Editing Vincenzo Bellini (section)

==Paris: January to September 1835==
[[File:Giovanni-Battista-Rubini as Arturo in I Puritani.jpg|thumb|Rubini as Arturo in ''I Puritani'', Paris 1835]]
In the immediate aftermath of ''I puritani''{{'}}s success, Bellini was awarded two honours: the first by [[King Louis-Philippe]], naming him as ''chevalier'' of the [[Légion d'honneur]]; the second by King Ferdinand II in Naples, awarding him the cross of the "Order of Francesco I". Bellini then dedicated ''I puritiani'' "To the Queen of the French", Queen Marie-Emélie. But from a personal point of view, Bellini expressed his sadness at not having seen Florimo for so long, and there flowed a succession of invitations, then demands that Florimo come to Paris to visit him,{{sfn|Weinstock|1971|pp=187–188}} but from February to July, Florimo ignored the offers and finally, in a letter to him, Bellini stated: "I'll no longer ask for reasons, and I'll see you when I see you."<ref>Bellini to Florimo, 1 July 1835, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|p=189}}</ref> After that, he attempted to persuade his uncle, Vincenzo Ferlito, to visit, but without success.

During the final preparations in 1834 for the staging of ''Puritani'' and up to its delay into 1835, Bellini had concluded an agreement with Naples to present three operas there—including the re-writing of parts of the music for Malibran—beginning in the following January. All that went by the wayside when the revised score failed to arrive on time, and performances were abandoned and the contract scrapped. Thus, during March, Bellini did nothing, but did attend the final performance of ''Puritani'' on 31st. On 1 April, he wrote a very lengthy letter to Ferlito laying out the entire history of his life in Paris to date, as well as reviving the old jealousies about Donizetti and Rossini's so-called "enmity" toward him. He ended by mentioning that "my future plans are to be able to arrange a contract with the French Grand Opéra and remain in Paris, making it my home for the present." Additionally, he discusses the prospect of marriage to a young woman who "is not rich, but she has an uncle and aunt who are: if they will give her 200,000 francs, I'll marry her", but remarks that he is in no hurry.<ref>Bellimo to Ferlito, 1 April 1835, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|pp=192–194}}</ref>

Throughout May, accounts came to him from London of the success of ''I puritani'' and the failure of a revival of ''Norma'' (due to the poor performances by both the Adalgisa and Pollione), although later reports of Giulietta Grisi's Norma—in contrast to those of Pasta—were not good either, and Bellini was pleased that it was not Grisi who gave the opera in Paris.<ref>Bellini to Florimo, 25 May 1825, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|pp=196–197}}</ref> Over the summer, Bellini's general mood was reported to be "dark": discussion with the Opéra could not proceed until a new director was appointed; "he writes long letters, crowded with projects, ideas, reveries that the hand seems to have trouble restraining"; and, as Weintock concludes, all of these things seem to "inescapably suggest a man deeply disturbed physically, psychologically, or both".<ref>Weinstock 1971, quoting and commenting on what he interprets from the statements by Francesco Pastura contained in ''Vincenzo Bellini'', Catania; Torino; SEI (1959), in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|pp=197–198}}</ref>

At one of the literary gatherings which Bellini attended earlier in the year, Bellini met the writer [[Heinrich Heine]]. Both men then attended a dinner that summer, at which the writer is reported to have remarked:
<blockquote>You are a genius, Bellini, but you will pay for your great gift with a premature death. All the great geniuses died very young, like Raphael and like Mozart.<ref name=JOUB>Madame C. Joubert, quoting Heine, ''Souvenirs'', Paris 1881, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|pp=201–202}}</ref></blockquote>

The rather superstitious Bellini was horrified.<ref name=JOUB/> Also, Heine's literary portrait of Bellini, which became part of his unfinished novel ''Florentinische Nächte'' (''Florentine Nights'') published in 1837, emphasized the less-appealing aspects of the composer's personality, summing up a description of him as "a sigh in dancing pumps".<ref>Heine, ''Florentinische Nächte'', in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|pp=200–201}}</ref>

In his last-known letter to Filippo Santocanale Bellini wrote on 16 August, followed by one to Florimo on 2 September. In the latter, he mentions that "for three days I've been slightly disturbed by a diarrhea, but I am better now, and think that it is over."<ref>Bellini to Florimo, 2 September 1835, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|p=199}}</ref>

===Final illness and death===
[[File:Marty - Les principaux monuments funéraires - Bellini.jpg|thumb|Monument to Bellini erected in 1839 at Père Lachaise Cemetery]]

It was clear from Bellini's reaction to Heine's remarks that he did not like Heine. Attempting to reconcile the two men, Madame Joubert, who had attended the summer event, invited both to dinner, along with her friend the Princess Belgiojoso. Bellini failed to appear, instead he sent a note stating that he was too ill. Weinstock reports that the princess sent Doctor Luigi Montallegri to Puteaux. Over a few days, he reported to Carlo Severini of the Théatre-Italien with four notes, the first (on 20 September) stated "no appreciable improvement". On the following day, Montallegri reported a slight improvement, and on 22nd, the doctor stated that he "hopes to declare him out of danger tomorrow". However, the fourth note—on 22 September—is far more pessimistic; it reported that it was the thirteenth day of the illness and that Bellini had "passed a very restless night". And then, during the daytime of the 23rd, Montallegri indicated that there had been what Weinstock describes as "a terrifying convulsion" and that death was close. It appears that Bellini died at around 5&nbsp;pm on 23 September 1835.<ref>Luigi Montallegri's reports to Severini; reports from other sources, including diaries written by Baron Augusto Aymé d'Aquino of the Two Sicilies' Embassy in Paris, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|pp=202–204}}</ref>
[[File:Catania BW 2012-10-06 11-55-16.jpg|thumb|Bellini's tomb in the [[Catania Cathedral]] in Sicily|left]]
Immediately taking charge of arrangements, Rossini began to plan Bellini's funeral and entombment, as well as caring for his estate. He ordered that a post-mortem be performed, following an order which came directly from the King. The distinguished Court-appointed Doctor Dalmas performed the autopsy and reported his findings on the cause of death:
<blockquote>It is evident that Bellini succumbed to an acute inflammation of the colon, compounded by an abscess in the liver. The inflammation of the intestine had produced violent symptoms of dysentery during life.<ref>Dr. Dalmas' post-mortem report, supported by quotations from a report made in 1969 by Doctor Victor de Sabata, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|pp=204–205}}</ref></blockquote>

Rossini then created a committee of Parisian musicians in order to find support for a subscription to build a monument to the dead composer, as well as supporting a funeral mass to be celebrated on 2 October in the chapel of the Hôtel des Invalides.
[[File:Annoncredamirarti.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|Musical notation, inscribed on Bellini's tomb, from Amina's last aria in ''La sonnambula'': "Ah! non-credea mirarti / Sì presto estinto, o fiore", translated as: "I did not believe you would fade so soon, oh flower"]]
On 27 September and 3 October, Rossini wrote to Santocanale in Palermo providing very detailed accounts of all that he had done immediately following Bellini's death as well as what had taken place on 2 October.<ref>Rossini to Santocanale, letters of 27 September and 3 October 1835, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|pp=206–209}}</ref> Initially, Rossini regarded burial in [[Père Lachaise Cemetery]] as a short-term arrangement, not knowing where the final resting place would turn out to be. Despite attempts over many years to have Bellini's remains transferred to Catania, that did not take place until 1876, when the casket containing his remains was taken to the cathedral in Catania and reburied.<ref name=L&M390>{{harvnb|Lippmann|McGuire|1998|p=390}}</ref> His elaborate now empty tomb in Père Lachaise Cemetery remains and is neighbouring that of Rossini's whose bones were also eventually transferred back to Italy.

Of the many tributes which poured forth following Bellini's death, one stands out. It was written by Felice Romani and published in Turin on 1 October 1835. In it, he stated:
<blockquote>... Perhaps no composers other than ours, know as well as Bellini the necessity for a close union of music with poetry, dramatic truth, the language of emotions, the proof of expression.&nbsp;... I sweated for fifteen years to find a Bellini! A single day took him from me!<ref>Romani's tribute to Bellini, in ''Gazzetta piemontese'' (Turin), 1 October 1835, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1971|p=211}}</ref></blockquote>

Today, the Museo Belliniano, housed in the [[Palazzo Gravina-Cruyllas]] in Catania—Bellini's birthplace—preserves memorabilia and manuscripts. He was commemorated on the front of [[:File:Lire 5000 (Vincenzo Bellini).JPG|the Banca d'Italia 5,000 lire banknote in the 1980s and 90s]] (before Italy switched to the Euro) with the back showing a scene from the opera ''Norma''.