THT and Opera Company of Middlebury Present:

The MET: Live in HD:
I Puritani 

Saturday, January 10 at 1:00pm in the Anderson Studio

Pre-show talk at 12:15pm
by Nathaniel Lew in the Anderson Studio. Choral conductor and musicologist Nathaniel G. Lew is OCM Chorus Master, Artistic Director of the Counterpoint Vocal Ensemble, and Professor Emeritus of Music at Saint Michael's College. See more talk talk details below. (Free with ticket purchase)

Estimated Run Time:
3 hrs 45 mins, with one intermission

For gorgeous melody, spellbinding coloratura, and virtuoso vocal fireworks, I Puritani has few equals. This is the first new Met production of Bellini’s final masterpiece in nearly 50 years with a striking staging by Charles Edwards, who makes his company directorial debut after many successes as a set designer. The Met has assembled a world-beating quartet of stars, conducted by Marco Armiliato, for the demanding principal roles. Soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Lawrence Brownlee are Elvira and Arturo, brought together by love and torn apart by the political rifts of the English Civil War, with baritone Artur Ruciński as Riccardo, betrothed to Elvira against her will, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Elvira’s sympathetic uncle, Giorgio.

A note about the 12:15pm preshow talk:
“Three Puritani”: Bellini’s final opera has been the object of ridicule, passion, and analysis for almost two centuries. Musicologist (and OCM Chorus Master) Nathaniel Lew will propose three perspectives on the work in his talk. These readings focus chiefly on the incongruities of the scenario, the glories of the score, and the historical setting. (The last of these is central to the new production at the Metropolitan Opera, which has received glowing reviews.) The approaches are not mutually exclusive. You’re free to mix and match elements of them as you experience the live telecast.