Bellini - I puritani

£21.80

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Label: Euroarts

Cat No: 4211121

Format: Hybrid SACD

Number of Discs: 3

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 6th December 2024

Works

Bellini, Vincenzo

I Puritani

Artists

Lisette Oropesa (soprano)
Lawrence Brownlee (tenor)
Anthony Clark Evans (baritone)
Riccardo Zanellato (bass)
Martin-Jan Nijhof (bass)
Simeon Esper (tenor)
Roxana Constantinescu (mezzo-soprano)
MDR-Rundfunkchor
Dresdner Philharmonie

Conductor

Riccardo Frizza

Works

Bellini, Vincenzo

I Puritani

Artists

Conductor

Riccardo Frizza

About

I puritani is the last great masterpiece of the exceptional Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini. The intelligently conceived and thoroughly thrilling historical drama, written by the Italian librettist Conte Carlo Pepoli (1796-1881), concerning the fiery romantic intrigue between Elvira, the daughter of a Puritan and the royalist Arturo – Bellini's rapturous music, full of melancholic intensity, is a delight to listen to, as performed by Lisette Oropesa and Lawrence Brownlee.

The opera is considered a showcase piece for soprano and tenor and holds its own in the rich operatic landscape of the 19th century, especially with its high-pitched passages and bel canto pleasure at its finest, to this day.

Experience Lisette Oropesa in one of her signature roles as Elvira, suffering from anguish of the soul to the point of madness.

With Lisette Oropesa as Elvira, one of the most important sopranos of our time could be won for this recording, who not only knows how to convince technically, but also musically masterfully. Thanks to a brilliantly warm soprano voice and a crystal-clear timbre, which is impressively demonstrated not least in perhaps the most demanding duet in Bellini's opera (‘Sai come arde in petto mio’), even the most difficult passages of this complex score are mastered with seemingly effortless ease.

In recent years, Lawrence Brownlee (Arturo) has sung his way into the front row of international bel canto stars with several highly acclaimed performances, and he impressively demonstrates his skills as Arturo on this recording. His agile tenor voice effortlessly reaches dizzying heights while retaining much of its intense power.

For the not particularly extensive discography of I puritani, this recording is certainly a landmark – not only because the vocal colours of the soloists harmonise with impressive precision down to the last detail, but also because the MDR Radio Choir and the Dresden Philharmonic, under the direction of Riccardo Frizza, bring the necessary musical sensitivity to shed a very special light on Bellini's last great masterpiece.

Cast:
- Elvira: Lisette Oropesa (soprano)
- Lord Arturo Talbo: Lawrence Brownlee (tenor)
- Sir Riccardo Forth: Anthony Clark Evans (baritone)
- Sir Giorgio Valton: Riccardo Zanellato (bass)
- Lord Gualtiero Valton: Martin-Jan Nijhof (bass)
- Sir Bruno Robertson: Simeon Esper (tenor)
- Enrichetta di Francia: Roxana Constantinescu (mezzo-soprano)

Sound/Video

Paused

1

Act I, Part 1: Introduzione
2

Act I, Part 1: All’erta!
3

Act I, Part 1: O di Cromwell guerrieri, pieghiem la mente e il cor
4

Act I, Part 1: A festa!
5

Act I, Part 1: Or dove fuggio io mai?
6

Act I, Part 1: Ah! per sempre io ti perdei
7

Act I, Part 1: T’appellan le schiere
8

Act I, Part 1: O amato zio, o mio secondo padre!
9

Act I, Part 1: Sai com’arde in petto mio
10

Act I, Part 1: Chi mosse a’ miei desir il genitor?
11

Act I, Part 1: Odi! Qual suon si desta?
12

Act I, Part 2: Ad Arturo onore
13

Act I, Part 2: A te, o cara, amor talora
14

Act I, Part 2: Il rito augusto si compia senza me
15

Act I, Part 2: Cavalier! – Se t’è d’uopo di consiglio
16

Act I, Part 2: Son vergin vezzosa
17

Act I, Part 2: Sulla virginea testa
18

Act I, Part 2: Ferma, invan rapir pretendi
19

Act I, Part 2: Dov’è Arturo?
20

Act I, Part 2: Oh, vieni al tempio, fedele Arturo
21

Act I, Part 2: Ma tu già mi fuggi?
22

Act II: Ah, dolor! Ah, terror!
23

Act II: Qual novella?
24

Act II: Cinta di fiori e col ben crin disciolto
25

Act II: E di morte lo stral non sarà lento
26

Act II: O rendetemi la speme... Qui la voce sua soave mi chciamava
27

Act II: Ah, tu sorridi
28

Act II: Vien, diletto, è in ciel la luna
29

Act II: Il rival salvar tu dei
30

Act II: Se tra il buio un fantasma vedrai
31

Act II: Riccardo, Riccardo!
32

Act II: Suoni la tromba
33

Act III: Uragano – Son salvo, alfin son salvo
34

Act III: Qual suon! – A una fonte afflitto e solo
35

Act III: Qual suon! Alcun s’appressa!
36

Act III: Son già lontani
37

Act III: Finì, me lassa!
38

Act III: Nel mirarti un solo istante
39

Act III: Ah! perdona, ell’era misera
40

Act III: Vieni, vieni fra queste braccia
41

Act III: Caro, non ho parola ch’esprima il mio contento
42

Act III: Ancor s’ascolta questo suon molesto!
43

Act III: Cavalier, ti colse il Dio
44

Act III: Credeasi, misera, da me tradita
45

Act III: Suon d’araldi!

Europadisc Review

I puritani – Vincenzo Bellini’s final opera before his death at the age of 33 – is one of the greatest jewels of the bel canto repertoire. Despite the composer’s misgivings over the quality of Carlo Pepoli’s libretto, its premiere on 25 January 1835 at Paris’s Théâtre-Italien was nothing short of sensational, and its leading soloists (Giulia Grisi, Giovanni Basttista Rubini, Antonio Tamburini and Luigi Lablache) were remembered ever after as the ‘Puritani quartet’. During the bel canto revival of the mid-20th century, recordings starring Callas, Sutherland and Caballé earned critical and popular acclaim. However, although several productions have made their way onto DVD/Blu-ray in recent years, new audio recordings have been scarce. Now EuroArts comes to the rescue, with a splendid new account recorded under studio conditions in Dresden in December 2023, under the direction of a conductor thoroughly versed in the Italianate tradition, Riccardo Frizza.

The opera’s tale of doomed love rescued at the last minute, set amid the febrile latter stages of the English Civil War, colours its music with martial rhythms, a certain puritanical directness, but also with vivid orchestral and vocal colours, seamless melody, stratospherically demanding vocal lines for the central lovers, and an important role for the chorus. Frizza directs a briskly-paced account of the score, but nevertheless allows plenty of space for the various ensembles and reflective solo numbers to make their mark. The orchestral introduction features outstanding horn playing from the Dresdner Philharmonie, calling to mind the qualities of their more famous colleagues at the city’s Staatskapelle, while the incisive singing of the MDR-Rundfunkchor hits the spot early on with the male voices of the opening chorus ‘All’erta’ and the subsequent jubilation of ‘A festa!’.

Any performance of I puritani stands or falls on the quality of its four central characters: the lovers Elvira and Arturo, Arturo’s rival Riccardo, and Elvira’s sympathetic uncle Sir Giorgio Valton. Leading the cast here is the superb soprano Lisette Oropesa, bright-voiced, and equally at home in the pinpoint coloratura of her Act 1 ‘Son vergin vezzosa’ and the more exacting emotional demands of her Act 2 mad scene, ‘O rendetemi la speme... Qui la voce sua soave... Vien, diletto, è in ciel la luna’. There is a steeliness to her timbre, but also a melting delicacy even in the top register where needed. Despite a slightly nasal quality in his lower range, tenor Lawrence Brownlee (another leading present-day exponent of the bel canto repertoire) is every bit as impressive as the lone royalist Arturo Talbo, with a metallic brightness to his top notes. His high Ds with Elvira in their Act 3 duet are absolutely fearless, as is his eye-watering top F in the Act 3 finale. Tonally he may yield to the young Pavarotti on the (currently unavailable) 1971 Sutherland Decca recording, but otherwise he has few equals today.

Baritone Anthony Clark Evans as Riccardo cuts an imposing figure: he phrases the music most musically, and earns extra points for his top G in the rousing (and ever-popular) duet ‘Suoni la tromba’ that concludes Act 2. In a work that defies the usual goodie/baddie operatic stereotypes, his gift for nuance is a distinct asset, as is the touching bass of Riccardo Zanelatto as Elvira’s ‘second father’ Giorgio. More than once Zanelatto’s benevolent tones have one thinking ahead almost two decades to Germont père in Verdi’s La Traviata. The other minor roles are all appealingly sung.

Although there’s no accompanying libretto, this vibrantly-paced account of Bellini’s operatic swansong, recorded with admirable clarity, thrilling immediacy and a balance that favours the voices without losing orchestral colour, will undoubtedly quicken the pulse of bel canto fans everywhere. I puritani may play rather freely with its historical setting, but it’s an immersive musico-dramatic journey teeming with glorious numbers. This is a first-rate addition to the Bellini discography.

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Bellini - I puritani

In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day

Despatch Information

Contents

Works

Artists

Conductor

Works

Artists

Conductor

About

Sound/Video

Paused

Europadisc Review