Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/72949
Title: The post-Napoleonic in literature and opera
Authors: Frendo, Maria
Keywords: Music -- Europe -- History -- 19th century
Europe -- History -- 1789-1900
Operas -- 19th century -- Performances
Literature -- 19th century
Issue Date: 2011
Citation: Frendo, M. (2011). The post-Napoleonic in literature and opera. Mediterranea 2011, 39-51.
Abstract: Bellini’s meteoric rise in Italy occurred in 1830 and 1831. In November 1831 he celebrated his thirtieth birthday, just a few weeks before the first performance of his masterpiece, Norma. Hailing from Sicily, this young composer had already established himself as the leading musician in the whole of Italy. It became clear that he was the natural successor of Rossini and he also found an idiosyncratic voice much quicker than Donizetti, who was his contemporary but slightly older by a few years. Carrying a glowing reputation from the Conservatorio and also from the famous San Carlo, Naples, he arrived in Milano in the spring of 1827. Milano was the fulcrum of the Italian Romantic movement; he settled here, and his two operas IL Pirata of 1827 and La straniera of 1829 further consolidated his reputation as a composer of great ability. In fact, his name became a household word all over the civilised world. In Felice Romani he found a most trusted and worthy friend. Romani would eventually become Bellini’s chief collaborator, providing librettos for the composer’s operas after 1829 and before leaving his Italy four years later. Bellini composed his famous I Capuleti e i Montecchi in 1830. At the time he was in Venice and, apart from composing the score, he was also involved in rehearsals and the production. On returning to Milano in 1831 he discovered that the city’s cultural life, particularly that associated with the theatre, was in some confusion. He himself was also suffering from bouts of severe ill-health. At the time, the group ‘Giuseppe Crivelli e Compagni’ was responsible for running La Scala. In fact, even La Fenice in Venice, where Bellini had just been active, was controlled by the same group. Bellini had conducted business with the Crivelli and had in fact been commissioned to produce another opera at La Fenice. So, naturally, his interest was to see the Crivelli do well and would have been concerned, to put it mildly, to note that the company was on the verge of collapse. More worrying was the fact that another group of opera afficionados were keen to take over their affairs. In fact, the situation was dire, as Duke Pompeo Litta and his collaborators, namely, Soresi and Marietti, had already engaged a world-class group of opera singers and were looking for ways to buy out the contract that Crivelli had drawn up with Bellini. This is clearly explained by the Bellini himself, in a letter probably addressed to Vincenzo Ferlito, who was his uncle and confidante.
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/72949
Appears in Collections:Scholarly Works - FacArtEng

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