Dossier I Puritani

I PURITANI
Bellini
Production of the Festival de Ópera de A Coruña
Index I PURITANI
The Work
Synopsis
Concept
Artistic Team
Reviews
Technical Requirements
Staff needed from the theater
The Work
The Work I PURITANI
“I Puritani” is an opera in 3 acts by Vincenzo Bellini. This is the last work written by
the composer, with libretto by Carlo Pepoli, Count of Bologna, and it is based on the
play entitled “Têtes Rondes et Cavaliers”, by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph
Xavier Saintine. For the libretto, Bellini tried to look for a work based on military feats
or legends, similar to the historical novels by Sir Walter Scott, which were very much
in vogue at that time. Written for the Parisian audience, Bellini’s choice was very
clever, since on the one side he was praising French pride, but on the other side he
established a link to the historical novels of the Scottish writer with the title.
Bellini composed this work in nine months, from April 1834 to January 1835, a period
during which the dramatic design was subject to several changes. Hence, the composer had to guide the librettist’s work almost step by step. Many people believe that
the libretto is to a certain extent confusing. But Bellini’s music score is one of the most
precise and beautiful ones he wrote, showing his most melancholic side and this opera is considered by many as one of the most metaphysical and transcending ones
by the composer. The phrasing is extremely elegant, and singers require significant
vocal skills for this opera. Furthermore, this opera features different innovations both
theatrically and musically — the distribution in big scenes and the replacement of
recitative by arioso. The orchestration is also the most ambitious one among all the
operas written by the composer.
In a letter that he wrote to Carlo Pepoli, Count of Bologna, Bellini said that the goal of
the Opera was to “make people cry, shiver, and die singing”.
The opera tells the love drama between Elvira and Arturo in the middle of a civil war
between the Puritans, who were partisans of Oliver Cromwell, and the Royalists, who
supported the House of Stuart.
Synopsis
Synopsis I PURITANI
The opera is set around 1650, in a castle located outside Plymouth, England.
FIRST ACT
Sir Riccardo, a follower of Cromwell and his Puritans, and Lord Arturo Talbo, a
Royalist cavalier who fights for the cause of the House of Stuart, are both in love
with Elvira, daughter of Lord Valton, the citadel’s commander. Riccardo tells the
commander that he loves his daughter, but Lord Valton declines the honor of that
request because he believes that his daughter does not feel the same way about
him, since he knows that she is in love with Arturo.
Sir Giorgio Valton, brother of Lord Valton, tells Elvira that he has interceded for
her, and that his father will let her marry Arturo. Arturo arrives with several gifts
including a wide and fine white bridal veil for Elvira.
During his stay in Plymouth’s citadel, Arturo learns that King Charles’s widow,
Enrichetta di Francia, is being held prisoner in the fortress, and that her fate will
be similar to the unfortunate king’s. Arturo decides to set her free, taking advantage of his immunity in that place and at the expense of his own love. In order
to achieve that, Arturo covers Enrichetta with the white veil so that the soldiers
think it’s Elvira. During their escape they run into Riccardo, who wants to prevent
Arturo and the woman that he takes for Elvira from running away, but when he
discovers it’s Enrichetta, he lets them go in the hope that he can win Elvira’s
heart. When she learns about the escape, Elvira, believing that his beloved has
left her for another woman, is suddenly beset by madness.
SECOND ACT
The English Parliament condemns Arturo to death.
Giorgio speaks with his mates about Elvira’s madness and laments her fate.
Elvira expresses her pain with a delirious song, and imagines with moving gestures and words how her wedding day with Arturo would be. Giorgio, who guesses Riccardo played a role in Arturo’s escape, begs him to intercede in order for
Lord Arturo to be pardoned for the sake of Elvira, and ends up convincing him.
But only if Arturo returns as a friend — if he returns as an enemy, he will be
condemned.
THIRD ACT
Arturo returns to the fortress, chased and hounded by his enemies, expecting
to see Elvira, and he overhears her sing a love song he had taught her. He
is moved by the song and starts singing it too. Elvira joins him, and she is so
overjoyed that she seems to have suddenly come back to her senses. Arturo
explains the many reasons why he has been away for so long, and declares
his love to her again. Gesturing and shouting, Elvira realizes, to her horror, that
she has gone mad, while Puritan soldiers rush in to arrest Arturo and condemn
him to death. When Elvira hears the word ‘death’, her senses are suddenly
restored, while a messenger arrives with the news of Cromwell’s victory and a
general amnesty by the dictator for all prisoners of war. Arturo is free and he
obtains once again Elvira’s hand in marriage – this time forever.
Approximate running time — 3 hours
Concept
Concept I PURITANI
“It takes 20 or more years of peace to
make a man,
but it only takes 20 seconds of war to
destroy him”
Baldwin I
War and its horrible consequences
are the central theme of genius Vincenzo Bellini’s last opera.
In my production, I decided to set the
dramatic action in World War I.
I have taken this liberty in order to
reinforce the dramatic intensity of
the text. In the case of “I Puritani”,
the dramatic climax is reached in the
scene of Elvira’s madness, which is
why I have recreated around her an
incredibly adverse and extreme situation that can justify and highlight the
soprano’s reaction. Other traditional
productions of this work always keep
the “dirty side” of the conflict outside,
hidden. Amid death and destruction,
Elvira tries to hang on to a glimmer
of hope for love. Her survival instinct
helps her get over the horrific scenes
she sees every day, since she works
as a volunteer nurse assisting those
wounded on the front.
The decision of setting the plot in World War I is due to several factors. All wars
are hideous, but this one, especially, brought about in a sense the loss of innocence and heroic ideals, and marked the entrance into military adulthood. The
“soldier-hero” figure that used to fight hand to hand still existed in previous conflicts. But technical progress and the unprecedented use of chemical weapons
broke all codes of honor and changed the way armed struggle was seen. Handto-hand combat turned into trying to exterminate the enemy as quickly — and,
if possible, from as far away — as possible. The “value” of a solider had lost its
“value”.
Because of all that, because of how cruel, inhuman, close and at the same
time distant that conflict was, it seems to me like the perfect situation to set this
opera, where, after all, the important thing is that human stupidity and military
conflicts, regardless of the sides and the time, prevent Elvira from being happy.
Elvira’s drama turns into the drama of so many anonymous Elviras that have
suffered and still suffer the scourge of war. My production is a tribute to all of
them, as well as an argument against war. Madness can be a natural defensive
reaction that allows the person to escape from an unbearable reality, and, in this
case, it is also an excuse for Elvira to throw at everybody’s face a message that
says, “That’s enough! Leave your heroic ideals aside for a moment and let me
be happy!” Her madness becomes therefore a weapon against the world around
her, and somehow makes her more human, a more real woman. In the case of “I
Puritani”, I have drawn my inspiration from pictures of World War I.
There is actually something “poetic” to destruction. The “beauty” in chaos and
suffering is something I have always been interested in. My production does not
try to focus on horror, but on the capacity of love and innocence to overcome that
horror. As an example, I was especially impressed by the picture of a kid playing
on a swing built from a rusty cannon. It is difficult to find a picture that is more
representative of my production.
Alfonso Romero Mora
COSTUMES AND SET DESIGN
The costumes in this production are characteristic of the time and the situation
in which the work is set. The choir is made up by civilians on the one side, and
by English soldiers on the other side. The main colors of the civilian-town choir
are dark, grey, and ocher. They all seem to be in a state of precariousness and
poverty that is understandable given the deplorable conditions they are in. On
the other side, soldiers wear original uniforms from that time.
There is another choir group made up by nurses dressed as Elvira in the first
act. Soloists wear uniforms of English officials or soldiers.
The set design depicts a trench on a hill with a perimeter of barbwire, an entrance to an underground bunker, and a great number of sandbags used to
reinforce the defensive line. One of the main elements is the spiral staircase
that stands alone on the apron of the stage, a place that is both a shelter for
Elvira and a poetic element, since it is a staircase that used to belong to a now
destroyed home and that leads to nothing, to an abyss. It symbolizes Elvira’s
eagerness to be happy, something that is always denied to her.
Artistic Team
Artistic Team I PURITANI
Stage Director:
Alfonso Romero Mora
Set Designer:
Corina Krisztian-Klenk
Costume designer:
Rosa Garcia Andújar
Cast:
Lord Arturo Talbot: tenor
Elvira: coloratura Soprano
Sir Riccardo Forth: baritone
Sir Giorgio Valton: bass
Lord Gualtiero Valton: bass
Enrichetta di Francia: mezzo-soprano
Sir Bruno Robertson: tenor
Choir:
62 singers (estimated)
Extras:
4 extras (men)
Performed in:
Festival de Ópera de A Coruña, 2009
Reviews
Reviews I PURITANI
Arturo, with an ‘A’ for Albelo
A Coruña, 08/29/2009
“The new co-production by Amigos de la Ópera de A Coruña and Darmstardt’s
Opera, signed by Alfonso Romero, sets the action on a trench during World War I
at a unique, functional, and attractive set design by Corina Krisztian-Klenk, thanks
also to the help of the incredibly magnificent and expressive lighting by David P.
Merino and Santiago Mañasco…”(…) “… [it] is visually attractive, and the idea is not
so far-fetched, featuring several authentic moments – Arturo’s return from war in ‘A
te o cara’, when he comes back not as a hero, but dirty, wounded, and exhausted;
or the moment in which Elvira is beset by madness and throws the improvised altar
to the floor, but soon later she stands the cross up again…” (…) “Maybe the most
interesting feature of this production is the solution with no “happy ending” — in this
case, Elvira’s senses are not completely restored, and over a frozen scene tainted
by a violet light she imagines Arturo’s amnesty, only seconds before both of them,
embracing each other, are executed by a firing squad. A bull’s-eye that gives some
consistency to the story.”
Hugo Alvarez Domínguez , Mundoclasico, December 16th 2009
Technical Requirements
Technical Requirements I PURITANI
Ideal stage dimensions*:
Width ..........................................22 m.
Depth .........................................18 m.
*there is the possibility to adapt the production to
stages with inferior measures
- The stage area must always be free of any
elements in fly space and on stage
- The plan of the stage rigs must be available
- Possibility to fasten screws
- The set design requires tying up and hanging
TRANSPORT
- Set design and costumes are transported in 3
trailers, all of which are approximately 42.5-feet
long
- Set design and costumes take up a space of
approximately 3,200 cubic feet
Staff needed from the theater
Staff needed from the theater I PURITANI
Technical staff
- 1 stagehand manager, 6 technicians, 2 props managers to load and
upload
- 1 stagehand manager, 4 stagehands, 1 props manager, 1 lighting
manager, 4 electrical technicians, 2 sound engineers to technical assembly
- 1 lighting manager, 4 electrical technicians, 1 stagehand manager
toighting rehearsals
- 1 stagehand manager, 1 stagehand, 1 props manager, 1 electrical
technician to rehearsals
- 1 stagehand manager, 2 stagehands, 1 props manager, 1 lighting
manager, 2 electrical technicians, 1 video technician for supertitles,
1 sound engineer to piano, pre-final rehearsals, final rehearsal and
performances
- 1 stage manager for all rehearsals and performances
- 3 tailors to unpack and pack
- 4 tailors for dress tests and costume alterations
- 6 tailors for dress rehearsals and performances
- 4 hairdressers (for dress rehearsals and performances)
- 4 make-up artists (for dress rehearsals and performances)
ESPAÑA
Gran Vía, 6 - 4º
28013 Madrid
Tel.: (+34) 91 524 75 00
Fax: (+34) 91 524 74 97
PORTUGAL
Rua Duque de Palmela, 25 - 5º
1250-097 Lisboa
Tel.: (+351) 21 384 90 00
Fax: (+351) 21 384 90 01
www.godirect-am.com
valhambra@godirect-am.com
mborgescoelho@godirect-am.com