Bellini wrote operas about doomed love while living one — meta before meta was cool.
As soon as he graduated from the Naples Conservatory, Vincenzo Bellini meets Maddalena Fumaroli and immediately falls in love with her.
Production
Lavish 1950s Technicolor recreations of 1830s opera houses.
Costume
Bustles, cravats, and enough velvet to sink a gondola.
Director
Carmine Gallone
Antonella Lualdi
Maddalena Fumaroli
Nadia Gray
Giuditta Pasta
Maurice Ronet
Vincenzo Bellini
Fausto Tozzi
Gaetano Donizetti
Jacques Castelot
Ernesto Tosi
Marina Berti
Beatrice Turina
Renzo Ricci
Giudice Fumaroli
Jean Richard
Domenico Fiorillo
Paola Borboni
Signora Monti
Lauro Gazzolo
Giacinto Monti
Dante Maggio
Il pazzariello
Camillo Pilotto
Rettore del conservatorio
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Carmine Gallone was 73 when he made this, capping a 50-year career that began in silent cinema.
The title references Bellini's most famous aria from 'Norma' — which he wrote during his actual affair with Giuditta Pasta, not the fictional Maddalena.
IT
