Adelson e Salvini, opera
AMG AllMusic Guide to Classical Music :
Top
Adelson e Salvini, opera
- Date: 1825
- Composer: Vincenzo Bellini
- Period: Romantic (1820-1869)
Review
Adelson e Salvini was Bellini's earliest opera. It was performed at the Real Collegio di Musica di San Sebastiano in Naples in 1825 to the popular acclaim of the student body. It was so popular that it had repeat performances all through 1825, and Gaetano Donizetti is said to have been among the admiring audience at the time. But it is unlikely that it was ever performed elsewhere. Although interesting from the standpoint of music history, and certainly a promising work by a young composer, Adelson e Salvini does not display all the later characteristics which made Bellini famous and brought him renown. The best of the opera's music was not wasted, however, for Bellini was able to use many of his early musical ideas in his later operas. I Capuletti e I Montecchi, La Straniera, Il Pirata, and Bianca e Fernando all benefited from the adaptation and reuse of music from Adelson e Salvini.The libretto was taken from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola for an opera by Valentino Fioravanti also called Adelson e Salvini. The original cast was all male, although the story contains two love triangles. The opera was revised later and all of the spoken dialogue replaced with sung recitativo, but the revision was probably never performed. In Tottola's original libretto, the character of Bonifacio is a buffo character who sings in Neapolitan dialect. Comic characters and entire comic operas were often written in dialect at that time, and developed into humorous situations. Unfortunately, Bellini was not by nature a writer of comedy, and so the character doesn't come across as any different than the rest of the cast. Salvini's character also has possibility in the libretto. He is an ardent, passionate, uncontrollable Italian, and his role could be expanded to add life to the plot. But Bellini at this point was inexperienced as a creator of good theater, and none of the characters are adequately developed.
The apocrypha surrounding the creation of Bellini's student opera concerns his love for a certain Maddalena Fumaroli. A daughter of a well known jurist, she had begun taking singing lessons with the young composer, and the two fell madly in love. Her parents disapproved of the match, and so the singing lessons were halted. Bellini labored over his opera with the hopes that, should he prove successful, Maddalena's parents would consent to their marriage. When the opera was well received, he again applied for her hand, but was adamantly rejected by her family. ~ Rita Laurance, Rovi
Albums with Complete Performances of the Work
| Title | Date |
| Bellini Adelson & Salvini | |
| Bellini: Adelson e Salvini | |
| Bellini: Operas [Box Set] | |
| Vincenzo Bellini: Adelson & Salvini | |
| Vincenzo Bellini: Complete Operas [Box Set] |
Albums with Excerpt Performances of the Work
| Adelita, mazurka for guitar | |
| Adelstrop, for soprano (voice) & piano |
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
AMG AllMusic Guide to Classical Music
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Read more