Bellini: I Puritani [Plus Bonus Disc with Libretto & Synopsis] [Original recording reissued]

Vincenzo Bellini (Composer), Tullio Sarafin (Conductor), Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala (Orchestra), Maria Callas (Performer), Giuseppe Di Stefano (Performer), Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (Performer), Rolando Panerai (Performer), Angelo Mercuriali (Performer), Carlo Forti (Performer), Aurora Cattelani (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Rolando Panerai, Angelo Mercuriali, et al.
• Orchestra: Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala
• Conductor: Tullio Sarafin
• Composer: Vincenzo Bellini
• Audio CD (April 20, 2010)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B0036O0EKS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,057 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Sinfonia

2. ATTO PRIMO, Scena prima: All'erte! All'erta! (Bruno/Coro)

3. ATTO PRIMO, Scena prima: O di Cromvel guerrieri (Bruno/Elvira/Arturo/Riccardo/Giorgio/Coro)

4. ATTO PRIMO, Scena prima: A festa! (Coro)

5. ATTO PRIMO, Scena prima: Or dove fuggo io mai? (Riccardo/Bruno)

6. ATTO PRIMO, Scena prima: Ah! per sempre io ti perdei (Riccardo)

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. ATTO SECONDO: Ah! dolor! ah terror ... (Coro)

2. ATTO SECONDO: Qual novella? (Coro/Giorgio)

3. ATTO SECONDO: Cinta di fiori e col ben crin disciolto (Giorgio/Coro)

4. ATTO SECONDO: E di morte lo stral non sarà lento (Riccardo/Coro/Giorgio)

5. ATTO SECONDO: O rendetemi la speme ... Qui la voce sua soave mi chiamava

6. ATTO SECONDO: Vien diletto, è in ciel la luna (Elvira/Riccardo/Giorgio)

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. I Puritani: Libretto

2. I Puritani: Synopsis

Editorial Reviews

"I can hardly think of any music in all Callas's recorded repertory I would rather hear her interpret than `Qui la voce', `Oh, vieni al tempio' from the Wedding Scene, or `Son vergin vezzosa'. Nobody who admires her art can be without this historic set."

Synopsis

I puritani is set in fortress in Plymouth during the English Civil War. The action centres on the fragile Elvira, daughter of the Roundhead Lord Walton and betrothed to Riccardo, a fellow Puritan. She is, however, in love with a Royalist Cavalier, Arturo, and her father agrees that she can marry him instead. It happens that King Charles I's widow, Enrichetta, is captive in the fortress. With Arturo's help she escapes, disguised by Elvira's wedding veil; Elvira, believing that Arturo has betrayed her, loses her senses. All finally ends happily when Elvira is reunited with Arturo; she regains her sanity and news comes of the end of Civil War, releasing Arturo from the threat of execution. The score's pièce de resistance is Elvira's poignant mad scene, `Qui la voce sua soave', as she imagines her wedding. Earlier in the opera, in `Son vergin vezzosa' her voice skips brilliantly over a vocal ensemble as she teases Enrichetta with her bridal veil. Arturo declares his love for her in the arching `A te, o cara', while Riccardo laments his loveless state in the touching `Ah, per sempre, io ti perdei'. By contrast, he and Giorgio, Elvira's uncle, exude martial aggression in their stirring duet `Suoni la tromba'.