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Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was an Italian opera composer,〔Lippmann and McGuire 1998, in Sadie, p. 389〕 who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania".〔Giovanni (no surname provided) to "Uncle Ignazio" ("identified as Ignazio Giuffrida-Moschetti, Catanese friend of Bellini" in Weinstock), 18 January 1832, quoted in Weinstock 1971, pp. 109—110: the actual original wording was "the Swan of Sicily, or to phrase it better, of Catania".〕 Many years later, in 1898, Giuseppe Verdi "praised the broad curves of Bellini's melody: 'there are extremely long melodies as no-one else had ever made before' "〔Verdi to Camille Belaigue, 2 May 1898, Lippmann & McGuire 1998, in Sadie, p. 392〕 A large amount of what is known about Bellini's life and his activities comes from surviving letters—except for a short period—which were written over his lifetime to his friend Francesco Florimo, whom he had met as a fellow student in Naples and with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship. Other sources of information come from correspondence saved by other friends and business acquaintances. Bellini was the quintessential composer of the Italian ''bel canto'' era of the early 19th century and his work has been summed up by the London critic Tim Ashley as: :...also hugely influential, as much admired by other composers as he was by the public. Verdi raved about his "long, long, long melodies....." Wagner, who rarely liked anyone but himself, was spellbound by Bellini's almost uncanny ability to match music with text and psychology. Liszt and Chopin professed themselves fans. Of the 19th-century giants, only Berlioz demurred. Those musicologists who consider Bellini to be merely a melancholic tunesmith are now in the minority.〔Tim Ashley, ("Opera must make you weep and die" ), ''The Guardian'' (London), 1 November 2001.〕 In considering which of his operas can be seen to be his greatest successes over the almost two hundred years since his death, ''Il pirata'' laid much of the groundwork in 1827, achieving very early recognition in comparison to Donizetti's having written thirty operas before his major 1830 triumph with ''Anna Bolena''. Both ''I Capuleti ed i Montecchi'' at La Fenice in 1830 and ''La sonnambula'' in Milan in 1831 reached new triumphal heights, although initially ''Norma'', given at La Scala in 1831 did not fare as well until later performances elsewhere. "The genuine triumph"〔Lippmann & McGuire 1998, in Sadie, pp. 389—390〕 of ''I puritani'' in January 1835 in Paris capped a significant career. Certainly, ''Capuleti'', ''La sonnambula'', ''Norma'', and ''I puritani'' are regularly performed today.〔(List of "671 performances of 146 productions in 95 cities" on Operabase, from 1 January 2012 into 2015 ) on operabase.com. Retrieved 24 June 2014〕 After his initial success in Naples, most of the rest of his short life was spent outside of both Sicily and Naples, those years being followed with his living and composing in Milan and Northern Italy, and—after a visit to London—then came his final masterpiece in Paris, 'I puritani'. Only nine months later, Bellini died in Puteaux, France at the age of 33. ==Catania: Early life== Born in Catania, at the time part of the Kingdom of Sicily, the eldest〔Weinstock 1971, "1801—1819" pp. 4—13〕 of seven children in the family, he became a child prodigy within a highly musical family. His grandfather, Vincenzo Tobia Bellini, had studied at the conservatory in Naples and, in Catania from 1767 forward, had been an organist and teacher, as had Vincenzo's father, Rosario.〔 An anonymous twelve-page hand-written history, held in Catania's Museo Belliniano, states that he could sing an aria by Valentino Fioravanti at eighteen months, that he began studying music theory at two years of age and the piano at three.〔Weinstock 1971, pp. 5—6 refers to "an anonymous précis of his life, twelve handwritten pages" held in Catania's Museo Belliniaro〕 By the age of five, he could apparently play "marvelously".〔Quoted by Lippmann & McGuire 1998, p. 389, which also references the anonymous précis.〕 The document states that Bellini's first five pieces were composed when he was just six years old and "at seven he was taught Latin, modern languages, rhetoric, and philosophy".〔 Author Herbert Weinstock regards some of these accounts as no more than myths, not being supported from other, more reliable sources. Additionally, he makes the point in regard to Bellini's apparent knowledge of languages and philosophy: "Bellini never became a well-educated man".〔 One critic, Stellios Galatopoulos, deliberates the "facts" presented in the précis, but also provides a reliable source for these compositions, Galatopoulos expresses some skepticism regarding the young Bellini's child prodigy status.〔Galatopoulos 2002, p.16—23〕 After 1816, Bellini began living with his grandfather, from whom he received his first music lessons. Soon after, the young composer began to write compositions. Among them were the nine ''Versetti da cantarsi il Venerdi Santo'', eight of which were based on texts by Metastasio. By 1818, Bellini had independently completed several additional orchestral pieces. He was ready for further study. For well-off students, this would include moving to Naples. While his family wasn't wealthy enough to support that lifestyle, Bellini's growing reputation could not be overlooked. His break came when Stefano Notabartolo, the duca di San Martino e Montalbo and his duchess, became the new intendente of the province of Catania. They encouraged the young man to petition the city fathers for a stipend to support his musical studies. This was successfully achieved in May 1819 with unanimous agreement for a four-year pension to allow him to study at the Real Collegio di Musica di San Sebastiano in Naples. Thus, he left Catania in July carrying letters of introduction to several powerful individuals, including Giovanni Carafa who was the ''intendente'' of the Real Collegio as well as being in charge of the city's royal theatres. The young Bellini was to live in Naples for the following eight years.〔Weinstock 1971, p. 12〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Vincenzo Bellini」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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