La sonnambula (; The Sleepwalker) is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the bel canto tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ballet-pantomime written by Eugène Scribe and choreographed by Jean-Pierre Aumer called La somnambule, ou L'arrivée d'un nouveau seigneur. The ballet had premiered in Paris in September 1827 at the height of a fashion for stage works incorporating somnambulism.
The role of Amina was originally written for the soprano sfogato Giuditta Pasta, but during Bellini's lifetime another soprano sfogato, Maria Malibran, was a notable exponent of the role. The first performance took place at the Teatro Carcano in Milan on 6 March 1831.
The majority of twentieth-century recordings have been made with a soprano cast as Amina, usually with added top-notes and other changes according to tradition, although it was written for the soprano sfogato voice (not be confused with the modern mezzo, nonexistent at the time) who sang soprano and contralto roles unmodified.
The phrase [I did not believe I would see you fade so soon, oh flower] from Amina's final aria is inscribed on Bellini's tomb in the Catania Cathedral in Sicily.
Composition history
Returning to Milan after the I Capuleti e i Montecchi performances in March 1830, little occurred until the latter part of April when Bellini was able to negotiate a contract with both the Milan house for the autumn of 1831 and another for the 1832 Carnival season at La Fenice in Venice; these operas were to become Norma for La Scala and Beatrice di Tenda for Venice. Writing to his uncle in Sicily, the composer reported that "I shall earn almost twice as much as if I had composed [only for the Venetian impresario]".Bellini to Vincenzo Ferlito [his uncle], April 1830, in
However, there was also a contract for a second Milan house for the following winter season for as-yet an unnamed opera, but it had already been agreed that Giuditta Pasta, who had achieved success in Milan in 1829 and 1830 appearing in several major operas, would be the principal artist.
Then Bellini experienced the re-occurrence of an illness which had emerged in Venice due to pressure of work and the bad weather, and which consistently recurred after each opera. The gastro-enteric condition—which he described as "a tremendous inflammatory gastric bilious fever"—Bellini to Vincenzo Ferlito [his uncle], late May/early June 1830, in resulted in his being cared for by friends. It was not until the summer, when he went to stay near Lake Como, that the pressure to decide upon a subject for the following winter's opera became more urgent. That Pasta owned a house near Como and would be staying there over the summer was the reason that Felice Romani traveled to meet both her and Bellini.
By 15 July they had decided on a subject for early 1831, but it was uncertain as to whether Pasta was interested in singing a trousers role, that of the protagonist, Ernani, in an adaptation of Victor Hugo's Hernani, later set to music by Giuseppe Verdi in 1844. With both men having various other commitments, by the end of November 1830 nothing had been achieved in the way of writing either the libretto or the score of Ernani but, by January, the situation and the subject had changed. Bellini wrote that "[Romani] is now writing ...It must go on stage on 20 February at the latest."Bellini to his Venetian friend Giovanni Battista Peruchinni, 3 January 1831, in
That music which he was beginning to use for Ernani was transferred to Sonnambula is not in doubt, and, as Weinstock comments, "he was as ready as most other composers of his era to reuse in a new situation musical passages created for a different, earlier one".
During Bellini's lifetime another , Maria Malibran, was to become a notable exponent of the role of Amina.
Performance history
19th century
With its pastoral setting and story, La sonnambula was an immediate success and is still regularly performed. The title role of Amina (the sleepwalker) with its high tessitura is renowned for its difficulty, requiring a complete command of trills and florid technique, but it fitted Pasta's vocal capabilities, her soprano also having been described as a soprano sfogato, one which designates a contralto who is capable—by sheer industry or natural talent—of extending her upper range and being able to encompass the coloratura soprano tessitura.
The opera's premiere performance took place on 6 March 1831, a little later than the original date. Its success was partly due to the differences between Romani's earlier libretti and this one, as well as "the accumulation of operatic experience which both [Bellini] and Romani had brought to its creation." Press reactions were universally positive, as was that of the Russian composer, Mikhail Glinka, who attended and wrote overwhelmingly enthusiastically: Pasta and Rubini sang with the most evident enthusiasm to support their favourite conductor [sic]; the second act the singers themselves wept and carried the audience along with them.Glinka, Memoires, in
After its premiere, the opera was performed in London on 28 July 1831 at the King's Theatre and in New York on 13 November 1835 at the Park Theatre. Herbert Weinstock provides a comprehensive year-by-year listing of performances following the premiere and then, with some gaps, all the way up to 1900."Performance data", in
Later, it was a vehicle for showcasing Jenny Lind, Emma Albani and—in the early 20th century—for Lina Pagliughi and Toti Dal Monte.
20th and 21st centuries
Weinstock gave an account of performances starting in 1905. Stagings were presented as frequently as every two years in one European or North American venue or another, and they continued through the 1950s bel canto revivals up to the publication of his book in 1971. The opera was rescued from the ornamental excesses and misrepresentations more similar to the baroque style than the bel canto of Bellini when it was sung by Maria Callas in the now-famous 1955 production by Luchino Visconti at La Scala.
Contributing to the revivals were Joan Sutherland's taking the role of Amina at Covent Garden in 1961A.P.,"London Music": reviews, including La sonnambula, The Musical Times (London), vol. 102, no. 1415, January 1961, p. 36 (by subscription) and at the Metropolitan Opera in 1963, where the role become one of her most significant successes."La sonnambula, Metropolitan Opera, 21 February 1963, CID:193320", performance details, and review by Everett Helm in Musical America, 1 March 1963
While not part of the standard repertory, La sonnambula is performed reasonably frequently in the 21st century. It has been given three productions with Natalie Dessay, the first at the Santa Fe Opera in 2004, the second in Paris in January/February 2010, and the third at the Metropolitan Opera in 2009, a production which was revived in Spring 2014 with Diana Damrau singing the role of Amina. A production was mounted by The Royal Opera in London in 2011, by the Salzburger Landestheater in Salzburg 2015,"La sonnambula (2015)", Salzburger Landestheater] and by the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich in 2015/2016."La sonnambula", Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz The first mezzo-soprano to record the role was Frederica von Stade in 1980, followed by Cecilia Bartoli.Notes in literature accompanying the Bartoli CD recording. Retrieved 3 June 2010. Most recently, American soprano Nadine Sierra fetured in the New York City Metropolitan Opera's 2025/2026 season in October in the role of Amina."The Met's New Production of Bellini's La sonnambula Premieres October 6", Metropolitan Opera
Roles
+RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 6 March 1831Conductor: Nicola Zamboni PetriniCount RodolfobassLuciano MarianiAminasopranoGiuditta PastaElvinotenorGiovanni Battista RubiniLisasopranoElisa TaccaniTeresamezzo-sopranoFelicita Baillou-HilaretAlessiobassLorenzo BiondiNotarytenorAntonio CrippaVillagers – Chorus
Synopsis Place: Switzerland Time: Indeterminate
Act 1 Scene 1: A village, a mill in the background
As the betrothal procession of Amina and Elvino approaches, the villagers all proclaiming joy for Amina, Lisa, the proprietress of the inn, comes outside expressing her misery: / "All is joy and merriment... I alone am miserable". She is consumed with jealousy for she had once been betrothed to Elvino and had been abandoned by him in favour of Amina. The lovelorn Alessio arrives, but she rejects his advances. All assembled proclaim the beauty of Amina: / "In Switzerland there is no flower sweeter, dearer than Amina". Then Amina comes out of the mill with her adoptive mother, Teresa, the mill owner. Amina thanks her, also expressing her thanks to her assembled friends for their kind wishes. (Aria: / "How brightly this day dawned for me".) Additionally, she thanks Alessio, who tells her that he has composed the wedding song and organised the celebrations; she wishes him well in his courtship of Lisa, but Lisa cynically rejects the idea of love. Elvino arrives, exclaiming / "Forgive me my beloved", and explaining that he had to stop on his way at his mother's grave to ask her blessing on Amina. As they exchange vows, the notary asks what she brings to the partnership: "Only my heart" she answers at which Elvino's exclaims: "Ah the heart is everything!". (Elvino's aria, then Amina, then all express their love and their joy: / "Here, receive this ring that the beloved spirit who smiled upon our love wore at the altar".)
The sound of horses' hooves and a cracking whip is heard. A stranger arrives, asking the way to the castle. Lisa points out that it is getting late and he will not reach it before dark and she offers him lodging at her inn. When he says that he knows the inn, all are surprised. (Rodolfo's aria: / "O lovely scenes, again I see you, / where in serenity I spent the calm and happy days of my earliest youth".) The newcomer, who surprises the villagers by his familiarity with the locality, asks about the celebrations and admires Amina, who reminds him of a girl he had loved long ago. ( / "You can't know how those dear eyes gently touch my heart, what adorable beauty".) He admits to having once stayed in the castle, whose lord has been dead for four years. When Teresa explains that his son had vanished some years previously, the stranger assures them that he is alive and will return. As darkness approaches the villagers warn him that it is time to be indoors to avoid the village phantom: / "When the sky is dark at night, and the moon's rays are weak, at the gloomy thunder's sound [...] a shade appears." Not being superstitious, he assures them that they will soon be free of the apparition. Elvino is jealous of the stranger's admiration of Amina; he is jealous even of the breezes that caress her, but he promises her he will reform. (Duet finale, Elvino and Amina: / "I envy the wandering breeze that plays with your hair, your veil").
Scene 2: A room in the inn