La Sonnambula is an opera where Bellini’s music shines with a supernatural beauty and great vocal demands. Key moments such as the duet between Elvino and Amina, the first sleepwalking scene, and the final aria are examples of the lyrical beauty and technical difficulty of the work. The role of Amina is one of the most demanding in the repertoire, only accessible to privileged voices. In this production, the lead role is performed by Nadine Sierra, one of the best current light sopranos, accompanied by a highly talented cast.
Act I. Elvino, Amina
«Prendi, l’anel ti dono»
The day before their wedding, Elvino and Amina meet to exchange their engagement rings. In this delightful duet between the two lovers, Elvino takes Amina’s hand and gives her his mother’s ring, which will play a crucial role in the story’s outcome. The tenor’s vocal line is pure bel canto: a charming, airy melody that Amina echoes in the same register until both voices blend in a celestial union. This passage sets the lyrical and delicate tone for the music that follows.
Act I. Rodolfo, Amina, chours
«Che veggio?»
After flirting with Lisa, Count Rodolfo senses a strange presence in the room: it is Amina, who has entered while sleepwalking. Lisa hides, terrified, but Rodolfo realizes that Amina is sleepwalking and unaware of where she is. In this moment of suspended rationality, the music becomes ethereal, and in Amina’s passage, there is an abundance of high notes of great difficulty. The first sleepwalking scene, soon joined by the chorus, marks the first major dramatic moment of the opera.
Act II. Amina
«Ah! Non credea mirarti»
In this poignant aria, Amina expresses her sorrow after being rejected by Elvino. Believing she has lost his love forever, her voice takes on a plaintive, melancholic tone, with a melody of transparent beauty that stands as one of the most sublime moments in all of bel canto. Bellini, a master of melodic line, composes a floating, almost suspended melody that perfectly conveys Amina’s fragility and sadness.
On stage
La sonnambula was the seventh of the ten operas Bellini composed and, as had happened since the premiere of his third opera, Il pirata (1827), the success was instant once it premiered. However, with this particular opera, something new occurred in the composer’s meteoric career: its impact wasn’t limited to Milan, or even the Italian peninsula, but it immediately became an opera that was demanded in various parts of the world, from London to Barcelona, passing through Buenos Aires and New York. In large part, this triumph was inevitable, as Bellini’s style was the most sought-after of his time and he had quickly risen to the position of undisputed heir to Rossini. Nevertheless, the international expansion of an opera before reaching America was a less predictable fact, which, in this case, was due to the melodic beauty of the score and the charisma of the first interpreters of the leading role, sopranos Giuditta Pasta and María Malibrán, two of the foremost divas of the early 19th century. In fact, even today, the role of Amina is considered one of the most difficult in the entire repertoire, only attainable by privileged voices during a very specific phase of their career, in which the agility of youth and the technique gained only through experience coincide. It could be said that 100% of not only the good progress of a performance but also the possibility of representing this opera with a minimum level of quality depends on the soprano.
In the Liceu performances, this responsibility will fall on Nadine Sierra, a star who in recent seasons has reaffirmed the upward trajectory she had already shown for years and has now reached a point where she is considered one of the best light voices of her generation, a prodigy of technique and emotion with an enchanting timbre that has elevated her to the throne of contemporary bel canto. Out of the seven performances scheduled, Sierra will sing in six — the Italian Caterina Sala will perform on the night of May 7, as well as on April 16, a date scheduled exclusively for the LiceUnder35 community — which in itself is also a physical and mental challenge of the highest demands. Accompanying her, in the male lead role of Elvino, will be one of the few tenors capable of matching Sierra’s level, Xabier Anduaga, who also arrives at these performances at a delightful professional moment. On April 16 and May 7, he will be replaced by the Italian Omar Mancini.
The rest of the roles in La sonnambula, equally demanding, will be played by Argentine bass-baritone Fernando Radó (Count Rodolfo), mezzo-soprano Carmen Artaza (Teresa), and Barcelona soprano Sabrina Gardez (Lisa). The two minor roles of Alessio and the Notary will be performed by baritone Isaac Galán and tenor Gerardo López, respectively, all under the musical direction of young maestro Lorenzo Passerini, one of the rising stars in the constant revitalization of the Italian lyric repertoire.