I Capuleti e i Montecchi, which had its premiere in Venice in March 1830, remained one of Vincenzo Bellini’s most popular operas until the 1870s. That very popularity, however, led to the opera’s being subject to a variety of significant and arbitrary reworkings for different performances. Over the decades, those alterations—which included a much heavier instrumentation than called for in Bellini’s original score—grew to obscure Bellini’s original score.
This new critical edition corrects those errors and restores Bellini’s original dynamics and expression marks, while also presenting sections of the opera that have traditionally been cut from performances. Featuring both the original version of the score and Bellini’s revisions for its performance in Milan in December 1830, this edition presents an I Capuleti e i Montecchi that, for the first time in more than a century, fully reflects Bellini’s intentions.