Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (1801 --
1835) was an Italian opera composer. He was one of the
most important composers of Italian opera in his time.
He was born in 1801 in Catanina, Sicily, to a family
already steeped in music; his father and grandfather
were both career musicians. He began composing before
receiving any formal music education. Bellini developed
a reputation for fine craftsmanship, particularly in
the way he forged an intricate relationship between the
music and t...(+)
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (1801 --
1835) was an Italian opera composer. He was one of the
most important composers of Italian opera in his time.
He was born in 1801 in Catanina, Sicily, to a family
already steeped in music; his father and grandfather
were both career musicians. He began composing before
receiving any formal music education. Bellini developed
a reputation for fine craftsmanship, particularly in
the way he forged an intricate relationship between the
music and the libretto. To perform one of his operas,
singers required extremely agile voices. His abilities
and talent earned him the admiration of other
composers, including Berlioz, Chopin, and even Wagner,
and his flowing, exquisitely sculpted vocal lines
represent the epitome of the bel canto ideal.
Bellini entered the Royal College of Music of San
Sebastiano, now the Naples Conservatory, in 1819.
Although he started off in elementary classes, he
progressed rapidly and was granted free tuition by
1820. He soon developed into a teacher, becoming a
primo maestrino in 1824. Bellini's first opera, Adelson
e Salvini, was chosen to be performed by the
conservatory's students. After the initial performance
in February 1825, it was performed repeatedly
throughout the year. This particular work was never
performed outside of the conservatory, but it did serve
as a source of material for at least five other operas
Bellini composed. Shortly thereafter, Domenico Barbaja
of the San Carlo Opera offered Bellini his first
commission for an opera, which resulted in Bianca e
Gernando (1826). That first commission was followed by
a second from Barbaja, Il pirata (1827), and led to a
long-term collaboration between Bellini and librettist
Felice Romani. The premiere of Il pirata on October 27,
1827, at La Scala, Milan, established Bellini as an
internationally acclaimed opera composer.
As Bellini gained experience and recognition, he
settled into a working method that stressed quality
instead of quantity. He composed fewer operas, for
which he commanded higher prices. He was not, however,
immune to the pressures of production. His opera Zaira
(1829), written with Romani for the inauguration of the
Teatro Ducale at Parma, was hurriedly completed; the
opera was a notable failure and was never produced
again. He rebounded, though, with I Capuleti e i
Montecchi (based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet) in
1830.
The year 1831 proved most successful for Bellini as two
of his most famous operas, La sonnambula and Norma,
were produced. Although Norma was unenthusiastically
received, many critics and Bellini himself believed it
to be his finest work. Its aria "Casta diva" is one of
the evergreens of the classical vocal repertory. These
two operas were followed by a less successful
composition, Beatrice di Tenda. This opera was
premiered at La Fenice, Venice, on March 16, 1833, a
month later than scheduled; the failure led to the
falling out of Bellini and Romani.
Bellini spent the summer of 1833 in London directing
performances of his operas. He then moved to Paris,
where he composed and produced his last opera, I
puritani, which premiered on January 24, 1835. The
libretto for this particular opera was written by the
exiled Italian poet Count Carlo Pepoli. Unlike
Bellini's previous two operas, I puritani was
enthusiastically received. At the height of his career
and only 33 years old, Bellini died of a chronic
intestinal ailment on September 23, 1835, in a small
town near near Paris.
The song "La Farfalletta" (The Little Butterfly) was
supposedly composed when Bellini was all of twelve
years old. He wrote it for a girl friend, to be
performed as a part of a puppet show, and the girl
friend's brother wrote the words. She sang the song,
which is about the catching of a butterfly, and had her
puppet act the part. The melody is memorable, happy,
and light, and the accompaniment delicate and
appropriate to the image of a flitting butterfly,
trying to get away from its pursuer. The singer of the
song is slightly evil, as she sings of catching the
butterfly and giving it to her boyfriend. She tells the
little butterfly not to worry, that her boyfriend will
take good care of it.
Source: AllMusic
(https://www.allmusic.com/artist/vincenzo-bellini-mn000
0646795/biography).
Although originally created for Voice and Piano, I
created this arrangement of "La Farfalletta" (The
Little Butterfly) from 15 Songs for Flute & Strings (2
Violins, Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC