Bellini, Vincenzo << behl LEE nee, veen CHEHN tsoh >> (1801-1835), was an Italian opera composer. His operas are noted for the emotional nature of their melodies, expertly created for highly trained singers.
Bellini was born on Nov. 1, 1801, in Catania, Sicily. His first opera and only comedy, Adelson e Salvini, was staged in 1825. The success of his next opera, Bianca e Gernando (1826), earned him a commission to compose for Italy’s leading opera house, La Scala, in Milan. Bellini then began a famous collaboration with Felice Romani, who wrote the librettos (words) for seven of his operas. The most popular are La Sonnambula (1831) and Norma (1831). Their success placed Bellini with Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti as the foremost opera composers of the day. I Puritani, one of Bellini’s finest works, was produced the year he died. He died on Sept. 23, 1835.
