The Life of Bellini (Musical Lives)
Editorial Reviews
Review
'It is several years since the most recent life of Vincenzo Bellini appeared in English, so John Rosselli's compact biography is highly welcome ... his comments on the music are pertinent and perceptive ... Rosselli convincingly challenges much of the established evidence for Bellini's career.' Charles Osborne, BBC Music Magazine
'... a book which significantly adjusts our understanding of the composer's character and objectives. It is penned with unusual elegance and wit, its comparative economy disguising a piece of important and original research.' Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards Book Jury
'This is the first in what promises to be a valuable series of composer-biographies ... No-one is better qualified to set the material in proper perspective than John Rosselli. As in his previous books he brings to his subject all the skills of a professional historian ... the book is a triumph, and one which leaves its successors in the series much to live up to.' Julian Budden, Opera
Book Description
Vincenzo Bellini's physical beauty, boundless success, and untimely death at the age of thirty-three combined to give him instant mythical status. In John Rosselli's new account, the first in English in twenty-five years, of his life and music, a more accurate view of Bellini emerges. Carefully sorting through fact, legend and even spurious documentation, Rosselli reassesses Bellini's personality, his relationships, and his short but dazzling career in Naples, Milan and Paris. He introduces the operatic world of the early nineteenth century, the singers of Bellini's roles, and, above all he explains the writing and performance of the operas themselves. What emerges from this level-headed biography is a portrait of an otherwise normal young man with uncommon musical gifts.
The Life of Bellini (Musical Lives),John Rosselli,Cambridge University Press,0521467810,1801-1835,Bellini, Vincenzo,,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,Biography/Autobiography,Composers,Composers & Musicians - Classical Composers,Composers & Musicians - General,General,Italy,Music,Bellini, Vincenzo,--1801-1835,Composers & musicians,Music / General
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