The Sleepwalker by Bellini, From (2023/2023), Directed by Jaco van Dormael, Michèle Anne De Mey, Conductor Giampaolo Bisanti

“From time immemorial, no doubt, men and women had walked in their sleep and said strange things; these behaviors had to be explained by invoking supernatural causes, evil spirits, mysterious gifts, divine or diabolical possessions: once again, a matter of defective judgments. » Pierre Enckell In a Swiss village in the 19th century , a mysterious specter prowls every night. When we find the beautiful Amina sleeping in the bed of Count Rodolfo, passing through Lisa's inn, she is accused of adultery. She defends herself with force. But her promised, Elvino, furious, breaks off the engagement. Will the villagers find that the wandering ghost is none other than the beautiful and innocent sleepwalker? A few ingredients skillfully put into verse by the brilliant Felice Romani based on an argument by Eugène Scribe are enough to give Bellini's belcanto sublime wings. The touching pastoral idyll, populated by festive villagers, featuring the beautiful and tender somnambulist, Amina, diaphanous like a Chopin nocturne, could not fail to hit the mark, in 1831, when the world was passionate about strange phenomena and sleepwalking, in particular. Intended for the stars of the stages, Giuditta Pasta and Giovanni Rubini, the masterpiece, quintessence of Bellini's vocal art and crowned with a fine lieto , a happy ending, displays a lyricism that culminates in the famous cavatina of Amina "Ah! Non credea mirarti” where the desperate heroine, unjustly accused of infidelity, believes she feels her death is near… some unforgettable notes which will appear on the tomb of Vincenzo Bellini in Catania, he who died early at the age of 34.