of his long-running engagement with the concert hall: “I’ve always enjoyed going to concerts, and one day I decided it would be fun to combine my interests in music and art and make sketches of musicians during performances.”  Indeed, the most remarkable feature of Georges’ oeuvre, apart from the astounding range of performers who gladly expressed their approval and appreciation by signing, is the skill with which the drawings are accomplished.

This original pen and ink illustration, measuring approximately 9 x 12, on heavy-weight sketch paper, is in fine condition with some light overall toning. Its verso is blank and clean.