- Vincenzo Bellini. Melodramma serio in three parts. 1835.
- Libretto by Carlo Pepoli, after the play Têtes rondes et cavaliers
(Roundheads and Cavaliers) by J.-A. F.-P. Ancelot and Jean Xavier Boniface, dit Saintine.
- First performance at the Théâtre Italien, Paris, on 24th January 1835.
CHARACTERS
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| Lord Gualtiero Walton, Governor General of the fortress | bass |
| Sir Giorgio Walton, his brother, also a Puritan | bass |
| Lord Arturo Talbo, a Cavalier | tenor |
| Sir Riccardo Forth, a Puritan colonel | baritone |
| Sir Bruno Robertson, a Puritan officer | tenor |
| Enrichetta di Francia, |
| (Queen Henrietta Maria, widow of King Charles I) | mezzo-soprano |
| Elvira, daughter of Lord Walton | soprano |
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Elvira is in love with Lord Arthur Talbot, but her father wants her to marry Sir Richard Forth,
eventually giving in to her wishes. The Queen, imprisoned in the same fortress and under threat of
execution, is saved by Lord Arthur, who leads her out under Elvira's bridal veil, outwitting Sir
Richard, who sees that the woman is not Elvira. She, thinking herself deserted, goes mad. Sir
George and Sir Richard resolve to seek revenge for Elvira's madness in battle against Lord Arthur,
who, in the third act, finds Elvira again, in spite of the danger to himself. Captured, he is about to be
executed, when news of Puritan victory brings with it a general pardon. Elvira recovers her sanity
and her lover.
Bellini's last opera provides an opportunity for tenors in the rôle of Arturo, with his cavatina,
when allowed to claim her as his bride, A te, o cara (To you, my dear one), and for sopranos in
Elvira's joyful Son vergin vezzosa (I am a pretty girl) and her mad scene, Qui la voce sua soave
(Here his sweet voice).
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