Born in Catania, Nov 3, 1801
Died in Puteaux, near Paris, Sept 23, 1835
- If we are to believe a hyperbolic early biography of Bellini, the composer was able to sing an entire aria at the age of 18 months, and at the age of 3 years, he subbed for his grandfather as a church choir conductor.
- Bellini studied music at the Real Collegio di Musica in Naples, where his training as a vocal composer involved writing solfeggi (wordless bel canto vocal exercises). This practice helped him develop a strong sense of idiomatic vocal writing.
- Bellini moved to Milan in 1827 to write for La Scala. He collaborated with La Scala’s resident librettist, Felice Romani, for all but the last of his subsequent operas (even when writing for other opera houses).1
Short biography from the Royal Opera House
Sources
- Friedrich Lippmann, Mary Ann Smart, and Simon Maguire, “Bellini, Vincenzo,” Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press, 2001), accessed September 10, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000002603.