Biography
Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), born in Catania, Sicily, was the most purely lyrical voice of bel canto opera and a central influence on Chopin, Verdi, and Wagner. Bellini composed only ten operas before his death at thirty-three, but among them are three of the supreme masterpieces of the Italian repertoire: La Sonnambula (1831), Norma (1831), and I Puritani (1835). His melodies are noted for their long-breathed lyrical arcs—Chopin, who met him in Paris, openly imitated Bellinian melody in his own piano compositions. Bellini worked extensively with the librettist Felice Romani. After years in Milan and Naples, Bellini moved to Paris in 1833, where he died suddenly from dysentery in 1835 at Puteaux, just weeks after the premiere of I Puritani. His body was transported to Catania in 1876 and interred in the cathedral.
On Stagelog
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