Milano, 3 gennaio 1831
Milano 3. del 1831
Avete mille ragioni che il prezzo della cera che mi scriveste è 48: e 49: Aus‹tria›che, ma non sò come mi si ficcò in testa quel 46: basta da
Vostro affsmo amico
Bellini
Vi prego quando mi scrivete di non mettere alcuna direzione sul sopra scritto: il solo più nome e non altro. – Vi ringrazio delle notizie teatrali, e comprendo che
Vedendo la famiglia
142
17.
Milan, 3 January 1831
Vincenzo Bellini to Giovanni Battista Perucchini. Letter.
Aut. I-Vmc, Bernardi 58. One bifolio, two sides without address.
Ed. Salvioli, pp. 7-9; Cambi 1943, pp. 264-266; Neri 2005, pp. 180-181.
Milan 3 [January] 1831
My dear Perucchini
You're right a thousand times over that the price for the [sealing] wax is 48 or 49 Austrian [svanziche], although somehow I thought it was 46; be that as it may, you'll receive 46 1/2 svanziche from Papadopoli , and if he has an account with someone [I could pay here] in Milan he might advance you the other two lire, otherwise I am in your debt. - You'll have heard by now about the results of Capuleti, but I wanted to provide you with some detail. I didn't write you after the first evening because they could not have done a more miserable job with my poor opera. Even if it managed to be somewhat convincing and the public called for me to take a bow, I was so angry I had no desire to appear onstage. However, as a direct effect of that disappointing start, things got better in the days to follow, and now the impresari are relieved to see their large hall always filled to capacity — indeed, while the newspaper critics, in particular Pezzi and Previdali, would have the opera fall far short of Vaccaj's, for some strange reason the public is anything but bored by something apparently so insipid and vacuous. But let's move on. As far as I'm concerned, the opera seems half as effective as it was in Venice: whether due to the larger theatre, or the way Rolla stretches the tempi, or the fact that the two female voices lack synergy in the ensemble pieces because they both are mezzosoprani, or because Grisi is disadvantaged by the size of the hall, the fact is that in the end I no longer hear the Capuleti of Venice. Yet the theatre is always packed, and the applause no less abundant.
Madame Schütz sings quite well: she has a lovely voice and tasteful delivery, and with a convincing Italian pronunciation to boot. One could not hope for better from her scena and romanza, both of which she performs so impressively that I am as surprised as anyone. This may be because her voice is more robust, since Caradori sang wonderfully well but her voice was quite small. - Be advised that I'm no longer doing Ernani. The story would have suffered at the hands of the censors, so Romani dropped it to avoid any trouble and he's now writing La sonnambula or I due fidanzati svizzeri, for which I've begun just yesterday to compose the introduzione. You see how I'm forced yet again to write this opera in so little time, since it's scheduled to open on 20 February at the latest. - I leave you now with my best wishes for the new year and a hundred more, etc., and please extend them to your dear old folks, the Ciccopieri, Cicognara, Spaur, Turn, and Treves families, and all of our friends as well. Accept my warm embrace, and believe me always
Your most affectionate friend
Bellini
Please don't add any address when you write to me: just my name and nothing else. - My thanks for your theatrical news. I understand how Velluti needs to secure a dignified position for himself in some chapel choir and spare the beleaguered eyes and ears of the general public, because he's no longer strong enough to hold his own on stage. -
Extend my regards to the Levis family if you see them.