Chapter 1 will have shown that, in one sense, we know very little about the composition of the opera during the autumn months of 1831. In another sense, however, we know a great deal: the autograph score, including many sketches and cancelled sections of music, survives complete, as do many pages of drafts of Romani's libretto. The present chapter provides just a few examples of the kinds of matter that can be illuminated by this material. Space does not permit more than a sampling, and I have chosen to focus exclusively on the opening scene. First, however, it is necessary to describe these manuscript sources:

AL: The autograph manuscript of Romani's libretto, preserved in the library of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. Written on paper of a variety of sizes and types, it is a fairly bewildering document, not always easily legible. It consists partly of drafts, partly of alternative versions, partly of fair copies of certain scenes. Some pages contain annotations and alternatives in Bellini's own hand. Plate 3 shows an example: p. 40 of AL, in which Bellini's emendations of Romani's text are added partly between the lines, partly in the margins.

A: Bellini's autograph score of the opera, preserved in the library of the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia in Rome. A facsimile reproduction of this manuscript, with a valuable introductory commentary by Professor Philip Gossett, was issued by Garland in their facsimile series Early Romantic Opera.