Bellini's Adelson e Salvini, Barbican Hall
Opera Rara performs Bellini's early opera, set in Ireland, which is now all but forgotten, despite showing many of the hallmarks of his later triumphs
Bellini is best known for his stirring opera Norma, but this earlier opera, Adelson e Salvini, was such a hit at its first performance in 1825, when the composer was still studying in Naples, that was it was repeated every Sunday for a year. Opera Rara, the company that unearths unjustly forgotten works such as this, often to great acclaim, give a single performance of Adelson e Salvini, but is also recording it. The story is based on the novellas of Baculard d’Arnaud, Les Épreuves du sentiment, but its inspiration was not only literary: Bellini is thought to have put everything into his composition in order to impress the parents of a singer with whom he had fallen in love. Adelson e Salvini depicts a classic love triangle: Salvini is an Italian painter who, visiting his patron Lord Adelson, falls in love with his benefactor's fiancée, Nelly. Italian mezzo-soprano Daniela Barcellona sings Nelly, with Sicilian-born tenor Enea Scala as Salvini, Bologna-born baritone Simone Alberghini as Lord Adelson, and the rising British mezzo-soprano Kathryn Rudge as Fanny. Soloists, choir and the BBC Symphony Orchestra are conducted by Daniele Rustioni
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What | Bellini's Adelson e Salvini, Barbican Hall |
Where | Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS | MAP |
Nearest tube | Barbican (underground) |
When |
On 11 May 16, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM |
Price | £12 - £40 |
Website | http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=17510 |