Giovanni Bellini, Free Sheet Music, Program Notes, Recordings and Biography

Program Notes and Analysis

The Swan of Catania: The Brief, Brilliant Life of a Melodic Genius

When Frédéric Chopin lay on his deathbed in Paris in 1849, he made a specific request. He asked that the aria Ah, non credea mirarti from Bellini’s La Sonnambula be sung at his funeral. It was a fitting tribute from one Romantic genius to another, a recognition of their shared mastery of poetic, elegiac melody. Chopin adored Bellini, seeing in his operatic lines the same expressive power he sought in his own Nocturnes. That the most celebrated pianist of the age revered an opera composer who had died fourteen years prior, at the tragically young age of 33, speaks volumes. Vincenzo Bellini was not just a composer; he was an architect of pure, unadulterated melody, a craftsman whose influence far outlived his brief time on earth. His ascent was meteoric, and his sudden end cemented his status as a quintessential Romantic figure.

The Sicilian Prodigy Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was born in Catania, Sicily, into a musical family. His father was an organist and composer, and his grandfather was a maestro di cappella. It was clear from a very early age that Vincenzo possessed an extraordinary gift. Legend claims he could sing an aria by a contemporary composer at eighteen months and began studying theory and piano by the ages of five and six. He was a true prodigy, composing his first works while still a child.

Recognizing his immense talent, the city of Catania provided him with a stipend to study at the premier music school in Italy: the Real Collegio di Musica in Naples. Arriving in 1819, he entered the heart of the Italian opera world. His primary teacher was Niccolò Zingarelli, who steeped him in the traditions of the great Neapolitan school, emphasizing vocal melody and clarity. While in Naples, Bellini absorbed the music of the day, particularly the operas of Rossini, but he found himself drawn more to the dramatic opera seria than to Rossini’s dazzling opera buffa. He began to forge his own style, one focused on dramatic truth and emotional sincerity, rooted in the power of the human voice. His student opera, Adelson e Salvini, was so successful within the conservatory that it led directly to his first professional commission.

The Rise to Fame: From Naples to Milan Bellini’s professional debut, Bianca e Fernando, premiered at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in 1826 and was a significant success. This achievement immediately brought him to the attention of Domenico Barbaia, the most powerful impresario in Italy, who managed both the San Carlo in Naples and La Scala in Milan. Barbaia offered Bellini a commission for La Scala, the most prestigious opera house in the world. This was the opportunity of a lifetime.

In 1S27, Bellini premiered Il pirata (The Pirate) in Milan. The opera was an absolute triumph. It not only launched Bellini as a major international composer but also marked the beginning of his most important artistic partnership, his collaboration with the librettist Felice Romani. Romani was the finest poet of his generation, and his texts, filled with Romantic pathos, were a perfect match for Bellini’s musical sensibilities. Il pirata established the Bellinian formula: a brooding, passionate anti-hero, a psychologically complex heroine, and, most importantly, a new kind of melody. These melodies were long, arching, and infused with a melancholy grace, designed to express the deepest stirrings of the soul. He followed this with La straniera (The Foreigner) in 1829, another massive success that confirmed his status as Italy’s most exciting new composer.

The Master of Bel Canto Bellini is the quintessential composer of bel canto, a term that literally means beautiful singing. For Bellini, this was not simply about vocal pyrotechnics, though his music demands supreme technical skill. It was about the cantilena, the singing line. He developed what became known as melodie lunghe (long melodies), which are characterized by their extended, seamless phrases, subtle dynamic shifts, and perfect marriage of text and music.

Unlike Rossini, who often wrote intricate ornamentation directly into the score, Bellini’s melodies often appear deceptively simple on the page. However, this simplicity is a canvas. He trusted the singer to be a co-creator, to embellish the line with their own artistry, breath control, and emotional intelligence. His orchestration is always subordinate to the voice. He used the orchestra as a brush to add color and atmosphere, but never to compete with the vocal line. He famously stated that opera must make one weep, sing, and die. His music, stripped of all artifice, aims directly at the heart.

The Triumvirate of Masterpieces Bellini’s genius culminated in a string of three masterpieces produced between 1830 and 1831, solidifying his dominance.

First came I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues), premiered in Venice in 1830. Based on the Romeo and Juliet story, this opera is a marvel of emotional intensity. In a holdover from an older tradition, the role of Romeo was written as a musico role for a mezzo-soprano, yet the music feels entirely modern and passionate. The opera is filled with soaring duets and a heartbreaking final scene.

Just a year later, in March 1831, La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) premiered in Milan. This work was an opera semiseria (half-serious), blending idyllic, pastoral charm with intense psychological drama. The story of Amina, a village girl who is falsely accused of infidelity while sleepwalking, provided Bellini with the perfect vehicle for his most tender and lyrical melodies. The final scene, where Amina awakens from her trance, features the joyous cabaletta Ah! non giunger, a spectacular display of vocal brilliance.

Incredibly, only nine months later, in December 1831, Bellini premiered what is widely considered his supreme masterpiece: Norma. Set in Roman-occupied Gaul, it is a tragedy of immense scope. The title role of the Druid priestess, who breaks her sacred vows for her Roman lover, is one of the most demanding in the entire soprano repertoire. It requires a singer who possesses a powerful dramatic voice, flawless coloratura agility, and profound emotional depth. The opera contains the aria Casta diva (Chaste Goddess), a perfect example of melodia lunga. It is a prayer of sublime, transcendent beauty, a seemingly endless melody that unfolds over a simple accompaniment. The opera’s premiere was surprisingly cool—Bellini himself called it a fiasco—but it quickly conquered audiences and was recognized as a monumental achievement.

Rivalry and Paris Bellini’s primary rival during this period was Gaetano Donizetti. Where Bellini was slow, meticulous, and agonizingly self-critical, Donizetti was prolific, rapid, and versatile. After Bellini’s 1833 opera Beatrice di Tenda was a failure in Venice, causing a bitter and permanent rift with his librettist Romani, Bellini felt it was time for a change.

He moved to Paris in 1833, then the undisputed capital of the operatic world. He was welcomed into the highest artistic circles, befriending Chopin, Liszt, and the writer Heinrich Heine. He also studied the reigning style of Parisian Grand Opera, dominated by Meyerbeer, with its massive choruses, historical subjects, and grand spectacle. He secured a commission from the Théâtre-Italien, whose resident singers included the four greatest vocalists of the day, known as the Puritani quartet.

The Final Triumph and Tragic End Bellini’s Parisian opera, I Puritani (The Puritans), premiered in January 1835. The work shows the influence of his new environment; the orchestration is richer, the ensembles are more complex, and the scale is grander than any of his previous works. But at its heart, it is pure Bellini. It is a vehicle for astonishing vocalism, including the high F written for the tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini, and features a classic Bellinian mad scene for its heroine, Elvira.

The opera was a colossal success. At 33, Bellini had conquered Paris. He was celebrated, wealthy, and decorated by the King of France. He was at the absolute zenith of his fame, with a long and brilliant future seemingly ahead of him.

Just eight months later, in September 1835, Bellini was struck by a sudden and severe illness, an acute inflammation of the intestine (likely amoebic dysentery). He died alone in his villa in the Parisian suburb of Puteaux. He was 33 years old. The music world was devastated by the news. His funeral was a major event, organized by his mentor and former rival, Rossini, who served as a pallbearer. He was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, near Chopin. In 1876, his remains were moved from Paris to a hero’s welcome in his native Catania, which erected a magnificent tomb in his honor.

Bellini’s influence was immediate and lasting. Verdi, while sometimes critical of his orchestral technique, built upon Bellini's melodic and dramatic foundations. Richard Wagner, an unlikely admirer, conducted Norma and praised its profound dramatic truth. For composers, he was a model of melodic purity. For singers, he remains the ultimate test. His music, in its elegant, elegiac, and emotionally transparent lines, defines the very soul of bel canto.