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I puritani

I puritani (The Puritans) is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends.[1] The music was set to a libretto by Count Carlo Pepoli, an Italian émigré poet whom Bellini had met at a salon run by the exile Princess Belgiojoso, which became a meeting place for many Italian revolutionaries. The opera is based on Têtes Rondes et Cavaliers (Roundheads and Cavaliers), a historical play written by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine and set in the English Civil War, which some sources state was based on Walter Scott's 1816 novel Old Mortality,[2] while others state that there is no connection.[3]

I puritani
Opera by Vincenzo Bellini
The Hall of Arms (act 1, scene 3) in the original 1835 production
LibrettistCarlo Pepoli
LanguageItalian
Based onTêtes Rondes et Cavalieres by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine
Premiere
24 January 1835 (1835-01-24)
Vincenzo Bellini

When Bellini arrived in Paris in mid-August 1833, he had intended to stay only about three weeks, the main aim being to continue the negotiations with the Paris Opéra which had begun on his way to London a few months earlier.[4] These negotiations came to nothing, but by October he had decided to spend the winter in that city, especially as both Il pirata and I Capuleti e i Montecchi were to be given by the Théâtre-Italien that season. The offer from the Théâtre came in January 1834; he accepted because "the pay was richer than what I had received in Italy up to then, though only by a little; then because of so magnificent a company; and finally so as to remain in Paris at others' expense."[5]

Taking from April until its premiere the following January, Bellini had time to ensure that the opera was as close to perfection as possible. After the premiere, Bellini reported to his friend Francesco Florimo in Naples that:

The French had all gone mad; there were such noise and such shouts that they themselves were astonished at being so carried away ... In a word, my dear Florimo, it was an unheard of thing, and since Saturday, Paris has spoken of it in amazement[6]

It was to be Bellini's final work; he died in September 1835 at the age of 33.

Composition history edit

Search for a suitable source for a libretto edit

 
Cristina Trivulzio Belgiojoso 1832, by Francesco Hayez (detail)

Upon his arrival in Paris, Bellini quickly entered into the fashionable world of the Parisian salons, including that run by Princess Belgiojoso whom he had met in Milan. In addition to the many writers of the time, among the musical figures which he would have encountered were several Italians such as Michele Carafa and Luigi Cherubini, then in his seventies. Thus, for most of the remainder of 1833, Bellini's musical activity was very limited. He pleaded guilty in the letter to Florimo in March 1834 noting that the city's attractions were immense.[7]

 
In 1829 the Théâtre-Italien was performing in the first Salle Favart

The contract to write a new opera for the Théâtre-Italien, which was signed in January 1834, called for it to be presented at the end of that year. Once it was signed, Bellini began to look around for a suitable subject and, in a letter to Florimo of 11 March 1834, he expresses some frustrations, noting: "I am about to lose my mind over the plot of the opera for Paris, as it has been impossible to find a suitable subject for my purpose and adaptable to the company".[8]

In the same letter he tells of working towards finding a subject with the Italian émigré, Count Pepoli, who had not written a libretto before. However, on 11 April he is able to say in a letter to Ferlito that he was well and that "I have chosen the story for my Paris opera; it is of the times of Cromvello [Cromwell], after he had King Charles I of England beheaded."[8] The chosen source of the libretto was identified as a play performed in Paris only six months before in September 1833. When first shown the play and other possible subjects by Pepoli, in the opinion of writer William Weaver, "it was clearly the heroine's madness that attracted the composer and determined his choice.[9]

Working with Pepoli edit

 
Librettist Carlo Pepoli

In his letter to Ferlito of 11 April, Bellini provides a synopsis of the opera, indicating that his favourite singers, Giulia Grisi, Luigi Lablache, Giovanni Battista Rubini, and Antonio Tamburini, would all be available for the principal roles, and that he would begin to write the music by 15 April if he had received the verses. Before the collaboration had got underway and initially impressed by the quality of Pepoli's verses in general,[10] Bellini had prepared the way for his librettist by providing him with a scenario of thirty-nine scenes (thus compressing the original drama into manageable proportions), reducing the number of characters from nine to seven and at the same time, giving them names of a more Italianate, singable quality.[8]

But a month later, he comments to Florimo on what it takes working on the libretto with Pepoli: "keeping [Pepoli] moving ahead costs me a lot of weariness; he lacks practice which is a great thing [to have]."[11] For Bellini, the process of both overseeing the writing of the libretto and working with Pepoli was a struggle, added to by a period of illness. But, to balance the situation, William Weaver comments that "to some extent Bellini could compensate for Pepoli's deficiencies with his own first-hand theatrical experience" and suggests that some of that experience had been "acquired from Romani."[1]

Continuing to work on the yet-unnamed I puritani, Bellini moved from central Paris, and at some time in the late Spring (specific date unknown) Bellini wrote to Pepoli to remind him that he should bring his work with him the following day "so that we can finish discussing the first act, which...will be interesting, magnificent, and proper poetry for music in spite of you and all your absurd rules..."[12] At the same time, he laid out one basic rule for the librettist to follow:

Carve into your head in adamantine letters: The opera must draw tears, terrify people, make them die through singing[12]

By late June, there had been considerable progress and, in a letter copied into one written to Florimo on 25 July, Bellini writes in reply to Alessandro Lanari [fr], now the director of the Royal Theatres of Naples, telling him that the first act of Puritani is finished and that he expects to complete the opera by September, in order that he may then have time to write a new opera for Naples for the following year. Finally, Bellini stated that he did not want "to negotiate with anybody until I see what success my opera will have". This included a proposal from the Opéra-Comique in Paris for a new opera for that company.[13]

When nothing came of negotiations with Naples for a new opera, Bellini composed an alternative version intended for the famous Maria Malibran, who was to sing Amina (in La sonnambula) at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in 1835. However, she died exactly a year to the day after the composer, and so this version was not performed on stage until 10 April 1986 at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, with Katia Ricciarelli in the title role.

Critical reaction to Pepoli's work on Puritani edit

 
Drawing for a cover of I puritani (undated)

Given Bellini's own expressions of frustration at working with a new librettist for the first time, one musicologist, Mary Ann Smart, provides a different point of view in regard to Pepoli's approach to writing a libretto. Firstly, she addresses the issue of Pepoli's inexperience:

An address that Pepoli delivered to prize-winning students in Bologna in 1830 reveals not only a surprisingly broad grasp of operatic repertoire but also some forceful ideas about how music could provoke political feeling. Pepoli adopts a modern aesthetic agenda, condemning vocal ornamentation as a dilution of dramatic sense and attacking imitation as cheapening music's inherent, nonverbal language. After touching on exemplary passages from operas by Francesco Morlacchi, Nicola Vaccai, and Vincenzo Bellini, Pepoli turns to the "Marseillaise", arguing that it melds music and poetry perfectly to arouse feeling and provoke action.

Quoting Pepoli, Smart continues: "for this song [the "Marseillaise"] the people fight, win, triumph: Europe and the world shouted Liberty!".[14] Smart then examines the relationship between Pepoli's 1830 views and how they appear to be manifested in what he wrote for I puritani:

The Italian phrase Pepoli uses here, [i.e. in discussing the "Marseillaise"] gridavano Libertà, strikingly anticipates the duet "Suoni la tromba" in I puritani, in which the two basses step outside of the opera's dreamy and non teleological plot for an isolated moment of patriotic fervor. For their homeland they will take up arms and gladly face death: Suoni la tromba, e intrepido/ Io pugnerò da forte/ Bello è affrontar la morte gridando "Libertà" ("Let the trumpet sound, and fearless I'll fight with all my strength. It is beautiful to face death shouting 'liberty')."

Then she recounts how Bellini reacted to what she describes as Pepoli’s "hotheaded patriotism" which appears in librettist's poetry. When he wrote to Pepoli that his "liberal bent..terrifies me", Bellini's other concern, which proved to be correct, was that words such as libertà would have to be removed if the opera was to be performed in Italy.

Nevertheless, the Suoni la tromba which Bellini described as his "Hymn to Liberty" and which had initially been placed in the opera's first act was enthusiastically received by the composer: "My dear Pepoli, I hasten to express my great satisfaction with the duet I received by post this morning ... the whole is magnificent..."[15]

Perceived competition from Donizetti edit

Around the middle of April 1834, Bellini became concerned when he learned that Gaetano Donizetti would be composing for the Théâtre-Italien during the same season as the one for which he was writing. According to Weinstock, quoting letters sent to Florimo in Italy at around that time (and continuing almost up to I puritani's premiere), Bellini perceived this to be a plot orchestrated by Rossini and, in a long, rambling letter of 2,500 words to Florino of 11 March 1834, he expressed his frustrations.[16] As it transpired, Bellini's total success vastly outshone Donizetti's moderate one (Marin Faliero, given in March 1835, two months after I puritani).

The score is completed edit

By September Bellini was writing to Florimo of being able to "polish and re-polish" in the three remaining months before rehearsals and he expresses happiness with Pepoli's verses ("a very beautiful trio for the two basses and La Grisi") and by around mid-December he had submitted the score for Rossini's approval.

Rossini is known to have recommended one change to the placement of the "Hymn to Liberty", which had initially appeared in the first act but which Bellini had already realised could not remain in its written form if the opera was to be given in Italy. Instead of two acts, with the "Hymn" appearing midway in the second act, Rossini proposed that it be a three-act opera with Suoni la tromba ending act 2, arguing that the effect would always be likely to create an ovation, something which he rightly foretold.[1]

Throughout his stay in Paris, Bellini had cultivated the older composer and had maintained a friendship with him: "I have always adored Rossini, and I succeeded, and happily ... [having] tamed Rossini's [perceived] hatred, I no longer was frightened and finished that work of mine which won me so much honour".[17] Later, the successful dress rehearsal, he wrote: "... my very dear Rossini ... now loves me as a son".[18]

With rehearsals planned for late December/early January,[18] the dress rehearsal took place on 20 January 1835. It was attended by "all of high society, all the great artists, and everyone most distinguished in Paris were in the theatre, enthusiastic." Bellini's ecstatic letter to Florimo which followed the dress rehearsal recounts the enthusiastic reception of many of the numbers throughout the performance, most especially the second act bass duet, so that, by its end:

The French had all gone mad; there were such noise and such shouts that they themselves were astonished at being so carried away ... In a word, my dear Florimo, it was an unheard of thing, and since Saturday, Paris has spoken of it in amazement ... I showed myself to the audience, which shouted as if insane ... How satisfied I am! [He concludes by noting the success of the singers]: "Lablache sang like a god, Grisi like a little angel, Rubini and Tamburini the same."[6]

It was upon Rossini's advice and after the dress rehearsal that the opera was changed from two acts to three, the second act ending after the Suoni la tromba duet for the two basses.[19]

The premiere, postponed by two days, took place on 24 January 1835.

Performance history edit

19th century

 
Rubini as Arturo in I puritani, Paris 1835
 
Grisi and Lablache in I puritani, King's Theatre, London, 1835

The opera became "the rage of Paris" and was given 17 performances to end the season on 31 March.

Herbert Weinstock's chapter on I puritani devotes four pages to details of performances which followed the premiere in Paris, although the Théâtre-Italien gave it over 200 times up to 1909. In 1835, London saw it in May, La Scala (in what Weinstock thinks as being a "pirate edition") in December. In Palermo it was given as Elvira e Arturo during the following season and La Fenice presented it in April 1836 as I puritani e i cavalieri with Giuseppina Strepponi as Elvira. It took until January 1837 before it was seen at the San Carlo in Naples; Messina saw it in 1838. Weinstock recounts details of hundreds more, including being given in Rome in 1836 as Elvira Walton, and during that year he details performances in Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, and Bologna (with Giulia Grisi as Elvira). Between 1836 and 1845 (with no details provided before 20th century performances are discussed), the opera was presented every year in different cities.

20th century and beyond

 
Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti,
1976 performance at the Metropolitan Opera

Details from 1906 forward are provided by Weinstock. In that year the opera appeared at the Manhattan Opera House in New York, followed by stagings at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1917, but in New York it was not revived for many years. Various performances are reported to have taken place in 1921, 1933, 1935, and 1949 in different European cities, but it was not until 1955 in Chicago that Puritani re-appeared in America with Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano in the major roles. The 1960s saw a variety of performances in the years between 1960 (Glyndebourne Festival with Joan Sutherland which was recorded) and 1969 when Weinstock's account ends. However, he does include a section on performances from the 19th century forward at the Royal Opera House in London up to Joan Sutherland's 1964 assumption of the role of Elvira.[20] The article's "Recordings" section indicates some other performances which may have been recordings of live performances, although the one DVD from the Metropolitan Opera in January 2007 came from a Metropolitan Opera Live in HD presentation.

Roles edit

 
Antonio Tamburini sang Riccardo – Lithograph by Josef Kriehuber
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 24 January 1835[21]
Lord Arturo Talbo[22] tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini
Elvira, betrothed to Arturo soprano Giulia Grisi
Sir Riccardo Forth, the Puritan leader in love with Elvira baritone Antonio Tamburini
Sir Giorgio Valton,[22] Elvira's uncle bass Luigi Lablache
Lord Gualtiero Valton, Elvira's father and Giorgio's brother bass Luigi Profeti
Sir Bruno Roberton tenor M. Magliano
Enrichetta di Francia, widow of Charles I mezzo-soprano Maria Amigo
Soldiers, heralds, armigers, Puritans, lords and ladies, pages, servants

Synopsis edit

Place: England during the English Civil War
Time: 1640s

Act 1 edit

Scene 1: A fortress near Plymouth, commanded by Lord Gualtiero Valton

At daybreak, the Puritan soldiers gather in anticipation of victory over the Royalists. Prayers are heard from within, and then shouts of joy as the ladies and gentlemen of the castle come out announcing news of Elvira's wedding. Left alone, Riccardo shares with Bruno his plight: Riccardo had been promised Elvira's hand in marriage by her father Lord Valton but, returning to Plymouth the previous evening, he has found that she is in love with Arturo (a Royalist), and will marry him instead. He confides in Bruno. (Aria: Ah! Per sempre ...Bel sogno beato / "Ah! Forever have I lost you, flower of love, oh my hope; ah! life from now on will be full of sorrow".) As he pours out his sorrows to Bruno, Riccardo is called upon by his soldiers to lead them but he declares "I am aflame, but the flame is love, not glory".

Scene 2: Elvira's apartments

Elvira welcomes Giorgio, her uncle. He treats her with fatherly love, but when he tells her that she will soon be married, she is horror-struck. (Aria, then extended duet: Sai com'arde in petto mio / bella fiamma onnipossente / "You know that my breast burns with overwhelming passion".) She continues, stating a determination never to be married. But when Giorgio tells her that her cavalier, Arturo, will be coming, he reveals that it was he who persuaded her father, Lord Valton, to grant Elvira's wish. She is overjoyed. Then the sound of trumpets is heard announcing Arturo's arrival; he is welcomed by all.

Scene 3: The Hall of Arms

Arturo and his squires come into the hall and are joined by Elvira, Valton, Giorgio and the ladies and gentlemen of the castle. After a general welcome from all assembled, Arturo expresses his new-found happiness. (Aria, Arturo; then Giorgio and Valton; then all assembled: A te, o cara / amore talora / "In you beloved, love led me in secrecy and tears, now it guides me to your side".)

Valton tells everyone that he will not be able to attend the wedding ceremony and he provides Arturo with a safe conduct pass. A mysterious lady appears, and Valton tells her that he will be escorting her to London to appear before Parliament. Arturo is curious. Giorgio tells him that she is suspected of being a Royalist spy. As Elvira leaves to prepare herself for the wedding and the others depart in various directions, Arturo hangs back and finds the mysterious lady alone. He discovers that she is Enrichetta (Henrietta Maria), widow of the executed King Charles I. Insisting that she not be concerned about Elvira, Arturo vows to save her: (Aria, Arturo; then Enrichetta; then together: Non parlar di lei che adoro, / di valor non mi spogliar / "Do not speak of her whom I adore; do not take away my courage. You shall be saved, oh unhappy woman.")

Observed by Arturo and Enrichetta, Elvira appears singing a joyful polonaise (Son vergin vezzosa / "I am a pretty maiden dressed for her wedding"), but she engages the Queen in conversation asking for help with the ringlets of her hair. To allow that to happen, she removes her wedding veil and places it over Enrichetta's head. Both Arturo and Enrichetta realise that this may allow them to escape, and as they proceed, they are challenged by Riccardo who believes the woman to be Elvira. He almost provokes a fight with Arturo until he discovers that she is not Elvira; then, he is content to allow them to pass, swearing not to reveal any information.

When the wedding party enters, they ask for Arturo, then learn, largely from Riccardo, that he has fled with Enrichetta. Pursuit is organised. Becoming increasingly distraught, Elvira believes that she sees Arturo: (Aria; then ensemble: Oh, vieni al tempio, fedele Arturo / "Ah! come, ah! come! Oh! come to the church, faithful Arturo".) It is increasingly clear that she has gone mad.

Act 2 edit

A room in the fortress

As the ladies and gentlemen of the castle are mournful for Elvira's totally downcast state of mind, Giorgio describes her madness: (Aria: Cinta di fiori / "Garlanded with flowers and with her lovely hair disheveled, sometimes the beloved maiden wanders about...") and he describes her flights into madness and her pleas for Arturo to return. Riccardo brings the news that Arturo is now a fugitive who has been condemned to death by Parliament for allowing Enrichetta to escape. Giorgio states that the only hope for Elvira will be a sudden joyous experience. Elvira is heard outside, still deranged but longing for Arturo: "Either give me back hope, let me die" she cries. As she enters, she expresses all her longing: Elvira, aria: Qui la voce ... Vien, diletto / "Here his sweet voice called me...and then vanished. Here he swore to be true, here he swore it, and then, cruel man, he fled!".

Entering, she confronts her uncle and Riccardo, whom she fails to recognise, even in her moments of lucidity. She addresses him as if he were Arturo: (Elvira, cabaletta: Vien, diletto, è in ciel la luna / "Come, beloved, the moon is in the sky, Everything is silent, until the dawn breaks in the sky"). The two men encourage Elvira to return to her room.

For Elvira's sake, Giorgio encourages Riccardo to help save his rival, advising that he will forever be pursued by their phantoms. Riccardo rejects the request: (Giorgio, then Riccardo, then duet: Il rival salvar tu déi, / il rival salvar tu puoi / "You must save your rival, you can save your rival"), but gradually Riccardo comes around to accept that idea. However, he states that if in the following day's battle, Arturo appears, he will perish at his hand. The two men now have an agreement: (Finale: Giorgio, then Riccardo, then together: Suoni la tromba / "Let the battle-cry be: country, victory, victory and honour. Let the trumpets sound, and I shall fight strongly, fearlessly."

Act 3 edit

A wooded area near the fortress, three months later

Arturo is still on the run. He is exhausted and has returned seeking Elvira. Suddenly he hears the sounds of singing coming through the woods: (Elvira, aria: A una fonte afflitto e solo / s'assideva un trovator / "A troubadour sat sad and lonely by a fountain"). He calls out, but gets no response and, recalling how the couple used to sing together in the woods, he also sings the troubadour melody until the sound of drumbeats and the shouting of soldiers silences him. He covers himself and hides as a group of soldiers passes, then emerges and decides to continue singing to the same melody: (Arturo, aria: Corre a valle, corre a monte / l'esiliato pellegrin / "Through the valleys, over the mountains, hastens the exiled pilgrim")

Unseen, Elvira emerges from the trees and stops to listen. She is saddened when the singing stops, and she sorrowfully wonders where Arturo is. Suddenly, he is standing before her and they are reunited in a spirited duet in which they declare that they will always be together after the long months of being apart. Still a little confused, Elvira believes that Arturo has married the woman whom he escorted from the fortress; he assures Elvira that he has always loved her, that the lady who was in great danger was the queen: (Arturo; then Elvira; then together). Having determined that they love each other and that they will always remain together, they enter into an ecstatic duet. (Arturo: Vieni fra queste braccia / "Come, come to my arms"; Elvira: Caro, caro, non ho parole / "Dearest, dearest, I cannot find the words to express my happiness"; then together).

At the sound of drums being heard, Elvira appears to be returning to a state of madness, fearing that they will again be parted. Then soldiers' voices are heard close by and Riccardo, Giorgio, and the ladies and gentlemen of the fortress enter announcing Arturo's death sentence. With that, she finally comes to her senses.

An ensemble, beginning with Arturo (Credeasi, misera / "Unhappy girl, she believed that I had betrayed her") extends to all assembled, each expressing his or her anguish, with even Riccardo being moved by the plight of the lovers. For this extended piece, Bellini wrote a high F-natural above C5 for Arturo's ... crudeli, crudeli! / Ella è tremante, / ella è spirante; / anime perfide, / sorde a pietà! / "cruel men, cruel men! She is trembling, she is fainting, perfidious souls, deaf to pity!"

The soldiers continue to demand Arturo's execution, but the sounds of a herald arriving are heard. He brings letters which are opened by Riccardo and Giorgio. They announce that although the Royalists have been defeated, Oliver Cromwell has pardoned all prisoners. The ensemble expresses its general and its personal joy.

Music edit

Two specific examples of Bellini's distinctive musical style appear in this opera.

In act 3, an ensemble (Credeasi, misera) develops, during which Bellini writes an in alt F-natural above C5 for Arturo. Most tenors would typically sing a D-flat instead of an F. However some tenors, like Nicolai Gedda, William Matteuzzi, Gregory Kunde, Lawrence Brownlee, Francesco Demuro and Alasdair Kent, did manage to tackle the challenging high F. In the seldom performed Malibran version, it is Elvira (i.e., the soprano) who sings, in a higher octave, the principal part of Credeasi, misera.

 
An excerpt from "Credeasi, misera", act 3. The notes highlighted (above the high C) are among the highest demanded in tenor operatic repertoire and are usually sung falsetto or altogether transposed.

In regard to the impact of the act 2 finale number and its significance in librettist Carlo Pepoli's work as well as in Bellini's music so far, Mary Ann Smart provides one explanation for the power of Suoni la tromba by referring to work of another musicologist, Mark Everist, who, she states "has plausibly suggested that the frenzy was provoked more by the buzzing energy of the two bass voices combined, an unprecedented sonority at the time, than by the duet’s political message".[23]

But, she continues to analyse other aspects of the duet:

We should also factor in the force of Pepoli's verses with their promotion of martyrdom and the utter regularity of the music's march-like phrasing, rare in Bellini's ethereal style. Suoni la tromba is a perplexing historical anomaly: an almost isolated example of an extroverted, overtly political statement heard at the Théâtre-Italien, and an equally rare link between Pepoli's political persona and his role as poet-for-hire. But such overt calls for revolution represent just one possible 'political' style. They are not necessarily the most forceful or influential variety of intervention.[14]

Recordings edit

Year Cast
(Elvira, Arturo,
Riccardo, Giorgio)
Conductor,
Opera house and orchestra
Label[24]
1952 Lina Pagliughi,
Mario Filippeschi,
Rolando Panerai,
Sesto Bruscantini
Fernando Previtali,
Coro e Orchestra di Roma della RAI
CD: Bongiovanni "Il Mito dell'Opera",
Cat: GB 1170/1-2
URANIA
Cat: URN 22.203
1952 Maria Callas,
Giuseppe Di Stefano,
Piero Campolonghi [it],
Roberto Silva
Guido Picco,
Mexico Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra and Chorus
CD: Opera Depot
Cat: 10826-2 (29 May 1952)
1953 Maria Callas,
Giuseppe Di Stefano,
Rolando Panerai,
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Tullio Serafin,
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
CD: EMI
Cat: 585 647-2 (First studio recording)
1957 Virginia Zeani,
Mario Filippeschi,
Aldo Protti,
Andrea Mongelli [it]
Francesco Molinari Pradelli,
Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra and Chorus
CD: Bongiovanni
Cat: GB 1195–1196 (12 February 1957)
1959 Anna Moffo,
Gianni Raimondi,
Ugo Savarese,
Raffaele Arié
Mario Rossi,
Coro e Orchestra di Milano della RAI
CD: Premiere Opera Ltd.,
Cat: CDNO 1448-2
Opera Depot,
Cat: OD
1960 Joan Sutherland,
Nicola Filacuridi,
Ernest Blanc,
Giuseppe Modesti
Vittorio Gui,
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Glyndebourne Chorus,
(Recording of a performance at the Glyndebourne Festival, 18 July)
CD: Glyndebourne Omega Opera Archive,
Cat: 1398
1961 Leyla Gencer,
Gianni Raimondi,
Manuel Ausensi,
Ferruccio Mazzoli
Argeo Quadri,
Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires Orchestra and Chorus
Black Disk: Foyer
Cat: FO 1024 (12 October 1961)
1963 Joan Sutherland,
Pierre Duval,
Renato Capecchi,
Ezio Flagello
Richard Bonynge,
Coro e Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
CD: Decca,
Cat: 448 969-2
1969 Mirella Freni,
Luciano Pavarotti,
Sesto Bruscantini,
Bonaldo Giaiotti
Riccardo Muti,
Rome Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Roma della RAI
CD: Melodram
Cat: MEL 27062-2 (7 October 1969)
1971 Adriana Maliponte,
Alfredo Kraus,
Piero Cappuccilli,
Ruggero Raimondi
Gianandrea Gavazzeni,
Catania Teatro Bellini di Catania Orchestra and Chorus
CD: Opera Depot
Cat: 10379-2 (27 January 1971)
1973 Beverly Sills,
Nicolai Gedda,
Louis Quilico,
Paul Plishka
Julius Rudel,
London Philharmonic Orchestra and Ambrosian Opera Chorus
CD: Westminster The Legacy
Cat: 471 207-2
1973 Joan Sutherland,
Luciano Pavarotti,
Piero Cappuccilli,
Nicolai Ghiaurov
Richard Bonynge,
London Symphony Orchestra and chorus of the Royal Opera House
CD: London
Cat: POCL 2896-8
1979 Montserrat Caballé,
Alfredo Kraus,
Matteo Manuguerra,
Agostino Ferrin
Riccardo Muti,
Philharmonia Orchestra and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus
CD: EMI Classics
Cat: 5 09149
2007 Anna Netrebko,
Eric Cutler,
Franco Vassallo [it],
John Relyea
Patrick Summers,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet,
(Video recording made at performances at the MET, January)
DVD: Deutsche Grammophon
Cat: 073 4421
2010 Nino Machaidze,
Juan Diego Flórez,
Gabriele Viviani,
Ildebrando D'Arcangelo
Michele Mariotti,
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna,
(Video recording of a performance at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, 2009)
DVD: Decca
Cat: 0440 074 3351 5 DH2[25]
2012 Mariola Cantarero,
John Osborn,
Scott Hendricks,
Riccardo Zanellato
Giuliano Carella,
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera,
(Video recording of a performance at the Dutch National Opera, 2009)
DVD: Opus Arte
Cat: OA 1091 D[25]

Cultural references edit

I puritani, to which she referred as "dear Puritani", was Queen Victoria's favourite opera and the first which she attended in the company of Prince Albert before their marriage.[26] The 2009 film The Young Victoria includes an episode in which Albert and Victoria discuss the opera, as well as a scene showing Victoria attending a performance.[27]

In the film Fitzcarraldo, the cast of I puritani are being transported on Fitzcarraldo's boat. They perform parts of the opera in full costume and sing "A te, o cara" (from act 1, scene 3) as Fitzcarraldo makes his triumphal return to Iquitos.[28]

References edit

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Weaver 1987, p. 18
  2. ^ Weaver 1987, p. 16.
  3. ^ Osborne 1994, p. 350.
  4. ^ Weinstock 1971, pp. 156–157.
  5. ^ Bellini to Vincenzo Ferlito, 1 April 1835, in Walker 1971, p. 157;[incomplete short citation] original source: Cambi 1945.[incomplete short citation]
  6. ^ a b Bellini to Florimo, [date unknown; postmarked 26 January 1835], in Weinstock 1971, p. 184
  7. ^ Bellini to Florimo, 11 March 1834, in Weinstock 1971, p. 159: "If you reflect for a moment that a young man in my position, in London and Paris for the first time, cannot help amusing himself immensely, you will excuse me."
  8. ^ a b c Bellini to Vincenzo Ferlito, 11 April 1834, in Weinstock 1971, pp. 160–162
  9. ^ Weaver 1987, p. 19.
  10. ^ Bellini to Florimo, date uncertain, in Weaver 1987, p. 16
  11. ^ Bellini to Florimo, 26 May 1834, in Weinstock 1971, p. 163
  12. ^ a b Bellini to Pepoli, no date given, in Weinstock 1971, pp. 170–171
  13. ^ Bellini to Santocanale, 21 September 1834, in Weinstock 1971, p. 173
  14. ^ a b Smart 2010, pp. 40–43
  15. ^ Bellini to Pepoli, 30 May 1834, in Weaver 1987, p. 17
  16. ^ Bellini to Florimo, 11 March 1834, in Weinstock 1971, p. 163
  17. ^ Bellini to Vincenzo Ferlito, [day, month unknown] 1835 after Puritani's success, in Weinstock 1971, pp. 163–164
  18. ^ a b Letters from Bellini to Florimo, in Weinstock 1971, pp. 179–182
  19. ^ Galatopoulos 2002, p. 364.
  20. ^ Weinstock 1971, pp. 309–316.
  21. ^ Casaglia 2005.
  22. ^ a b The surnames "Talbo" and "Valton" in the libretto are substitutions for "Talbot" and "Walton" in Ancelot and Saintine's play.
  23. ^ Mark Everist, in Smart 2010, p. 42
  24. ^ Recordings of I puritani on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
  25. ^ a b Riccardo Rocca (2015). I puritani, Amsterdam, De Nederlandse Opera 2009; I puritani, Bologna, Teatro Comunale 2010. Bollettino di Studi Belliniani, 1:151–156. (in Italian)
  26. ^ Rappaport 2003, p. 275.
  27. ^ Mary Kunz Goldman, "True love Royal romance story is beautifully filmed and acted", The Buffalo News (Buffalo, New York), December 25, 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2018
  28. ^ Prager 2007, p. 162.

Cited sources

  • Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "I puritani, 24 January 1835". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  • Galatopoulos, Stelios (2002). Bellini: Life, Times, Music: 1801–1835. London: Sanctuary Publishing. ISBN 9781860744051.
  • Osborne, Charles (1994). The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0931340713.
  • Prager, Brad (2007). The Cinema of Werner Herzog: Aesthetic Ecstasy and Truth (Directors Cuts). Columbia University Press. ISBN 9781905674176.
  • Rappaport, Helen (2003). Queen Victoria: A Biographical Companion. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851093557.
  • Smart, Mary Ann (Summer 2010). "Parlor Games: Italian Music and Italian Politics in the Parisian Salon". 19th-Century Music. University of California. 34 (1): 39–60. doi:10.1525/ncm.2010.34.1.039. JSTOR 10.1525/ncm.2010.34.1.039.
  • Weaver, William (1987), "Bellini, Paris and I puritani", in booklet accompanying 1973 Decca recording, pp. 13–22, issued on CD in 1987.
  • Weinstock, Herbert (1971). Bellini: His Life and His Operas. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0394416562.

Further reading edit

External links edit

puritani, puritans, 1835, opera, vincenzo, bellini, originally, written, acts, later, changed, three, acts, advice, gioachino, rossini, with, whom, young, composer, become, friends, music, libretto, count, carlo, pepoli, italian, émigré, poet, whom, bellini, s. I puritani The Puritans is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini with whom the young composer had become friends 1 The music was set to a libretto by Count Carlo Pepoli an Italian emigre poet whom Bellini had met at a salon run by the exile Princess Belgiojoso which became a meeting place for many Italian revolutionaries The opera is based on Tetes Rondes et Cavaliers Roundheads and Cavaliers a historical play written by Jacques Francois Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine and set in the English Civil War which some sources state was based on Walter Scott s 1816 novel Old Mortality 2 while others state that there is no connection 3 I puritaniOpera by Vincenzo BelliniThe Hall of Arms act 1 scene 3 in the original 1835 productionLibrettistCarlo PepoliLanguageItalianBased onTetes Rondes et Cavalieres by Jacques Francois Ancelot and Joseph Xavier SaintinePremiere24 January 1835 1835 01 24 Theatre Italien ParisVincenzo BelliniWhen Bellini arrived in Paris in mid August 1833 he had intended to stay only about three weeks the main aim being to continue the negotiations with the Paris Opera which had begun on his way to London a few months earlier 4 These negotiations came to nothing but by October he had decided to spend the winter in that city especially as both Il pirata and I Capuleti e i Montecchi were to be given by the Theatre Italien that season The offer from the Theatre came in January 1834 he accepted because the pay was richer than what I had received in Italy up to then though only by a little then because of so magnificent a company and finally so as to remain in Paris at others expense 5 Taking from April until its premiere the following January Bellini had time to ensure that the opera was as close to perfection as possible After the premiere Bellini reported to his friend Francesco Florimo in Naples that The French had all gone mad there were such noise and such shouts that they themselves were astonished at being so carried away In a word my dear Florimo it was an unheard of thing and since Saturday Paris has spoken of it in amazement 6 It was to be Bellini s final work he died in September 1835 at the age of 33 Contents 1 Composition history 1 1 Search for a suitable source for a libretto 1 2 Working with Pepoli 1 2 1 Critical reaction to Pepoli s work on Puritani 1 3 Perceived competition from Donizetti 1 4 The score is completed 2 Performance history 3 Roles 4 Synopsis 4 1 Act 1 4 2 Act 2 4 3 Act 3 5 Music 6 Recordings 7 Cultural references 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksComposition history editSearch for a suitable source for a libretto edit nbsp Cristina Trivulzio Belgiojoso 1832 by Francesco Hayez detail Upon his arrival in Paris Bellini quickly entered into the fashionable world of the Parisian salons including that run by Princess Belgiojoso whom he had met in Milan In addition to the many writers of the time among the musical figures which he would have encountered were several Italians such as Michele Carafa and Luigi Cherubini then in his seventies Thus for most of the remainder of 1833 Bellini s musical activity was very limited He pleaded guilty in the letter to Florimo in March 1834 noting that the city s attractions were immense 7 nbsp In 1829 the Theatre Italien was performing in the first Salle FavartThe contract to write a new opera for the Theatre Italien which was signed in January 1834 called for it to be presented at the end of that year Once it was signed Bellini began to look around for a suitable subject and in a letter to Florimo of 11 March 1834 he expresses some frustrations noting I am about to lose my mind over the plot of the opera for Paris as it has been impossible to find a suitable subject for my purpose and adaptable to the company 8 In the same letter he tells of working towards finding a subject with the Italian emigre Count Pepoli who had not written a libretto before However on 11 April he is able to say in a letter to Ferlito that he was well and that I have chosen the story for my Paris opera it is of the times of Cromvello Cromwell after he had King Charles I of England beheaded 8 The chosen source of the libretto was identified as a play performed in Paris only six months before in September 1833 When first shown the play and other possible subjects by Pepoli in the opinion of writer William Weaver it was clearly the heroine s madness that attracted the composer and determined his choice 9 Working with Pepoli edit nbsp Librettist Carlo PepoliIn his letter to Ferlito of 11 April Bellini provides a synopsis of the opera indicating that his favourite singers Giulia Grisi Luigi Lablache Giovanni Battista Rubini and Antonio Tamburini would all be available for the principal roles and that he would begin to write the music by 15 April if he had received the verses Before the collaboration had got underway and initially impressed by the quality of Pepoli s verses in general 10 Bellini had prepared the way for his librettist by providing him with a scenario of thirty nine scenes thus compressing the original drama into manageable proportions reducing the number of characters from nine to seven and at the same time giving them names of a more Italianate singable quality 8 But a month later he comments to Florimo on what it takes working on the libretto with Pepoli keeping Pepoli moving ahead costs me a lot of weariness he lacks practice which is a great thing to have 11 For Bellini the process of both overseeing the writing of the libretto and working with Pepoli was a struggle added to by a period of illness But to balance the situation William Weaver comments that to some extent Bellini could compensate for Pepoli s deficiencies with his own first hand theatrical experience and suggests that some of that experience had been acquired from Romani 1 Continuing to work on the yet unnamed I puritani Bellini moved from central Paris and at some time in the late Spring specific date unknown Bellini wrote to Pepoli to remind him that he should bring his work with him the following day so that we can finish discussing the first act which will be interesting magnificent and proper poetry for music in spite of you and all your absurd rules 12 At the same time he laid out one basic rule for the librettist to follow Carve into your head in adamantine letters The opera must draw tears terrify people make them die through singing 12 By late June there had been considerable progress and in a letter copied into one written to Florimo on 25 July Bellini writes in reply to Alessandro Lanari fr now the director of the Royal Theatres of Naples telling him that the first act of Puritani is finished and that he expects to complete the opera by September in order that he may then have time to write a new opera for Naples for the following year Finally Bellini stated that he did not want to negotiate with anybody until I see what success my opera will have This included a proposal from the Opera Comique in Paris for a new opera for that company 13 When nothing came of negotiations with Naples for a new opera Bellini composed an alternative version intended for the famous Maria Malibran who was to sing Amina in La sonnambula at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in 1835 However she died exactly a year to the day after the composer and so this version was not performed on stage until 10 April 1986 at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari with Katia Ricciarelli in the title role Critical reaction to Pepoli s work on Puritani edit nbsp Drawing for a cover of I puritani undated Given Bellini s own expressions of frustration at working with a new librettist for the first time one musicologist Mary Ann Smart provides a different point of view in regard to Pepoli s approach to writing a libretto Firstly she addresses the issue of Pepoli s inexperience An address that Pepoli delivered to prize winning students in Bologna in 1830 reveals not only a surprisingly broad grasp of operatic repertoire but also some forceful ideas about how music could provoke political feeling Pepoli adopts a modern aesthetic agenda condemning vocal ornamentation as a dilution of dramatic sense and attacking imitation as cheapening music s inherent nonverbal language After touching on exemplary passages from operas by Francesco Morlacchi Nicola Vaccai and Vincenzo Bellini Pepoli turns to the Marseillaise arguing that it melds music and poetry perfectly to arouse feeling and provoke action Quoting Pepoli Smart continues for this song the Marseillaise the people fight win triumph Europe and the world shouted Liberty 14 Smart then examines the relationship between Pepoli s 1830 views and how they appear to be manifested in what he wrote for I puritani The Italian phrase Pepoli uses here i e in discussing the Marseillaise gridavano Liberta strikingly anticipates the duet Suoni la tromba in I puritani in which the two basses step outside of the opera s dreamy and non teleological plot for an isolated moment of patriotic fervor For their homeland they will take up arms and gladly face death Suoni la tromba e intrepido Io pugnero da forte Bello e affrontar la morte gridando Liberta Let the trumpet sound and fearless I ll fight with all my strength It is beautiful to face death shouting liberty Then she recounts how Bellini reacted to what she describes as Pepoli s hotheaded patriotism which appears in librettist s poetry When he wrote to Pepoli that his liberal bent terrifies me Bellini s other concern which proved to be correct was that words such as liberta would have to be removed if the opera was to be performed in Italy Nevertheless the Suoni la tromba which Bellini described as his Hymn to Liberty and which had initially been placed in the opera s first act was enthusiastically received by the composer My dear Pepoli I hasten to express my great satisfaction with the duet I received by post this morning the whole is magnificent 15 Perceived competition from Donizetti edit Around the middle of April 1834 Bellini became concerned when he learned that Gaetano Donizetti would be composing for the Theatre Italien during the same season as the one for which he was writing According to Weinstock quoting letters sent to Florimo in Italy at around that time and continuing almost up to I puritani s premiere Bellini perceived this to be a plot orchestrated by Rossini and in a long rambling letter of 2 500 words to Florino of 11 March 1834 he expressed his frustrations 16 As it transpired Bellini s total success vastly outshone Donizetti s moderate one Marin Faliero given in March 1835 two months after I puritani The score is completed edit By September Bellini was writing to Florimo of being able to polish and re polish in the three remaining months before rehearsals and he expresses happiness with Pepoli s verses a very beautiful trio for the two basses and La Grisi and by around mid December he had submitted the score for Rossini s approval Rossini is known to have recommended one change to the placement of the Hymn to Liberty which had initially appeared in the first act but which Bellini had already realised could not remain in its written form if the opera was to be given in Italy Instead of two acts with the Hymn appearing midway in the second act Rossini proposed that it be a three act opera with Suoni la tromba ending act 2 arguing that the effect would always be likely to create an ovation something which he rightly foretold 1 Throughout his stay in Paris Bellini had cultivated the older composer and had maintained a friendship with him I have always adored Rossini and I succeeded and happily having tamed Rossini s perceived hatred I no longer was frightened and finished that work of mine which won me so much honour 17 Later the successful dress rehearsal he wrote my very dear Rossini now loves me as a son 18 With rehearsals planned for late December early January 18 the dress rehearsal took place on 20 January 1835 It was attended by all of high society all the great artists and everyone most distinguished in Paris were in the theatre enthusiastic Bellini s ecstatic letter to Florimo which followed the dress rehearsal recounts the enthusiastic reception of many of the numbers throughout the performance most especially the second act bass duet so that by its end The French had all gone mad there were such noise and such shouts that they themselves were astonished at being so carried away In a word my dear Florimo it was an unheard of thing and since Saturday Paris has spoken of it in amazement I showed myself to the audience which shouted as if insane How satisfied I am He concludes by noting the success of the singers Lablache sang like a god Grisi like a little angel Rubini and Tamburini the same 6 It was upon Rossini s advice and after the dress rehearsal that the opera was changed from two acts to three the second act ending after the Suoni la tromba duet for the two basses 19 The premiere postponed by two days took place on 24 January 1835 Performance history edit19th century nbsp Rubini as Arturo in I puritani Paris 1835 nbsp Grisi and Lablache in I puritani King s Theatre London 1835The opera became the rage of Paris and was given 17 performances to end the season on 31 March Herbert Weinstock s chapter on I puritani devotes four pages to details of performances which followed the premiere in Paris although the Theatre Italien gave it over 200 times up to 1909 In 1835 London saw it in May La Scala in what Weinstock thinks as being a pirate edition in December In Palermo it was given as Elvira e Arturo during the following season and La Fenice presented it in April 1836 as I puritani e i cavalieri with Giuseppina Strepponi as Elvira It took until January 1837 before it was seen at the San Carlo in Naples Messina saw it in 1838 Weinstock recounts details of hundreds more including being given in Rome in 1836 as Elvira Walton and during that year he details performances in Berlin Vienna Madrid and Bologna with Giulia Grisi as Elvira Between 1836 and 1845 with no details provided before 20th century performances are discussed the opera was presented every year in different cities 20th century and beyond nbsp Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti 1976 performance at the Metropolitan OperaDetails from 1906 forward are provided by Weinstock In that year the opera appeared at the Manhattan Opera House in New York followed by stagings at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1917 but in New York it was not revived for many years Various performances are reported to have taken place in 1921 1933 1935 and 1949 in different European cities but it was not until 1955 in Chicago that Puritani re appeared in America with Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano in the major roles The 1960s saw a variety of performances in the years between 1960 Glyndebourne Festival with Joan Sutherland which was recorded and 1969 when Weinstock s account ends However he does include a section on performances from the 19th century forward at the Royal Opera House in London up to Joan Sutherland s 1964 assumption of the role of Elvira 20 The article s Recordings section indicates some other performances which may have been recordings of live performances although the one DVD from the Metropolitan Opera in January 2007 came from a Metropolitan Opera Live in HD presentation Roles edit nbsp Antonio Tamburini sang Riccardo Lithograph by Josef KriehuberRoles voice types premiere cast Role Voice type Premiere cast 24 January 1835 21 Lord Arturo Talbo 22 tenor Giovanni Battista RubiniElvira betrothed to Arturo soprano Giulia GrisiSir Riccardo Forth the Puritan leader in love with Elvira baritone Antonio TamburiniSir Giorgio Valton 22 Elvira s uncle bass Luigi LablacheLord Gualtiero Valton Elvira s father and Giorgio s brother bass Luigi ProfetiSir Bruno Roberton tenor M MaglianoEnrichetta di Francia widow of Charles I mezzo soprano Maria AmigoSoldiers heralds armigers Puritans lords and ladies pages servantsSynopsis editPlace England during the English Civil War Time 1640sAct 1 edit Scene 1 A fortress near Plymouth commanded by Lord Gualtiero ValtonAt daybreak the Puritan soldiers gather in anticipation of victory over the Royalists Prayers are heard from within and then shouts of joy as the ladies and gentlemen of the castle come out announcing news of Elvira s wedding Left alone Riccardo shares with Bruno his plight Riccardo had been promised Elvira s hand in marriage by her father Lord Valton but returning to Plymouth the previous evening he has found that she is in love with Arturo a Royalist and will marry him instead He confides in Bruno Aria Ah Per sempre Bel sogno beato Ah Forever have I lost you flower of love oh my hope ah life from now on will be full of sorrow As he pours out his sorrows to Bruno Riccardo is called upon by his soldiers to lead them but he declares I am aflame but the flame is love not glory Scene 2 Elvira s apartmentsElvira welcomes Giorgio her uncle He treats her with fatherly love but when he tells her that she will soon be married she is horror struck Aria then extended duet Sai com arde in petto mio bella fiamma onnipossente You know that my breast burns with overwhelming passion She continues stating a determination never to be married But when Giorgio tells her that her cavalier Arturo will be coming he reveals that it was he who persuaded her father Lord Valton to grant Elvira s wish She is overjoyed Then the sound of trumpets is heard announcing Arturo s arrival he is welcomed by all Scene 3 The Hall of ArmsArturo and his squires come into the hall and are joined by Elvira Valton Giorgio and the ladies and gentlemen of the castle After a general welcome from all assembled Arturo expresses his new found happiness Aria Arturo then Giorgio and Valton then all assembled A te o cara amore talora In you beloved love led me in secrecy and tears now it guides me to your side Valton tells everyone that he will not be able to attend the wedding ceremony and he provides Arturo with a safe conduct pass A mysterious lady appears and Valton tells her that he will be escorting her to London to appear before Parliament Arturo is curious Giorgio tells him that she is suspected of being a Royalist spy As Elvira leaves to prepare herself for the wedding and the others depart in various directions Arturo hangs back and finds the mysterious lady alone He discovers that she is Enrichetta Henrietta Maria widow of the executed King Charles I Insisting that she not be concerned about Elvira Arturo vows to save her Aria Arturo then Enrichetta then together Non parlar di lei che adoro di valor non mi spogliar Do not speak of her whom I adore do not take away my courage You shall be saved oh unhappy woman Observed by Arturo and Enrichetta Elvira appears singing a joyful polonaise Son vergin vezzosa I am a pretty maiden dressed for her wedding but she engages the Queen in conversation asking for help with the ringlets of her hair To allow that to happen she removes her wedding veil and places it over Enrichetta s head Both Arturo and Enrichetta realise that this may allow them to escape and as they proceed they are challenged by Riccardo who believes the woman to be Elvira He almost provokes a fight with Arturo until he discovers that she is not Elvira then he is content to allow them to pass swearing not to reveal any information When the wedding party enters they ask for Arturo then learn largely from Riccardo that he has fled with Enrichetta Pursuit is organised Becoming increasingly distraught Elvira believes that she sees Arturo Aria then ensemble Oh vieni al tempio fedele Arturo Ah come ah come Oh come to the church faithful Arturo It is increasingly clear that she has gone mad Act 2 edit A room in the fortressAs the ladies and gentlemen of the castle are mournful for Elvira s totally downcast state of mind Giorgio describes her madness Aria Cinta di fiori Garlanded with flowers and with her lovely hair disheveled sometimes the beloved maiden wanders about and he describes her flights into madness and her pleas for Arturo to return Riccardo brings the news that Arturo is now a fugitive who has been condemned to death by Parliament for allowing Enrichetta to escape Giorgio states that the only hope for Elvira will be a sudden joyous experience Elvira is heard outside still deranged but longing for Arturo Either give me back hope let me die she cries As she enters she expresses all her longing Elvira aria Qui la voce Vien diletto Here his sweet voice called me and then vanished Here he swore to be true here he swore it and then cruel man he fled Entering she confronts her uncle and Riccardo whom she fails to recognise even in her moments of lucidity She addresses him as if he were Arturo Elvira cabaletta Vien diletto e in ciel la luna Come beloved the moon is in the sky Everything is silent until the dawn breaks in the sky The two men encourage Elvira to return to her room For Elvira s sake Giorgio encourages Riccardo to help save his rival advising that he will forever be pursued by their phantoms Riccardo rejects the request Giorgio then Riccardo then duet Il rival salvar tu dei il rival salvar tu puoi You must save your rival you can save your rival but gradually Riccardo comes around to accept that idea However he states that if in the following day s battle Arturo appears he will perish at his hand The two men now have an agreement Finale Giorgio then Riccardo then together Suoni la tromba Let the battle cry be country victory victory and honour Let the trumpets sound and I shall fight strongly fearlessly Act 3 edit A wooded area near the fortress three months laterArturo is still on the run He is exhausted and has returned seeking Elvira Suddenly he hears the sounds of singing coming through the woods Elvira aria A una fonte afflitto e solo s assideva un trovator A troubadour sat sad and lonely by a fountain He calls out but gets no response and recalling how the couple used to sing together in the woods he also sings the troubadour melody until the sound of drumbeats and the shouting of soldiers silences him He covers himself and hides as a group of soldiers passes then emerges and decides to continue singing to the same melody Arturo aria Corre a valle corre a monte l esiliato pellegrin Through the valleys over the mountains hastens the exiled pilgrim Unseen Elvira emerges from the trees and stops to listen She is saddened when the singing stops and she sorrowfully wonders where Arturo is Suddenly he is standing before her and they are reunited in a spirited duet in which they declare that they will always be together after the long months of being apart Still a little confused Elvira believes that Arturo has married the woman whom he escorted from the fortress he assures Elvira that he has always loved her that the lady who was in great danger was the queen Arturo then Elvira then together Having determined that they love each other and that they will always remain together they enter into an ecstatic duet Arturo Vieni fra queste braccia Come come to my arms Elvira Caro caro non ho parole Dearest dearest I cannot find the words to express my happiness then together At the sound of drums being heard Elvira appears to be returning to a state of madness fearing that they will again be parted Then soldiers voices are heard close by and Riccardo Giorgio and the ladies and gentlemen of the fortress enter announcing Arturo s death sentence With that she finally comes to her senses An ensemble beginning with Arturo Credeasi misera Unhappy girl she believed that I had betrayed her extends to all assembled each expressing his or her anguish with even Riccardo being moved by the plight of the lovers For this extended piece Bellini wrote a high F natural above C5 for Arturo s crudeli crudeli Ella e tremante ella e spirante anime perfide sorde a pieta cruel men cruel men She is trembling she is fainting perfidious souls deaf to pity The soldiers continue to demand Arturo s execution but the sounds of a herald arriving are heard He brings letters which are opened by Riccardo and Giorgio They announce that although the Royalists have been defeated Oliver Cromwell has pardoned all prisoners The ensemble expresses its general and its personal joy Music editTwo specific examples of Bellini s distinctive musical style appear in this opera In act 3 an ensemble Credeasi misera develops during which Bellini writes an in alt F natural above C5 for Arturo Most tenors would typically sing a D flat instead of an F However some tenors like Nicolai Gedda William Matteuzzi Gregory Kunde Lawrence Brownlee Francesco Demuro and Alasdair Kent did manage to tackle the challenging high F In the seldom performed Malibran version it is Elvira i e the soprano who sings in a higher octave the principal part of Credeasi misera nbsp An excerpt from Credeasi misera act 3 The notes highlighted above the high C are among the highest demanded in tenor operatic repertoire and are usually sung falsetto or altogether transposed In regard to the impact of the act 2 finale number and its significance in librettist Carlo Pepoli s work as well as in Bellini s music so far Mary Ann Smart provides one explanation for the power of Suoni la tromba by referring to work of another musicologist Mark Everist who she states has plausibly suggested that the frenzy was provoked more by the buzzing energy of the two bass voices combined an unprecedented sonority at the time than by the duet s political message 23 But she continues to analyse other aspects of the duet We should also factor in the force of Pepoli s verses with their promotion of martyrdom and the utter regularity of the music s march like phrasing rare in Bellini s ethereal style Suoni la tromba is a perplexing historical anomaly an almost isolated example of an extroverted overtly political statement heard at the Theatre Italien and an equally rare link between Pepoli s political persona and his role as poet for hire But such overt calls for revolution represent just one possible political style They are not necessarily the most forceful or influential variety of intervention 14 Recordings editYear Cast Elvira Arturo Riccardo Giorgio Conductor Opera house and orchestra Label 24 1952 Lina Pagliughi Mario Filippeschi Rolando Panerai Sesto Bruscantini Fernando Previtali Coro e Orchestra di Roma della RAI CD Bongiovanni Il Mito dell Opera Cat GB 1170 1 2URANIACat URN 22 2031952 Maria Callas Giuseppe Di Stefano Piero Campolonghi it Roberto Silva Guido Picco Mexico Palacio de Bellas Artes Orchestra and Chorus CD Opera DepotCat 10826 2 29 May 1952 1953 Maria Callas Giuseppe Di Stefano Rolando Panerai Nicola Rossi Lemeni Tullio Serafin La Scala Orchestra and Chorus CD EMICat 585 647 2 First studio recording 1957 Virginia Zeani Mario Filippeschi Aldo Protti Andrea Mongelli it Francesco Molinari Pradelli Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra and Chorus CD BongiovanniCat GB 1195 1196 12 February 1957 1959 Anna Moffo Gianni Raimondi Ugo Savarese Raffaele Arie Mario Rossi Coro e Orchestra di Milano della RAI CD Premiere Opera Ltd Cat CDNO 1448 2 Opera Depot Cat OD1960 Joan Sutherland Nicola Filacuridi Ernest Blanc Giuseppe Modesti Vittorio Gui Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Glyndebourne Chorus Recording of a performance at the Glyndebourne Festival 18 July CD Glyndebourne Omega Opera Archive Cat 13981961 Leyla Gencer Gianni Raimondi Manuel Ausensi Ferruccio Mazzoli Argeo Quadri Teatro Colon de Buenos Aires Orchestra and Chorus Black Disk FoyerCat FO 1024 12 October 1961 1963 Joan Sutherland Pierre Duval Renato Capecchi Ezio Flagello Richard Bonynge Coro e Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino CD Decca Cat 448 969 21969 Mirella Freni Luciano Pavarotti Sesto Bruscantini Bonaldo Giaiotti Riccardo Muti Rome Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Roma della RAI CD MelodramCat MEL 27062 2 7 October 1969 1971 Adriana Maliponte Alfredo Kraus Piero Cappuccilli Ruggero Raimondi Gianandrea Gavazzeni Catania Teatro Bellini di Catania Orchestra and Chorus CD Opera DepotCat 10379 2 27 January 1971 1973 Beverly Sills Nicolai Gedda Louis Quilico Paul Plishka Julius Rudel London Philharmonic Orchestra and Ambrosian Opera Chorus CD Westminster The LegacyCat 471 207 21973 Joan Sutherland Luciano Pavarotti Piero Cappuccilli Nicolai Ghiaurov Richard Bonynge London Symphony Orchestra and chorus of the Royal Opera House CD LondonCat POCL 2896 81979 Montserrat Caballe Alfredo Kraus Matteo Manuguerra Agostino Ferrin Riccardo Muti Philharmonia Orchestra and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus CD EMI ClassicsCat 5 091492007 Anna Netrebko Eric Cutler Franco Vassallo it John Relyea Patrick Summers Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Chorus and Ballet Video recording made at performances at the MET January DVD Deutsche GrammophonCat 073 44212010 Nino Machaidze Juan Diego Florez Gabriele Viviani Ildebrando D Arcangelo Michele Mariotti Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna Video recording of a performance at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna 2009 DVD DeccaCat 0440 074 3351 5 DH2 25 2012 Mariola Cantarero John Osborn Scott Hendricks Riccardo Zanellato Giuliano Carella Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera Video recording of a performance at the Dutch National Opera 2009 DVD Opus ArteCat OA 1091 D 25 Cultural references editI puritani to which she referred as dear Puritani was Queen Victoria s favourite opera and the first which she attended in the company of Prince Albert before their marriage 26 The 2009 film The Young Victoria includes an episode in which Albert and Victoria discuss the opera as well as a scene showing Victoria attending a performance 27 In the film Fitzcarraldo the cast of I puritani are being transported on Fitzcarraldo s boat They perform parts of the opera in full costume and sing A te o cara from act 1 scene 3 as Fitzcarraldo makes his triumphal return to Iquitos 28 References editNotes a b c Weaver 1987 p 18 Weaver 1987 p 16 Osborne 1994 p 350 Weinstock 1971 pp 156 157 Bellini to Vincenzo Ferlito 1 April 1835 in Walker 1971 p 157 incomplete short citation original source Cambi 1945 incomplete short citation a b Bellini to Florimo date unknown postmarked 26 January 1835 in Weinstock 1971 p 184 Bellini to Florimo 11 March 1834 in Weinstock 1971 p 159 If you reflect for a moment that a young man in my position in London and Paris for the first time cannot help amusing himself immensely you will excuse me a b c Bellini to Vincenzo Ferlito 11 April 1834 in Weinstock 1971 pp 160 162 Weaver 1987 p 19 Bellini to Florimo date uncertain in Weaver 1987 p 16 Bellini to Florimo 26 May 1834 in Weinstock 1971 p 163 a b Bellini to Pepoli no date given in Weinstock 1971 pp 170 171 Bellini to Santocanale 21 September 1834 in Weinstock 1971 p 173 a b Smart 2010 pp 40 43 Bellini to Pepoli 30 May 1834 in Weaver 1987 p 17 Bellini to Florimo 11 March 1834 in Weinstock 1971 p 163 Bellini to Vincenzo Ferlito day month unknown 1835 after Puritani s success in Weinstock 1971 pp 163 164 a b Letters from Bellini to Florimo in Weinstock 1971 pp 179 182 Galatopoulos 2002 p 364 Weinstock 1971 pp 309 316 Casaglia 2005 a b The surnames Talbo and Valton in the libretto are substitutions for Talbot and Walton in Ancelot and Saintine s play Mark Everist in Smart 2010 p 42 Recordings of I puritani on operadis opera discography org uk a b Riccardo Rocca 2015 I puritani Amsterdam De Nederlandse Opera 2009 I puritani Bologna Teatro Comunale 2010 Bollettino di Studi Belliniani 1 151 156 in Italian Rappaport 2003 p 275 Mary Kunz Goldman True love Royal romance story is beautifully filmed and acted The Buffalo News Buffalo New York December 25 2009 Retrieved 10 February 2018 Prager 2007 p 162 Cited sources Casaglia Gherardo 2005 I puritani 24 January 1835 L Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia in Italian Galatopoulos Stelios 2002 Bellini Life Times Music 1801 1835 London Sanctuary Publishing ISBN 9781860744051 Osborne Charles 1994 The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini Donizetti and Bellini Portland Oregon Amadeus Press ISBN 0931340713 Prager Brad 2007 The Cinema of Werner Herzog Aesthetic Ecstasy and Truth Directors Cuts Columbia University Press ISBN 9781905674176 Rappaport Helen 2003 Queen Victoria A Biographical Companion Santa Barbara California ABC CLIO ISBN 9781851093557 Smart Mary Ann Summer 2010 Parlor Games Italian Music and Italian Politics in the Parisian Salon 19th Century Music University of California 34 1 39 60 doi 10 1525 ncm 2010 34 1 039 JSTOR 10 1525 ncm 2010 34 1 039 Weaver William 1987 Bellini Paris and I puritani in booklet accompanying 1973 Decca recording pp 13 22 issued on CD in 1987 Weinstock Herbert 1971 Bellini His Life and His Operas New York Knopf ISBN 0394416562 Further reading editEverist Mark 2005 Tutti i francesi erano diventati matti Bellini and the Duet for Two Basses Giacomo Meyerbeer and Music Drama in Nineteenth Century Paris Aldershot Ashgate pp 281 308 Kimbell David 2001 I puritani in Holden Amanda Ed The New Penguin Opera Guide pp 46 55 New York Penguin Putnam ISBN 0 140 29312 4 Korner Axel Pepoli Carlo in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Maguire Simon Forbes Elizabeth Budden Julian 1998 I puritani in Stanley Sadie Ed The New Grove Dictionary of Opera Vol Three pp 1184 1185 London Macmillan Publishers Inc ISBN 1 56159 228 5 Orrey Leslie 1973 Bellini The Master Musicians Series London J M Dent Ltd ISBN 0 460 02137 0 Rosselli John 1996 The Life of Bellini New York Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 46781 0 Thiellay Jean Thiellay Jean Philippe 2013 Bellini Paris Actes Sud ISBN 978 2 330 02377 5 in French Willier Stephen Ace 2002 Vincenzo Bellini A Guide to Research New York Routledge ISBN 0 8153 3805 8 and on books google com External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to I puritani I puritani Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Libretto in Italian on opera stanford edu Italian libretto with English translation on archive org Pardo Daniel Bellini I puritani Opera Today online 11 January 2006 Portal nbsp Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title I puritani amp oldid 1197813547, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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