I Puritani
In Puritan England of the English Civil War, Elvira loves Arturo, a Royalist, despite their families and political loyalties being bitterly opposed. On their wedding day, a mistaken identity and Arturo’s attempt to help a mysterious woman drives Elvira into despair. Arturo is forced to flee and is pursued by the Puritans. Can Elvira and Arturo overcome the political turmoil, betrayal, and heartbreak that have torn them apart?
If the story of I Puritani is relatively simple - a love triangle across political divides - Bellini's music is sublimely refined. Every human action, every conflict, every evil, is taken and transformed into long, celestial melodies, which suspend time and have had a hypnotic effect on audiences since 1835. Bellini’s last opera - before his untimely death at just thirty-three years old - is perhaps the most elegant in its instrumentation and the most varied in its characters: ‘the gay, the sad, the robust of the pieces, everything was marked by applause’, wrote Bellini to his friend Francesco Florimo, the day after the premiere at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris. The new production from Teatro Regio Torino is conducted by Francesco Lanzillotta with an outstanding cast including John Osborn, Gilda Fiume and Simone Del Savio. Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau directs a staging inspired by classicism and neo-romanticism.
CAST
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Elvira
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Gilda Fiume
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Lord Arturo Talbo
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John Osborn
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Sir Giorgio Valton
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Nicola Ulivieri
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Sir Riccardo Forth
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Simone Del Savio
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Lord Gualtiero Valton
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Andrea Pellegrini
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Enrichetta
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Chiara Tirotta
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Sir Bruno Roberton
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Saverio Fiore
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Orchestra
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Teatro Regio Torino Orchestra
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Chorus
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Teatro Regio Torino Chorus
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Music
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Vincenzo Bellini
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Text
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Carlo Pepoli
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Conductor
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Francesco Lanzillotta
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Director
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Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau
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Sets and costumes
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Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau
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Choreography
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Carlo D'Abramo
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Lights
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Gilles Gentner
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Assistant Director
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Achille Jourdain
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Sets Assistant
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Guillemine Burin des Roziers
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Chorus master
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Gea Garatti Ansini
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Videos
STORY
Act I
A fortress near Plymouth, 17th century. Preparations are underway for the wedding of Elvira, daughter of the Puritan governor Gualtiero Valton, to Sir Arturo Talbo, a supporter of the Stuarts. Riccardo Forth is inconsolable: Valton had once agreed to his marriage with Elvira, but later chose not to oppose his daughter, who had fallen in love with Arturo.
Elvira’s chambers. Elvira confides in her uncle Giorgio: she cannot marry a man she does not love. Giorgio reassures her—her groom will be Arturo.
Armory hall. Valton gives Arturo a safe-conduct pass that will allow him and Elvira to leave the castle and go to the church for the wedding. Valton himself will not accompany them, as he must escort an unknown lady to Parliament, who is brought in at that moment. Aside, Giorgio tells Arturo that she is suspected of being a Stuart spy. Left alone with the lady, Arturo learns her identity: she is Enrichetta, widow of Charles I Stuart and daughter of Henry IV of France. Realizing her fate is sealed, Arturo decides to help her escape.
Elvira enters, and Enrichetta helps her try on her bridal veil—then puts it on herself so Elvira can admire it. Elvira steps away, and Arturo tells Enrichetta to keep the veil: disguised and with the safe-conduct, she will be able to flee the castle with him. As they are about to leave, Riccardo stops them. In the confusion, Enrichetta loses the veil. Realizing the veiled woman is not Elvira, Riccardo decides to let his rival escape with another woman. Once they have left, he raises the alarm. Elvira, believing herself betrayed by Arturo, begins to show signs of madness.
Act II
A hall in the castle. Riccardo announces that Parliament has condemned the traitor Arturo to death. Elvira then appears: clearly out of her mind, she does not recognize her uncle and addresses Riccardo as if he were Arturo. Exhausted, she withdraws to her chambers. Giorgio knows that Riccardo aided Arturo’s escape and uses this to persuade him to save his rival, for Elvira’s sake. The two reach an agreement: Arturo will be spared, but if he appears on the battlefield among the Stuart forces in the imminent clash, they will both confront him in combat.
Act III
A garden near Elvira’s home. Arturo has managed to evade the guards and reach his beloved’s house. From a balcony, Elvira sings the song Arturo once dedicated to her. Hearing him join in, she rushes down to the garden to meet him. Arturo finally explains that he only appeared to abandon her in order to save Enrichetta. But Riccardo, Giorgio, and the soldiers suddenly arrive and catch the young lovers. Riccardo announces Arturo’s death sentence. Overwhelmed, Elvira regains her sanity and declares she wishes to die with her beloved. At that moment, a herald arrives: Cromwell, now victorious, has declared an amnesty for the defeated. Amid general rejoicing, the two lovers can finally embrace.
Gallery
