Bellini: I Puritani [VOD]
Bellini : I Puritani
A jewel of bel canto, and Bellini’s last masterpice, I Puritani encapsulates every major theme held dear by the Italian romantic generation : a love triangle, quid pro quos, a shattered love affair leading to madness, set in Cromwell’s England with its lot of political rivalries. It is also an ode to resistance and to freedom, echoing the political struggles that the Italian peninsula was facing in the 1830’s. But it is mainly a testament to Bellini’s unique musical brand, a genius combination of melodic brightness, post-rossinian ornaments, and a profound and melancolic lamento that owes much to traditional Neapolitan songs.
It is therefore one of the most vocally demanding opera of the repertoire, and to face this challenge, the Teatro Real of Madrid called on four exceptional singers : the great diva Diana Damrau is Elvira, Javier Camarena is Arturo (both triumphed at the Metropolitan Opera of New York in the same opera in 2017), as well as baritone Ludovic Tézier and bass-baritone Nicolas Testé.
Catalan director Emilio Sagi offers a staging both elegant and simple, and bel canto expert Evelino Pidò, along with the Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus, brings forth every nuance of this immense and unforgettable score.
Bellini : I Puritani [VOD]
Opera in three acts and five parts
Music : Vincenzo Bellini (1801 – 1835)
Libretto : Carlo Pepoli
Elvira : Diana Damrau
Arturo : Javier Camarena
Riccardo : Ludovic Tézier
Sir Giorgio : Nicolas Testé
Enrichetta : Annalisa Stroppa
Gualtiero : Fernando Radó
Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real – Madrid
Conductor : Evelino Pidò
Stage direction : Emilio Sagi
Sets : Daniel Bianco
Lighting design : Eduardo Bravo
Costumes : Peppispoo
Chorus master : Andrés Máspero
“Diana Damrau is the ideal interpreter of Elvira; with her rich and full voice she stands in the center of a peculiar polyphony, where there is little argument, because the drama is set in a purely vocal and musical stratosphere.” – El Mundo
[Diana Damrau es la intérprete ideal de Elvira; con su voz rica y plena se erige en el centro de una peculiar polifonía, donde el argumento cuenta poco, porque el drama se sitúa en una estratosfera puramente vocal y musical.]
About Diana Damrau and Javier Camarena’s performance at the Met :
« As the emotionally unstable Elvira, a young Puritan woman in 17th-century England, Ms. Damrau sang with gleaming sound, volatile intensity and fearless execution of florid coloratura runs. And as Arturo, the man Elvira loves to distraction, a member of the Royalists, who opposed the Puritans in the English Civil War, Mr. Camarena again proved to be the leading bel canto tenor of the day. At 40, he may be entering his prime. He certainly appears to know what he is doing with his career. » – The New York Times
« An earnest actor, Javier Camarena seems incapable of any vocal misstep in his compelling note-spinning. His voice inhabits the upper tenor range and solidly projects the highest notes as if with effortlessness. A bell-like clarity and tonal purity successively caress and pierce the heart, as the dramatic situation demands » – BlastingNews.com
