La sonnambula
La sonnambula is an Italian opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini, first performed at La Scala in Milan, on March 6, 1831, libretto by Felice Romani, after Eugène Sribe's ballet-pantomime La somnanbule. Bellini's most pastoral work, it was an immediate success and is still regularly performed.
Principal roles and voice types
- Amina - soprano
- Elvino - tenor
- Count Rodolfo - bass
- Lisa - soprano
- Teresa - mezzo-soprano
Discography
- 1952: Lina Pagliughi (Amina), Ferruccio Tagliavini (Elvino), Cesare Siepi (Rodolfo), Wanda Ruggeri (Lisa), Anna Maria Anelli (Teresa); Coro e Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI di Torino, Franco Capuana - (Preiser Records)
- 1955: Maria Callas (Amina), Cesare Valletti (Elvino), Giuseppe Modesti (Rodolfo), Eugenia Ratti (Lisa), Gabriella Carturan (Teresa); Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Leonard Bernstein - (EMI Classics)
- 1957: Maria Callas (Amina), Nicola Monti (Elvino), Nicola Zaccaria (Rodolfo), Eugenia Ratti (Lisa), Fiorenza Cossotto (Teresa); Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Antonino Votto - (EMI Classics)
- 1962: Joan Sutherland (Amina), Nicola Monti (Elvino), Fernando Corena (Rodolfo), Sylvia Stahlman (Lisa), Margreta Elkins (Teresa); Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Richard Bonynge - (Decca)
- 1980: Joan Sutherland (Amina), Luciano Pavarotti (Elvino), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Rodolfo), Isobel Buchanan (Lisa), Della Jones (Teresa); London Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge - (Decca)
- 2006: Natalie Dessay (Amina), Francesco Meli (Elvino), Carlo Colombara (Rodolfo), Sara Mingardo (Lisa), Jael Azzaretti (Teresa); Chœur et Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Lyon, Evelino Pido - (Virgin Classics)
- 2008: Cecilia Bartoli (Amina), Juan Diego Flórez (Elvino), Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (Rodolfo), Gemma Bertagnolli (Lisa), Liliana Nikiteanu (Teresa); Chor des Opernhauses Zürich, Orchestra La Scintilla, Alessandro de Marchi - (L'Oiseau-Lyre)
La Sonnambula Media
Ah! non credea mirarti / Sì presto estinto, o fiore("I did not believe you would fade so soon, oh flower").This text from act 2, scene 2, of La sonnambula appears on Bellini's tomb in Catania
Vincenzo Belliniby Natale Schiavoni
Giuditta Pasta as Amina, May 1831 premiere
- Giovanni Battista Rubini Portrait.jpg
Tenor GiovanniBattista Rubinisang Elvino
Jenny Lind in La sonnambula, 1840s
Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani as Amina by Karl Bryullov, 1834
Elisa Taccani, who created the role of Lisa, by Giuseppe Cornienti
Alessandro Sanquirico's set design for act 2 scene 1
- La-Sonnambula-Alessandro-Sanquirico-2.jpg
Alessandro Sanquirico's set design for the act. 2 scene 2 sleepwalking scene for the premiere production
Reference
- The Complete Dictionary of Opera & Operetta, James Anderson, Wings Books, 1993.
