Why tinker with Bellini’s Puritans?

Why do large modern opera houses decide to undermine the plots of well-established operas? I think the disease started in Germany, but it has certainly spread to England. Perhaps opera directors are over-compensated for their work, and get above themselves. Unlike composers and their librettists, they are not the creators of new work but simply put it on stage, and should be satisfied with that, rather than altering someone else’s creations. This disease seems to have affected the otherwise excellent director Richard Jones in his production of I Puritani for Covent Garden. This Bellini opera is not well known, which is all the more reason to leave it alone, rather than change the happy ending.

The story takes place during the English civil war after Charles I has been beheaded and his wife Queen Henrietta (Enrichetta) has escaped in disguise. The story is a complex one in which Elvira, daughter of Lord Walton (Gualtiero) has been promised to Sir Richard Forth (Riccardo), but is in love with a Stuart partisan Lord Arthur Talbot (Arturo). Fortunately her uncle (Giorgio) has persuaded his brother father not to force her to marry against her will, so all should be well, but when Arturo finds out that the ex-queen is a prisoner in the castle he determines to accompany her on a vital escape from execution. Elvira, believing herself to be betrayed, goes mad, even mistaking Riccardo for Arturo. In the final Act all is resolved, and when soldiers rush in to arrest Arturo news arrives of the Royalists’ final defeat and a general amnesty for all offenders. The shock restores Elvira’s senses and she and Arturo embrace their new found happiness.

The alteration Richard Jones has made is right at the end. He suddenly has Riccardo rush in and assassinate Arturo. Had that been the librettist’s intention, Bellini’s music might have reflected it. The story is complex enough and unless you are very familiar with the plot it can be hard work to keep track of what is going on. But in a way that is not the point. The music is glorious. Bellini was a genius whose work would be better known if he had lived longer. This turned out to be his last opera, as he died later in 1835 at the age of 33, leaving a legacy that influenced later opera composers including Wagner.

Better to simply relax and appreciate the superb music. In Bellini’s day the prominence of the roles within the libretto was often influenced by who was available, and at its premiere in Paris in January 1835 the original cast was extremely strong for the four main roles, just as here at Covent Garden. The cast was led by a dazzling Lisette Oropesa as Elvira, and one of the reasons for this opera’s relative rarity is finding a suitable Elvira. But Ms Oropesa along with Francesco Demuro (Arturo), Andrzej Filonczyk (Riccardo), and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (Giorgio), all sang superbly under the excellent baton of Riccardo Frizza, making his Royal Opera debut.

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