BELLINI

bellini, vincenzo (1801-1835), operatic composer of the italian school, was born at catania in sicily, on the 1st of november 1801. he was descended from a family of musicians, both his father and grandfather having been composers of some reputation. after having received his preparatory musical education at home, he entered the conservatoire of naples, where he studied singing and composition under tritto and zingarelli. he soon began to write pieces for various instruments, as well as a cantata and several masses and other sacred compositions. his first opera, _adelson e savina_, was performed in 1825 at a small theatre in naples; his second dramatic work, _bianca e fernando_, was produced next year at the san carlo theatre of the same city, and made his name known in italy. his next work, _il pirata_ (1827), was written for the scala in milan, to words by felice romano, with whom bellini formed a union of friendship to be severed only by his death. the splendid rendering of the music by tamburini, rubini and other great italian singers contributed greatly to the success of the work, which at once established the european reputation of its composer. in almost every year of the short remainder of his life he produced a new operatic work, which was received with rapture by the audiences of france, italy, germany and england. the names and dates of four of bellini's operas familiar to most lovers of italian music are: _i montecchi e capuleti_ (1830), in which the part of romeo became a favourite with all the great contraltos; _la sonnambula_ (1831); _norma_, bellini's best and most popular creation (1831); and _i puritani_ (1835), written for the italian opera in paris, and to some extent under the influence of french music. in 1833 bellini had left his country to accompany to england the singer pasta, who had created the part of his _sonnambula_. in 1834 he accepted an invitation to write an opera for the national grand opera in paris. while he was carefully studying the french language and the cadence of french verse for the purpose, he was seized with a sudden illness and died at his villa in puteaux near paris on the 24th of september 1835. his operatic creations are throughout replete with a spirit of gentle melancholy, frequently monotonous and almost always undramatic, but at the same time irresistibly sweet. to this spirit, combined with a rich flow of _cantilena_, bellini's operas owe their popularity. "i shall never forget," wrote wagner, "the impression made upon me by an opera of bellini at a period when i was completely exhausted with the everlastingly abstract complication used in our orchestras, when a simple and noble melody was revealed anew to me." see also g. labat, _bellini_ (bordeaux, 1865); a. pougin, _bellini, sa vie et ses oeuvres_ (paris, 1868). bellinzona (ger. _belienz_), the political capital of the swiss canton of tessin or ticino. it is 105 m. from lucerne by the st gotthard railway, 19 m. from lugano and 14 m. from locarno at the head of the lago maggiore, these two towns having been till 1881 capitals of the canton jointly with bellinzona. the old town is built on some hills, on the left bank of the tessin or ticino river, and a little below the junction of the main ticino valley (the val leventina) with that of mesocco. it thus blocked the road from germany to italy, while a great wall was built from the town to the river bank. bellinzona still possesses three picturesque castles (restored in modern times), dating in their present form from the 15th century. they belonged for several centuries to the three swiss cantons which were masters of the town. the most westerly, castello grande or of san michele, belonged to uri; the central castle, that of montebello, was the property of schwyz; while the most easterly castle, that of sasso corbaro, was in the hands of unterwalden. the 13th-century church of san biagio (blaise) has a remarkable 14th-century fresco, while the collegiate church of san stefano dates from the 16th century. in 1900 the population of bellinzona was 4949, practically all romanists and italian-speaking. possibly bellinzona is of roman origin, but it is first mentioned in 590. it played a considerable part in the early history of lombardy, being a key to several alpine passes. in the 8th century it belonged to the bishop of como, while in the 13th and 14th centuries it was tossed to and fro between the cities of milan and como. in 1402 it was taken from milan by albert von sax, lord of the val mesocco, who in 1419 sold it to uri and obwalden, which, however, lost it to milan in 1422 after the battle of arbedo. in 1499 (like the rest of the milanese) it was occupied by the french, but in 1500 it was taken by uri. in 1503 the french king ceded it to uri, schwyz and unterwalden, which henceforth ruled it very harshly through their bailiffs till 1798. at that date it became the capital of the canton bellinzona of the helvetic republic, but in 1803 it was united to the newly-formed canton of tessin. (w. a. b. c.)