Vincenzo Bellini
La Sonnambula
LIVE IN HD
Overview
Following triumphant Live in HD performances in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Verdi’s La Traviata, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Nadine Sierra summits another peak of the soprano repertoire as Amina, who sleepwalks her way into audiences’ hearts in Bellini’s poignant tale of love lost and found. In his new production, Rolando Villazón—the tenor who has embarked on a brilliant second career as a director—retains the opera’s original setting in the Swiss Alps but uses its somnambulant plot to explore the emotional and psychological valleys of the mind. Tenor Xabier Anduaga co-stars as Amina’s fiancé, Elvino, alongside soprano Sydney Mancasola as her rival, Lisa, and bass Alexander Vinogradov as Count Rodolfo. Riccardo Frizza takes the podium for one of opera’s most ravishing works, which will be transmitted live from the Met stage to cinemas on October 18. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.
English StreamText captioning is available for the Met’s transmission of La Sonnambula here. A transcript of the transmission will also be available to view after the live performance.
A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra de Nice Côte d’Azur, Semperoper Dresden, and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
SUNG IN
ITALIAN
Timeline
Timeline for the show, La Sonnambula
ESTIMATED RUN TIME
3 HRS 15 MINS, WITH ONE INTERMISSION
Cast
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World premiere: Teatro Carcano, Milan, 1831. This operatic gem from one of the great masters of melody is a benchmark of extraordinary vocalism. The title role of the sleepwalking girl was composed for the greatest diva of the day, Giuditta Pasta (for whom Bellini also wrote the tragic role of Norma). The part requires a rare combination of innocence, charm, and breathtaking vocal virtuosity. Deeper than a comedy, but in no way a tragedy, La Sonnambula reaches its conclusion through genuine, poignant character development, rather than by intrigue or farce.
Creators
Vincenzo Bellini (1801–35) was a Sicilian composer who possessed an extraordinary gift for melody and a thorough understanding of the human voice. His meteoric career was cut short by his death at the age of 33, shortly after his opera I Puritani triumphed in its Parisian premiere. Bellini’s frequent collaborator Felice Romani (1788–1865) was the official librettist of Milan’s Teatro alla Scala. The original source of the drama was a ballet-pantomime by Eugène Scribe (1791–1861), the prolific French dramatist who also provided libretti for composers including Meyerbeer, Verdi, and Donizetti.
Production
Rolando Villazón
Set Designer
Johannes Leiacker
Costume Designer
Brigitte Reiffenstuel
Lighting Designer
Donald Holder
Projection Designer
Renaud Rubiano
Choreographer
Leah Hausman
Composer
Vincenzo Bellini
Setting
The opera is set in a village in the Swiss Alps, a deliberately fabled yet plausible setting that reflects the story’s balance between realism and dream time.
Music
The soloists and chorus interact often in this opera, an unusual feature of Bellini’s works and one that successfully reflects the idea of a tight village community. This serves as the background for the solos and duets, in which Bellini achieves a remarkable mastery of vocal expression. The great final scene for the soprano with the cantabile “Ah! non credea mirarti” and the cabaletta “Ah! non giunge uman pensiero” has long been famous as a concert and recital piece, but only within the context of the opera does it reveal Bellini’s dramatic accomplishment. It is an astounding depiction of a young girl’s emerging personality.
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