Donizetti Society Past Production Report - I Puritani, Geneva , 2011

Small picture of Donizetti

Bellini's I puritani

Grand Théâtre de Genève, January 26 - February 13, 2011.

Photographs by GTG/Vincent Lepresle, courtesy of Grand Théâtre de Genève

Photographs from the 2011 Grand Théâtre de Genève production of Bellin's I Puritani. This was a coproduction with de Nederlandse Oper, Amsterdam and the Greek National Opera, Athens. The director, Francisco Negrin, decided to run with what he saw as the logic of the piece by highlighting its oppressive political and religious undertones and switching the happy ending to one with Arturo's death. not the first time that this has been tried. The question must be the extent to which one can force reality into bel canto opera, given its foundations and assumptions. The result can be at odds with the music and a denial of the final audience uplift without any particular gain in insight or dramatic effect.

Es Devlin's grey, metallic, sombre sets, with walls studded with braille to underline the blindness of the participants to their situation, chimed with this sober reading and were a marked contrast to her staging for the ENO London production of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia. Critics were divided not only on the success of this reinterpretation but on the qualities of the singers, none of the main soloists achieving unanimous praise, although they were generally positive about the orchestra and chorus under Jesús López Cobos.

There are some short scenes on youtube including the finale with Arturo's death, a photograph of which was not included in the Grand Théâtre de Genève selection.