Countless plays, operas and movies have been based on the works
of the great Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare (1564-1616),
varying from word-for-word adaptations to loose borrowing of
plot or characters. Among those who owe a debt to Shakespeare is
Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini (1801-35), whose I
Capuleti e I Montecchi (The Capulets and Montagues) is based on
the Bard’s immortal tale of love and death, Romeo and Juliet
(1595), albeit several times removed. The libretto by Felice
Romani that Bellini used was a reworking of Shakespeare’s
legendary tale as first intended for use as Giulietta e Romeo by
the composer Nicola Vaccai; and in doing so, Romani drew upon
the 1818 play Giulietta e Romeo by Luigi Scevola! By age 28,
Bellini had composed six operas with middling success and had
yet to truly find his voice. His last effort, Zaira, composed
for the inauguration of the Teatro Ducale in Bellini’s version
of Romeo and Juliet emphasizes its poignancy and is focused
squarely upon the central characters