BELLINI: I Puritani, Blu-ray (2014)

by | Jan 19, 2015 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

BELLINI: I Puritani, Blu-ray (2014)

Cast: Juan Diego Flórez, Nino Machaidze, Ildebrabdi D’Arcangelo, Gabriele Viviani
Studio: Universal Music Classics [10/07/14]
Director: Andrea Bevilacqua
Stage Producer: Pier ’Alli
Video: 16:9 Color
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish
Length: 150 minutes
Ratings:  Video: ***½   Audio: ***½

Despite my low-star rating, this performance of Vincenzo Bellini’s last opera, I Puritani, is worth experiencing, at least once. I’m just not sure if it’s worth buying. How good is your local library?

As the eager-to-hitch-up Elvira, Nino Machaidze delivers a believable (if remote) rendition of the coloratura role made famous years ago by Joan Sutherland. Machaidze’s performance of the Act Two “Mad Scene,” a theatrical and musical parallel to that in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, may pierce and shake you, as well as creep you out. The scene is well- staged and darkly lit, and she sings “Qui la voce sua soave” with heart-splitting pathos. Director Andrea Bevilacqua leads her well, as she wanders distractedly around the stage entreating the thin air, watched in horror by her uncle Giorgio and former suitor Ricardo. The sudden tempo changes reflecting her madness is musically exhilarating and dramatically terrifying. Although Bellini couldn’t have understood madness very well in 1835, he may have nailed one aspect of bipolar disorder here. (Or at least a nervous breakdown.)

As conductor, Michele Mariotti does a sterling job of shuttling the action along, both through his zesty intros to all three acts and through his transparent accompaniment. He rarely falls short or disappoints.

There are other compelling moments in this performance, like Giorgio and Ricardo’s duet about the wisdom of putting Elvira’s Cavalier lover to death, concluded by the stirring “Liberty Duet” (“Suoni la tromba”). Both will seize your attention. The finale with the Puritan chorus confronting Elvira and Arturo (and ultimately pardoning them) is initially suspenseful, and finally cathartic.

Unfortunately (aside from occasional lackluster stage blocking), the weakest link in this opera is Juan Diego Florez, who plays Elvira’s lover Lord Arturo Talbo. As lead tenor, he should simultaneously convey warmth and decisiveness through his voice, but its tessitura is just too high. (I suspect poorly balanced sound is also a culprit.) Even though he hits all the right notes and sings with fervor, he seems labored at times. I played old CDs of Luciano Pavarotti, recalling how he handled that role in the eighties. Apart from being far more pleasant to listen to, his fulsome voice conferred a nobility of character (not just class) to this Lord Arturo guy. Even though the music was recorded almost thirty years ago and even though it’s not on any DVD, Pavarotti & Sutherland’s performance is the gold standard for this opera. It’s never been equaled. I am not saying that Florez should have been as good as Pavorotti; perhaps he shouldn’t have had the role at all. Put him in the chorus of Puritan soldiers! The entire opera cries out for more charisma and sonic depth than he can deliver.

If you must have a Blu-ray production of I Puritani, go ahead and buy this one, as it’s the only one available so far. But be warned: the production rattles at the door of greatness, but does not open it.

—Peter Bates

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