Beatrice di Tenda: Bellini

Today's audiences often find it difficult to comprehend what makes Vincenzo Bellini's operas remarkable. Works like Beatrice Di Tenda were not rediscovered and staged until the second half of the 20th century. Bellini's credo was, "I want to move to tears....". This sympathetic treatment of the text led his contemporaries to describe Bellini's music as 'filosofica'. Even Richard Wagner acknowledged this when he said, "Bellini's music comes from the heart and closely follows the text." The premiere of the opera was given at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice on 16 March 1873 and was an abysmal failure. Shouts of "Norma! Norma!" were heard from the gallery, which was a clear indication that the audience missed the belcanto style in Beatrice Di Tenda. In his new opera Bellini did not continue, as he did in Norma, with the virtuosity and colortura artistry of the voices but explored a new way of musical expression, which brought to the fore a new warmth and different characteristics. Although Beatrice Di Tenda is not one of Bellini's most successful operas, the title role is a popular showpiece among sopranos.