Bellini, Vincenzo (EN)

Bellini Vincenzo, *3 November 1801 Catania (Sicily), †23 September 1835 Puteaux (near Paris), Italian composer. In 1819–24, he studied at the San Sebastiano Conservatory in Naples under the supervision of G. Furno, G. Tritto, C. Conti and N. Zingarelli. He began composing early; he wrote a Symphony for a small orchestra, his first church works and small vocal-instrumental pieces even before starting his studies. As an opera composer, he debuted in Naples in 1825 with the opera Adelson e Salvini. A year later, Bianca e Fernando was created, and then The Pirate and La straniera were staged at La Scala in Milan – works that brought the composer complete success. The Pirate initiated Bellini’s permanent collaboration with the librettist F. Romanim. The next operas are Ziara, one of his weakest works, I Capuleti e i Montecchi. In 1831, he created The Sleepwalker and Norma, the most characteristic of Bellini’s opera style, and performed many times on the most outstanding European stages after their premieres in Milan (including Warsaw). The main parts in Bellini’s operas were played by contemporary singers, such as G. Pasta (title roles in The Sleepwalker and Norma), Giuditta Grisi (Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi) and Giulia Grisi (Adalgisa in Norma, Elvira w The Puritans), G.B. Rubini, L. Lablache, D. Donzelli, C.V. Negrini and A. Tamburini. In 1833, Bellini was in London, directing his operas (including The Sleepwalker with M.F. Malibran in the main role); in the same year, he went to Paris after accepting an offer from Théâtre Italien to write a new opera. Bellini’s friendship with Chopin, as well as with Cherubini and Liszt dates back to the period of his stay in Paris. Shortly after the triumphant performance of the last opera The Puritans, the composer died.

Bellini’s opera works come from the Italian bel canto tradition. In terms of architectural structure, his operas do not differ from the old models, but there is a transition from Rossini’s style, then dominant in Italy, towards romantic opera, which is expressed mainly in the selection of themes and deepening of the dramatic expression. In Bellini’s work, the division into opera seria and buffa disappears; his first works belong to the semi-seria type, and Norma and Puritans represent the so-called great French heroic opera. The main element of expression in Bellini’s work is melody, characterised by a developed cantilena, lyricism and deep expression; the dramatic meaning of the recitative also deepens. Vocal virtuosity and coloratura are somewhat limited, and there is a closer interaction of melody and poetic text. A typical example of Bellini’s melody is the aria Ah! non credea mirarti from Act II of Sleepwalker or the aria Casta diva from Act I of Norma. Bellini’s arias, especially in later operas, are no longer treated schematically in formal terms; sometimes a traditional aria is transformed into a dramatic scene (e.g. Norma’s final aria in Act II), in which, in addition to an extended solo part, there are choral fragments, ensembles or solo interludes by other characters justified by the course of the stage action. Harmonics and instrumentation are subordinated to the melody line and are usually characterised by great simplicity. In Sleepwalker, Norma and Puritans, the choral parts are expanded, and the role of the orchestra increases; e.g. in Puritans, the colour of military scenes is emphasised by brass instruments and percussion.

Bellini’s works were appreciated by, among others, Chopin, Wagner and Verdi. Paraphrases on the themes of Bellini’s operas were written by Liszt and Glinka, especially famous are the variations on the march from The Puritans entitled Hexameron, whose co-creators were: Chopin, Czerny, H. Herz, Liszt, J.P. Pixis and Thalberg.

Literature: Le lettere di Vincenzo Bellini, edition F. Pastura, Catania 1935; Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835). W stulecie śmierci. Cztery studia (G. Lorenzi Vincenzo Bellini. Szkic biograficzny, A. Chybiński Vincenzo Bellini jako twórca operowy, M. Szczepańska „Hexameron”, Bellini i Chopin, J.J. Dunicz Premiery oper Belliniego we Lwowie), Lviv 1935; A. Della Corte, G. Pannain Vincenzo Bellini, Turin 1935; L. Cambi, A. Della Corte, G.A. Gavazzeni Vincenzo Bellini l’uomo, le sue opere, la sua fama, ed. I. Pizzetti, Mediolan 1936; S. Pugliatti Chopin e Bellini, Messina 1952; F. Pastura Vincenzo Bellini, Turin 1959; F. Pastura Bellini secondo la storia, Parma 1959; F. Lippmann Vincenzo Bellini und die italienische opera seria seiner Zeit, „Analecta Musicologica” vol. 5, Cologne 1969; H. Weinstock Vincenzo Bellini. His Life and Operas, New York 1971; F. Lippmann Belliniana. Nuovi documenti, in: Il melodramma italiano dell’Ottocento, festschrift M. Mili, ed. G. Pastelli, Turin 1977; Bellini. Mostra di oggetti e documenti provenienti da collezioni pubbliche e private italiane, published by C. Andò, D. de Meo and S.E. Failla, Catania 1988; „L’avant-scene opera” no. 29, 1980 — Norma, no. 96, 1987 — I puritani, no. 122, 1989 — I Capuleti e i Montecchi; Atti del convegno internazionale di studi belliniani, Catania 1985; G. Cataldo Il teatro di Bellini, Bologne 1980; M.R. Adamo and F. Lippmann Vincenzo Bellini, Turin 1981; G. Tintori Bellini, Milan 1983; H. Weinstock Vincenzo Bellini. His Life and his Operas, New York 1985; Vincenzo Bellini, «Musik-Konzepte» XLVI, ed. H.-K. Metzger and R. Riehn, Munich 1985 (contains a list of Bellini’s works and bibliography); I teatri di Vincenzo Bellini, ed. R. Alajamo, Palermo 1986; S. Maguire Vincenzo Bellini and the Aesthetics of Early Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera, New York 1989; Vincenzo Bellini. Critica, storia, tradizione, ed. S.E. Failla, Catania 1991.