BELLINI: I Puritani

Orquestra Simfònica i Cor del Gran Teatre del Liceu,
Friedrich Haider

Director: Andrei Serban

Cat no.: DV-OPIP

Picture Format: 16:9 anamorphic
Sound Format: LPCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
Running Time: 159 mins
Region Code: PAL All
Booklet Languages: GB, F, D
Recording Date: 8 February 2001

The "Queen of Coloratura", Edita Gruberova, is the undisputed star of this recording of I Puritani from the opera house in Barcelona. Her interpretation of Bellini's Elvira has certainly become one of her showpieces and her superb technique, her top notes and exquisite pianissimos and her amazing command of coloratura make her the focus of this production. The audience rewarded her with long enthusiastic ovations after her the mad scene in the second act, when her heart breaking rendering of the elegiac "Qui la voce sua soave" and the dazzling coloratura in the fast cabaletta undoubtedly sets her name next to the great Elviras of the 20th century.

TDK captures on DVD Andrei Serban's production of Bellini's gloomy masterpiece. Originally made for Welsh National Opera, in a co-production with Netherlands Opera, and premièred in Cardiff in March 1982, it was taken up by the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona as part of the Bellini bicentenary celebrations in 2001. In his staging, Serban maintains an ever-present mood of conflict: the drama is clearly played out in a closed community, under threat, and the bare designs - a linear fort, a single coach in the ice - serve to glorify the voices, the focus of this bel canto work. Michael Yeargan's design emphasizes the Puritan aesthetic, and a touch of red in Elvira's flowers, amid the prevailing blacks, browns and whites, makes a striking impression.

This stellar cast from 2001 includes José Bros making his debut in the role of Lord Arturo Talbo, as well as the formidable talents of Spanish baritone Carlos Álvarez.