Bellini: I Puritani

Premiered in Paris less than a year before Bellini's premature death in 1835 aged just 33, I puritani was an immediate success, rapidly staged elsewhere and sparking "Puritani-fever" across Europe. Commissioned by a French opera house and with a plot that takes the English Civil War as its backdrop, I puritani's music remains pure Italian bel canto – as sublimely lyrical as any of Bellini's now better-known works. This landmark production staged by Sergio Morabito and Jossi Wieler marked the end of the latter's term as the artistic director at Stuttgart Opera. It features a critically acclaimed musical performance conducted by conductor Manlio Benzi, with a cast led by Ana Durlovski (Elvira) and René Barbera (Arturo).