Born in Catania, Sicily, Italy, Bellini was a child prodigy from a highly musical family and legend has it he could sing an air of Valentino Fioravanti at eighteen months, began studying music theory at two, the piano at three, and by the age of five could play well. His first composition dates from his sixth year. Regardless of the veracity of these claims, it is certain that Bellini grew up in a musical household and that a career as a musician was never in doubt.
Having learned from his grandfather, Bellini left provincial Catania in June 1819 to study at the conservatory in Naples, with a stipend from the municipal government of Catania. By 1822 he was in the class of the director Nicolò Zingarelli, studying the masters of the Neapolitan school and the orchestral works of Haydn and Mozart. It was the custom at the Conservatory to introduce a promising student to the public with a dramatic work: the result was Bellini's first opera Adelson e Salvini an opera semiseria that was presented at the Conservatory's theater. Bianca e Gernando met with some success at the Teatro San Carlo, leading to an offer from the impresario Barbaia for an opera at La Scala. Il pirata was a resounding immediate success and began Bellini's faithful and fruitful collaboration with the librettist and poet Felice Romani, and cemented his friendship with his favored tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini, who had sung in Bianca e Gernando.
Bellini spent the next years, 1827–33 in Milan, where all doors were open to him. Supported solely by his opera commissions, for La straniera (1828) was even more successful than Il pirata, sparking controversy in the press for its new style and its restless harmonic shifts into remote keys, he showed the taste for social life and the dandyism that Heinrich Heine emphasized in his literary portrait of Bellini (Florentinische Nächte, 1837). Opening a new theater in Parma, his Zaira (1829) was a failure at the Teatro Ducale, but Venice welcomed I Capuleti e i Montecchi, which was based on the same Italian sources as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
The next five years were triumphant, cut short by Bellini's premature death.
Bellini died in Puteaux, near Paris of acute inflammation of the intestine, and was buried in the cemetery of Père Lachaise, Paris; his remains were removed to the cathedral of Catania in 1876. The Museo Belliniano, Catania, preserves memorabilia and scores.
Bellini is best known for his opera Norma, the title role of which is considered one of the most difficult roles in the soprano repertoire. During the 20th century, only a small number of singers were able to sing it with success: Rosa Ponselle in the early 1920s, and later Joan Sutherland in the 1950s and 1960s. Maria Callas was the famous Norma of the postwar period; she performed it many times and recorded it in the studio twice.
Oh! Quante volte
Vincenzo Bellini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Here I am adorned... like a victim on the altar.
Oh! If only I could as if wounded fall
From the altar to the floor!
Oh wedding candles, you abhor me, so fatal
You are, ah! You are the candles on my deathbed.
I burn... a flame, a fire
Torments me.
I ask for a cool breeze, but in vain.
Where are you, Romeo? In which land?
Where, where should I send you my sighs?
Oh! How many times, oh, how many,
Did I ask the heavens for you, crying!
With such fervour I wait for you,
But my desire is in vain!
The light of your presence
Shines for me like daylight:
ch! The air that dances around me
Reminds me of your breath.
Eccomi in lieta vesta...
Eccomi adorna come vittima all'ara.
Oh! clmen potessi qual vittima
Cader dell'ara al piede!
O nuziali tede, abborrite così fatali,
Siate, ah, siate per me faci ferali.
crdo... una vampa,
Una foco tutta mi strugge.
(Si affaccia alla finestra, e ritorna.)
Un refrigerio ai venti io chiedo invano.
Ove sei tu, Romeo? In qual terra t'aggiri?
Dove, inviarti, dove i miei sospiri?
Oh, quante volte, oh quante
Ti chiedo al ciel piangendo!
Con quale ardor t'attendo,
E inganno il mio desir!
Raggio del tuo sembiante
ch! parmi il brillar del giorno:
ch! l'aura che spira intorno
Mi sembra un tuo sospir.
The lyrics to this aria from Vincenzo Bellini's opera, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, explore the emotions and desires of the character Juliet (whose name is sometimes changed to Giulietta in different productions) as she awaits the arrival of her love, Romeo.
In the first paragraph, Juliet describes her appearance, dressed in a joyful attire, perhaps in preparation for a wedding. However, she also feels like a victim waiting on an altar, implying the sense of sacrifice or fate that she is experiencing. She longs to fall from the altar, as if wounded, highlighting the intensity of her desires and emotions.
Juliet then addresses the wedding candles, expressing her abhorrence towards them. These candles symbolize the impending death that she associates with her marriage. She feels a burning flame inside her, tormenting her, further emphasizing the turmoil she is going through.
In the second paragraph, Juliet longs for a cool breeze, possibly as a metaphorical relief from her intense emotions, but she realizes it is in vain. She then starts calling out to Romeo, questioning his whereabouts. She wonders in which land he might be and to which place she should send her longing sighs, illustrating her yearning for his presence.
The third paragraph expresses how many times Juliet has cried out to the heavens, asking for Romeo. Her fervent desire for him is evident, but unfortunately, her longing remains unfulfilled. She compares the light of his presence to daylight, indicating its importance and brightness in her life. The air that dances around her serves as a reminder of his breath, further emphasizing the depth of her longing and how close she feels to him.
Overall, these lyrics depict Juliet's overwhelming emotions, her anticipation for Romeo's arrival, and the intense desire she feels for him. The imagery of sacrifice, death, flames, and longing adds to the dramatic and passionate nature of the aria.
Line by Line Meaning
Eccomi in lieta vesta...
Here I am adorned... like a victim on the altar.
Oh! clmen potessi qual vittima
Oh! If only I could as if wounded fall
Cader dell'ara al piede!
From the altar to the floor!
O nuziali tede, abborrite così fatali,
Oh wedding candles, you abhor me, so fatal
Siate, ah, siate per me faci ferali.
You are, ah! You are the candles on my deathbed.
crdo... una vampa,
I burn... a flame, a fire
Una foco tutta mi strugge.
Torments me.
(Si affaccia alla finestra, e ritorna.)
(She looks out of the window, and returns.)
Un refrigerio ai venti io chiedo invano.
I ask for a cool breeze, but in vain.
Ove sei tu, Romeo? In qual terra t'aggiri?
Where are you, Romeo? In which land?
Dove, inviarti, dove i miei sospiri?
Where, where should I send you my sighs?
Oh, quante volte, oh quante
Oh! How many times, oh, how many,
Ti chiedo al ciel piangendo!
Did I ask the heavens for you, crying!
Con quale ardor t'attendo,
With such fervour I wait for you,
E inganno il mio desir!
But my desire is in vain!
Raggio del tuo sembiante
The light of your presence
ch! parmi il brillar del giorno:
Shines for me like daylight:
ch! l'aura che spira intorno
ch! The air that dances around me
Mi sembra un tuo sospir.
Reminds me of your breath.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ned-nedkatelbizova
Великолепна!Красив звучен глас,овладяни височини с динамика…прекрасно с3!
Искам да я слушам ,слушам…
@normanzurich2781
Des aigus magnifiques ❤❤❤
@mariaarenas6005
Her singing gets better as she ages! That's truly amazing 😍
@jiale7865
太棒了🎉
@gustavochams8710
Wow! Just wow
@laprimmadonna2341
Gracias. Podrías compartir más vídeos de esta versión, si la tienes, por supuesto. ❤❤❤
@agostinocassio4182
Eccellente
@lizzyschroeder8115
Miss Lisette was fighting for her life trying to get the orchestra to follow her tempo!!! Beautiful singing aside from the orchestra <3
@majesticsunset8184
Not the orchestra but the maestro! They're just following him, I'm sure he was struggling down to get to the down beats of this beautiful rendition. He was also probably sweating waiting for the soprano wratch afterwards! 😂
@gloriadigiuseppeantonio3693
Brava ma il registro acuto e' dritto