Although Bellini’s fame rests on his stage works, his so-called ‘liriche da camera’ are distributed throughout his career. La farfalletta (The Butterfly) is said to have been written at the age of 12 for a childhood sweetheart, while Sogno d’infanzia (Dream of Childhood), a folk-like melody laid out on a large scale, and L’abbandono (Abandonment) whose harp-like introduction calls to mind the opening of Chopin’s First Ballade, date from his final years in Paris. Most remarkable of all is Torna, vezzosa Fillide (Return, fair Phyllis), a three-movement aria of distinctly dramatic cut with an abundance of minor tonality and an unusual amount of dialogue between voice and piano. An operatic sketch, perhaps?