The Belgian soprano, who was nearly engaged to Tchaikovsky, pens three bars on treble clef from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, signing beneath on a sheet of music paper. The staves are surrounded by a lovely blue floral border, at the bottom of which is printed Aus dem Album von Carl Gurckhaus.

Though best remembered today for her relationship with Piotr Tchaikovsky, Désirée Artôt was an accomplished singer who specialized in Italian and German roles and chiefly performed in Germany. She enjoyed much success in Rossini's Barber, especially early in her career, at which time she signed this leaf.

Artôt met Tchaikovsky in early 1868; by the end of the year the pair considered an engagement but ultimately abandoned the idea for a number of reasons: her mother's disapproval, the interference of her other suitors, his homosexuality, and Nikolai Rubinstein's warning that Tchaikovsky would likely have to give up composing to accompany the prima donna on tour. Some scholars believe that Tchaikovsky later included a cipher of Artôt's name in the first movement of his Piano Concerto No. 1.