4. Bellini and the New Declamatory Style

In this chapter I deal with Tetrazzini’s interpretations of Bellini’s works which, according to contemporary commentators, saw the decline of bel canto. But Tetrazzini’s interpretations present some new, distinctive features; her recordings of Amina’s arias from La sonnambula feature a cello cadenza in addition to the traditional flute cadenza we find in the mad scene. These discs transformed the recording studio into a creative workshop where new and apparently unprecedented cadenzas with obligato instruments originated.