Milano, 10 settembre 1828
Milano 10: S‹ette›mbre 28
Mio caro Florimo – Finalmente il santo solli soli tenori, che canteranno una strofa alla nazionale brettone; poi nel finire questa, sortiranno altre barchette da dove \ne/ canteranno un’altra le sole donne, ed in seguito altre, ove vi saranno i bassi, ed infine s’uniranno tutti col medesimo intercalare. Romani m’ha promesso il resto dell’introduzione per domani, e quindi avendola te la trascriverò.
tuo Bellini. Addio
À monsieur
monsieur Fraçois Florimo
au college de musique
à Naples
t. p. milano […] - nap 1828 | 18. set
61
12.
Milan, 10 September 1828
Vincenzo Bellini to Francesco Florimo. Letter.
Aut. I-Nc, Rari 4.3.6 (20). One bifolio, three sides plus address on the verso.
Ed. Florimo 1882 (published with the date 10 October), pp. 378-380; Cambi 1943, pp. 156-157; Neri 2005, pp. 106-107.
Milan 10 September 28
My dear Florimo - At long last that blessed Romani has finally given me the first chorus of the introduzione. Its setting is the lake of Montolino, which fills the entire stage save for one side where the castle of Montolino rests at its edge, completely illuminated, with a clearing close to the footlights in front of the castle. The chorus begins with one or two boats decorated with gold and garlands of flowers and bearing just the tenors, who sing a Breton-esque strophe; as this finishes more boats enter, first with only women who sing another strophe, then others with the basses, and finally they all sing the same refrain together. Romani has promised me the remainder of the introduzione for tomorrow, so when I have it in hand I'll transcribe it for you. Villa wants to cast a certain contralto, Fanò, for the part of Isoletta instead of Unger, and I'm looking into how well she sings to determine if the change works to my advantage. - Tamburini will be more than pleased with the part of Valdebourg, since he has some very demanding pieces that should encourage him to speak better of this part than the ones he's had in my other operas, and Lalande's part gives her every chance to make the most of her many talents. The same for the tenor, and Unger or the other singer as well. Meanwhile I've already written the chorus this morning, which I like a great deal, and if they sing in tune it should be effective. The setting for this scena is quite novel and sure to be a sensation with the Milanese public because it's just the sort of thing they like, given how much they always go for anything and everything original, and I'm trembling at the thought of having to scale new heights with this opera in Milan after Il pirata. The tunes for these verses are clear and graceful and they're all easy to remember, and once I set them with uncomplicated and harmonious instrumental support I'm hoping I'll have achieved what I want. I don't know if Gilardoni approached the introduzione this way, but no matter what he did, and however beautiful his libretto and Andreatini's music may be, at our absolute worst Romani and I will always do better, so we need not concern ourselves about losing any ground to them. - Winter doesn't attack me personally anymore because someone told him off, as I mentioned in my last letter. - Pollini's wife says an entire skein is not necessary, but to just gather a quantity of strands ranging from gross to fine based on the samples she sent, understood? - With that I have nothing more to tell you. My salutations to everyone. Remember me fondly, with a warm embrace from
your Bellini. Farewell
To monsieur
monsieur François Florimo
au college de musique
à Naples
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