About the work
Opera semiseria in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, composed in 1824/25 as a graduation piece at the Real Collegio di Musica di San Sebastiano in Naples and first performed there on 12 February 1825 with an all-student cast. It was based, via a French stage play of 1803, on a tale from François-Thomas-Marie de Baculard d'Arnaud's collection 'Épreuves du sentiment' (1772).
Plot
The Irish Lord Adelson and the Italian painter Salvini both court Nelly, niece of the vengeful Colonel Struley. Struley plots, with Salvini's help, to abduct Nelly, after which she is believed dead; in the third act Salvini stands trial for her supposed murder and confesses to it. When Nelly turns up alive after all, Salvini steps aside in her favour, and she is able to marry Adelson.
Cultural significance
As a student work, Adelson e Salvini remained confined during Bellini's lifetime to Sunday performances at the conservatory; a professional stage production did not come until 1985, 160 years after the premiere. Bellini later reused individual numbers: Nelly's romanza 'Dopo l'oscuro nembo' became Giulietta's aria 'O quante volte' in 'I Capuleti e i Montecchi'.