Albert Schatz Collection German, Italian collection 30 ft. German businessman Albert Schatz (1839-1910)assembled over twelve thousand printed librettos in preparation for a projected work on the history of opera. The Schatz Collection in the Music Division, purchased by the Library in 1908, brings together an outstanding selection of German and Italian texts, particularly from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and is the major source for Oscar Sonneck's Catalogue of Opera Librettos Printed Before 1800. As an adjunct to the libretto collection, the Library acquired Schatz's research files two years later. The material consists chiefly of a chronological list of opera performances from 1541 to 1901. Sixty card files contain information (title, composer, librettist, genre, number of acts, and date, city and theater of the premiere performance) for as many productions as Schatz could document. Schatz also compiled in ledgers detailed chronological lists, complete with dates of first and subsequent performances, of operas by fourteen eighteenth-century composers. In addition to the above-mentioned "Operngeschichte Statistik," the collection includes notes, correspondence, playbills, manuscripts for articles, and clippings pertaining to the history of opera in Europe and the United States. Opera librettos and research papers. MUSIC 1854 (librettos) MUSIC 1504 (manuscripts) Albert Schatz Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress Schatz Early opera librettos and research files assembled by Albert Schatz. Researchers wishing to work with special collections are advised to inquire in advance about availability of material since many special collections are stored off-site. Opera Schatz, Albert Performing Arts Encyclopedia scdb Music Division, Library of Congress IHAS 090604 loc.natlib.scdb.200033848