Belcanto series- Belini & his "mad scenes"

Belini's best known opera was "Norma". "Casta Diva" is also one of my favorites.
My most beloved "Norma" was by Montserrat caballe, but I also love the Callas version...They are both DIVAS.

 Belini was young and ambitious.  In his bright and short lifespan, he longed for love, but had to place his career before everything.  In his operas, he created so many love scenes, and scenes where people went mad because of love, whereas in reality, he was lonely.  An aria "Torna, vezzosa Fillide" was an reinterpretation of a love poem given to him by his old lover.  Luckily Lawrence Brownlee, a wonderful tenor---