by usia review

Bel Canto in Close-Up: I Puritani from the Met at Gulbenkian

Seen on broadcast at the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, the Metropolitan Opera production of I Puritani offered Lisbon audiences the chance to revisit one of the most demanding — and dazzling — scores in the bel canto repertoire.

Admittedly, this kind of transmission does not provide surround sound, which slightly reduces the theatrical impact. Even so, the expressive power of Vincenzo Bellini’s music and the exceptional quality of the cast easily overcome any technical limitations.

Inspired by the play Têtes Rondes et Cavaliers, itself based on the novel Old Mortality by Walter Scott, the opera transports us to Plymouth during the English Civil War. Queen Enrichetta, widow of Charles I, is held prisoner by the Puritans. Elvira, daughter of Lord Walton, is in love with Arturo Talbot, a Royalist knight. The plot thickens when Arturo helps the queen escape by disguising her with Elvira’s bridal veil. Believing herself betrayed, Elvira descends into madness, regaining her sanity only upon Arturo’s return — after he is ultimately pardoned by the victorious Oliver Cromwell.

A Staging in Service of the Music

The production, designed by Charles Edwards, favors visual restraint, allowing the music to drive the drama. One of the staging’s most poetic elements is the presence of silent actors portraying the protagonists at different ages, suggesting memory, innocence, and destiny — a discreet but effective device that never distracts from the musical core.

In the pit, conductor Marco Armiliato leads the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra with stylistic assurance and maturity, supporting the singers with broad phrasing and constant attention to bel canto nuance.

A Cast with Stamina and Style

The cast demonstrates notable intelligence in managing vocal resources — evident from the start, as if everyone were conserving energy for the opera’s vocally punishing final stretches.

Lisette Oropesa delivers a benchmark Elvira: technically immaculate, with a luminous timbre, fluid coloratura, and elegantly shaped legato lines. Her interpretation favors lyrical poise and purity of phrasing, revealing refined musical sensitivity.

Alongside her, Lawrence Brownlee tackles Arturo’s formidable demands with bravery and vocal agility.

Baritone Artur Ruciński lends Riccardo Forth a dark, well-focused tone, while bass-baritone Christian Van Horn commands vocal authority as Giorgio Valton.

Mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti, as Enrichetta di Francia, brings solidity and noble phrasing. The remaining cast members perform with cohesion and effectiveness.

Memory and Comparison

For many Portuguese opera lovers, I Puritani remains closely associated with the legendary portrayal of Elvira by Edita Gruberová at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos. Without indulging in easy nostalgia, comparisons are inevitable: if Gruberová set the stage ablaze with dazzling virtuosity, Oropesa offers a more lyrical and contained approach — no less successful, simply different in expressive temperature.

The Chorus as Emotional Mirror

Special mention must also go to the chorus, not only for its musical solidity but for its dramatic expressiveness. Faces became true emotional canvases, conveying inner feeling with subtlety and forging a direct emotional bridge with the audience.

Productions like this remind us why Metropolitan Opera broadcasts continue to be eagerly anticipated at Gulbenkian: even at a distance, grand opera retains its full power to move and captivate.

A Metropolitan Opera production at Gulbenkian in live broadcast

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Thanks to: The Metropolitan Opera, Zoë Pigott; Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Sara Huberty Ramos