Study Guide
Study Guide Contents
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Beginner's Guide to Opera
- Who's Who At the Opera
- The Lyric Opera House
- BOC Education Programs
- A Bibliography of Selected Readings
- Education Resources
2007-2008 SEASON
2006-2007 SEASON
2005-2006 SEASON
2004-2005 SEASON
2003-2004 SEASON
2002-2003 SEASON
PREVIOUS OPERAS
La Sonnambula
The Sleepwalker
Melodramma in two acts
Music – Vincenzo Bellini (Veen-CEHN-tso Behl-LEE-nee)
b. 3 November 1801, Catania , Sicily
d. 23 September 1835, Puteaux, Paris
Libretto – Felice Romani, after the scenario by Eugène Scribe for Jean-Pierre Aumer's ballet La somnambule, ou L'arrivee d'un nouveau seigneur (1827) (music by Ferdinand Hérold)
Composed January-March 1831
Premiere: 6 March 1831, Teatro Carcano, Milan
US Premiere: 13 November 1835, Park Theater , New York
Principal Characters:
Amina (Ah-MEE-nah), Soprano – an orphan
Elvino (Ehl-VEE-noh ), Tenor – Amina's fiancé
Conte Rodolfo (Cohn-te Roh-DOHL-foh), Bass – lord of the region
Teresa (Teh-REH-ZAH), Mezzo Soprano – Amina's friend
Lisa (LEE-ZAH), Soprano – hostess of the local inn
Alessio (Ah-LEHS-syo), Bass – a peasant in love with Lisa
La Sonnambula (lah sohn-NAHM-boo-lah) takes place in a Swiss village in the early 19 th century.
- The Opera at a Glance
- About the Composer – Vincenzo Bellini
- About the Librettist – Felice Romani
- The Story
- Somnambulism: A Link between Dreams and Madness?
- La Sonnambula’s tenors and their discontents
- Perspectives on an Aria: "Ah, non credea mirarti"
- Rubini, the tenor
- What is bel canto?
- The Operas of Bellini
- Discography