Vincenzo Bellini’s “La Sonnambula,” the composer’s famous opera about a sleepwalking girl in 19th-century Switzerland, will return to the Metropolitan Opera on March 14 in a revival of Mary Zimmerman’s 2009 production, which thrusts the story into the present day and received boos from the audience when it premiered, with one critic asking the question: “Why stage an opera you don’t like or trust?”
Known for his expressionistic vocal melodies, Bellini is often associated with the bel canto style of Italian opera, along with Gioachino Rossini and others. Born into a middle-class family, Bellini was a child prodigy and began studying the masters at an early age. During his life, he was known as something of a dandy, and reportedly had affairs with some of the leading divas of the day, including Giulia Grisi and Maria Malibran. Scholars have also discovered a collection of letters that point towards Bellini’s possible relationship with Francesco Florimo, a musicologist and his closest friend. In one letter, he clearly declares his feelings: “My love for you has become necessary for my very existence.” This is a matter of debate among scholars, however, because of Florimo’s role as the keeper of all Bellini’s papers after his tragic death in 1835. Many believe Florimo may have burned some of the correspondence, and forged others, in an attempt to shape the legacy of his friend.
“La Sonnambula” premiered at the Teatro Carcano in Milan in 1831 and was an immediate success, with Giuditta Pasta in the lead role. Maria Callas famously performed the role in a 1955 production at La Scala, directed by Luchino Visconti and conducted by Leonard Bernstein.
In the new production, Diana Damrau will sing in the role of Amina, the sleepwalking girl. Damrau has become a regular on the Met stage following her debut in 2005 as Zerbinetta in Richard Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos.” She will be joined by Mexican tenor Javier Camarena as Elvino and Italian bass Michele Pertusi as Rodolfo. Marco Armiliato, another regular of the Met stage, with 300 operas under his belt, will conduct.
