Customer Reviews

Bellini: Life, Times, Music (1801-35)

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Here is a new biograpy (at last) of the superb Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini written with intelligence and care of purpose. Bellini's life is unfolded sequentially from his birth in Catania in 1801 to his death in Paris in 1835. I very much like the way Mr. Galatapoulos sets up the chapters giving the details of Vincenzo's life as he was writing a particular opera, then the performance of the opera with reviews and stories of the cast, then the story of the opera itself, then a musical examination of the work and finally suggested recordings. It is on that last detail that he gets in trouble with the previous reviewer regarding Mdme.Callas but to me that is small detail. The opera world brims over with Callasistas and after all Mr. Galatapoulos IS Greek. Vincenzo never minded sharing the spotlight with a great soprano! The author uses that same chapter-set-up for each of the eleven operas Bellini wrote and it gives the book an agreeable rhythm. I appreciated the close examination of Bellini's lifelong relationship with Francesco Florimo which I felt was done in a very even handed way. And I also appreciated the author's reluctance to speculate on several parts of Bellini's life where there is no historical record to support it. I found myself wanting more social and political ambience in order to frame out that interesting period of Italian history in which Bellini lived. But no matter, I found this book to be informative and compelling and it re-inforced my love for this short-lived genius who poured out some the most sublime music of the 19th Century.