On Monday 31st May at 8.30pm (session A), at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, I Puritani, melodramma in three parts with libretto by Carlo Pepoli will be staged for the 2010 Opera and Ballet Season, closing the X Festival di Sant’Efisio. The opera is based on the historical drama Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-Arsène-François-Polycarpe d’Ancelot and Boniface-Xavier Saintine, with music by Vincenzo Bellini, in a new staging by the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, produced together with the Teatro Massimo di Palermo and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

Mariella Devia, queen of nineteenth century belcanto repertoire, is the star of this edition of Bellini’s masterpiece, returning to Cagliari after her unforgettable performances in Lucia di Lammermoor in 2000 and 2004 to take on the role of Elvira for the first time, while John Osborn, young emerging American tenor, is the impassable Arturo.

Two prestigious casts alternate for the performances: Mattia Denti (Lord Gualtiero Valton); Riccardo Zanellato/Burak Bilgili (1st, 4th) (Sir Giorgio); John Osborn/Mario Zeffiri (1st, 4th, 8th) (Lord Arturo Talbo); Luca Salsi/Vitaliy Bilyy (1st, 4th) (Sir Riccardo Forth); Gianluca Floris (Sir Bruno Robertson); Rossana Rinaldi (Enrichetta di Francia) and Mariella Devia/Eglise Gutierrez (1st, 4th, 8th) (Elvira).

The visionary artist, Pier’Alli, creator of many incredible shows, is responsible for the production, set, costumes and lighting, in Cagliari for the first time.

Ramon Tebar conducts the Teatro Lirico Orchestra and Chorus. The young Spanish conductor will be leading I Puritani for the first time, but he already possesses a vast repertoire and has worked with the best musical institutions. Fulvio Fogliazza is the chorus master.

Vincenzo Bellini (Catania, 1801 - Puteaux, Paris, 1835) composed his last opera, I Puritani, between April 1834 and January 1835; it was first performed at the Théâtre Italien, in Paris on 24th January 1835 and was met with unprecedented success. It is set in England in the seventeenth century, near Plymouth, at the time of the English civil war and Oliver Cromwell. The love story between Elvira and Arturo intertwines with political unrest between the Puritans and the Stuarts after King Charles I (1649) is decapitated. The plot is complicated and rich with historical references; it develops in three parts, interpersed with sentimental rivalry and political implications, concluding with unexpected happy ending of the marriage of the two main characters. The score, which is highly refined and expressive, is difficult to perform, especially due to the high notes, bringing it success at theatres all over the world.

I Puritani, has not been performed in Cagliari for 128 years, and will also be staged on Tuesday 1st June at 8.30pm (session F), Thursday 3rd June at 8.30pm (session C), Friday 4th June at 8.30pm (session G), Sunday 6th June at 5pm (session D), Tuesday 8th June at 8.30pm (session E), Wednesday 9th June at 8.30pm (session B).