I'm pretty sure this is the biggest-name opera that isn't officially available in video form anywhere (unless you count this old, long-out-of-print PAL VHS tape without subtitles as "available"). It recently came up on Operavision, but alas, that turned out to just be a concert version. Hey, I can't blame you for not wanting so do an opera with large choruses during COVID, but still. And speaking of that, it was going to be on Met in HD--would've been coming up in May, if I recall correctly--until...stuff happened. Might have been a mixed blessing, since it was to feature Diane Damrau as the heroine, and I know that's a super-unkind thing of me to say, but I said it anyway! She's a big star; she can afford to have an unknown blog throwing a little shade at her.
Of course, there are recordings online, but as far as I know, M T has produced the first-ever version with dang ol' English subs. Actually, I now realize that for a well-known composer like Bellini, you're going to be able to find English translations of all his libretti online, so that would be another way to see it, but really, having actual subtitles, even of the somewhat scattershot M T kind, is just more convenient. Other interesting fact: they mentioned in the comments to the Martha they uploaded having first seen it in 1948, meaning they must be at least eighty-ish. Very impressive youtubing, considering.
So it's Sicily. There's a storm, which causes a ship to crash on the rocks. One of those onboard is Gualtiero, a former noble who had been exiled by the villainous duke, Ernesto, who then forced his beloved, Imogene, into marriage. Ernesto had been fighting against some pirates, and it turns out that this is the pirate ship in question. He knows that Gualtiero isn't dead but wants to make him so; meanwhile, Gualtiero has similar ambitions for him. Ultimately, Gualtiero's identity is revealed, and he kills Ernesto (off-stage), and is then condemned to death. Imogene watches this happen (also off-stage) and goes mad. The heroines in La somnambula and I puritani also go mad, but they get over it. I fear it may be more persistent here, but hey, who knows. What's going to happen to her, anyway? Does she get the power? She does have a young son with Ernesto, so is she the dowager duchess now? I smell a sequel.
Yes, well. Honestly, I thought this was kind of just okay. It certainly has its moments, and it's not unpleasant to watch, duh, THAT was never a possibility, but it's also Bellini's earliest opera that's commonly performed, so why wouldn't it be less interesting? The plot isn't massively interesting or well-developed; there's the suggestion that Ernesto isn't actually all-villainous, but it's never really developed. And why are the climactic deaths both off-stage? Seems, rather than climactic, anti-that. Also, it's not very pirate-y. I think Verdi's Il corsaro is better in that regard.
Mainly, this makes me want to see some better bel canto, but hey, watch it or not! The choice is yours!
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