BELLINI: I PURITANI

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 it's own in the rich operatic landscape of the 19th century, especially with it's high-pitched passages and bel canto pleasure at it's finest, to this day.