Travel tips for opera lovers – Milan and Bellini

Bellini in Milan

The series about historical places of opera art & culture. Get to know exciting excursion and travel ideas for opera lovers. This time: Bellini in Milan.

All Destinations on google maps with links to detailed Blogposts:

Bellini in Milan

Milan was Vincenzo Bellini’s most important artistic station. The impresario Barbaja arranged the contact with the main librettist of La Scala, Felice Romani, who, with the exception of “I Puritani”, was to write all of Bellini’s subsequent libretti.

The first opera “Il pirata” hit Milan like a bomb and Bellini wrote six operas for La Scala and the Carcano in the next 4 years. In Milan he also came into contact with 2 of the 3 Giudittas who played an important role in his life. On the one hand, it concerned the affair with the married Turina (which was blown up because of an intercepted letter) and, on the other hand, the artistic (and probably private) partnership with the famous Giuditta Pasta.

Bellini moved skillfully in the aristocratic Milanese salons and quickly created a network of relationships. However, this did not protect him from the greatest disgrace of his career, the scandalous premiere of his “Norma” at La Scala (more about this in the excursus below).

Destination Museo teatrale alla scala

In this interesting and extensive opera museum right next to the opera house is the famous portrait of Bellini by Carlo Arienti, painted in Milan in 1831.

Painting of Bellini:

https://www.museoscala.org/

Musical background: The fiasco of the Milan premiere of Norma

The premiere at La Scala in Milan was a fiasco. The performance is said to have suffered because the singers were exhausted from rehearsals, and Bellini also complained of a hostile claque. Romantic conspiracy theories even spoke of a paid intrigue by an ex-lover of Bellini’s, the Russian Countess Samoylov, who was allegedly involved with Bellini’s rival Pacini at the time. She is said to have bought an enormous number of tickets and advertisements in daily newspapers. Possibly the audience was simply surprised by the novelty of the opera. Already the second performance brought the breakthrough and Norma was performed thirty-one more times in the same season of La Scala. It quickly began its triumphal march across Europe.

Listen to the excerpt “Mira o Norma”. It is perhaps Bellini’s most beautiful and best known duet, sung by the two female voices of Norma and Adalgisa. Bellini has the orchestra play a swaying accompaniment in the first part and an intimate melody touches the listener. Then the two priestesses sing the voices with beautiful ornamentation in the enchanting interval of thirds. In the premiere, the two famous singers Giuditta Pasta and Giulia Grisi sang the two roles.

«Mira o Norma»