I Ca­pu­le­ti e i Mon­tecchi

"Bellini is the inventor of a completely new musical technique: the 'lunga lunga cantilena' ('long, long melody'), which was later to become Wagner's 'infinite melody' and the basis of his dramaturgical thinking. Bellini was taken as a model for this invention by composers such as Chopin and Wagner. I Capuleti e i Montecchi offers us the quintessence of the composer's melodic inspiration, with some immortal melodies that immediately became extraordinarily famous. The opera represents the very founding moment of the so-called 'bel canto' - a term coined in the second half of the 19th century to express nostalgia for that glorious moment in Italian music." (Gianluca Capuano)