I Puritani
by Vincenzo Bellini
"After Beatrice di Tenda (1833), a comparative failure, Bellini went to Paris. Here he met and, after a few months of initial suspicion, made friends with old Rossini. Rossini went out of his way to help the young man; not content with persuading the Théâtre Italien to produce what was in fact to be his last opera, I Puritani (1835), he gave him technical advice as to what should be done to bring his style more into harmony with French taste. Bellini, alone and unhappy, died in the same year, in fact on the night after I Puritani was revived to open the September season. All the artists went, almost direct from the stage, to sing at his funeral. He was only thirty-four."--from notes by Francis Toye in booklet accompanying Angel LP Album 3502 C.
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CD
Maria Callas recorded I Puritani for EMI in Milan, March 24-30, 1953, with Tullio Serafin conducting and Giuseppe di Stefano in the role of Arturo. John Ardoin wrote of this recording that "Callas . . . manages to reflect a variety of emotional states while still giving pure vocal pleasure . . .."
Naxos Historical re-issued the recording on compact disc, on 5 January 2004 at amazon.co.uk.
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Joan Sutherland's 1963 recording, with tenor Pierre Duval and the Chorus and Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by Richard Bonynge, is available from amazon.co.uk.
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DVD
Bellini: I Puritani, Juan Diego Flórez, DVD, amazon.com
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