Bellini: I Puritani - CD

Italian conductor Vittorio Gui was Glyndebourne’s musical director from 1951 – 1963, and introduced a strong Italian theme in his programming – Rossini and Bellini amongst them. Bellini’s last and arguably richest opera I Puritani, comes from Glyndebourne’s recording archive, dated 1960 and was the first performance of this opera in Britain since 1887.

This is Joan Sutherland’s debut in the role of Elvira. This young and extraordinary bel canto talent is the heroine in this production. She has a beauty of tone, her voice fluent and eloquent, the intimate confines of the Glyndebourne opera house allowing the warm glowing colour in Sutherland’s voice to radiate.

So acclaimed was this production that it was selected for Glyndebourne’s return to the Edinburgh Festival after a 4 year absence and Sutherland, so in love with her Glyndebourne costumes was she, that she borrowed them from the production for her performances as Elvira at the Gran Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona in December 1960.

‘The Glyndebourne performance is persuasive. Joan Sutherland is the heroine … with such art and high accomplishment.’ Financial Times 25 May 1960

‘With Joan Sutherland singing Elvira with extraordinary beauty of tone and line, and the orchestra playing with a new freedom, spontaneity and a welcome lack of affectation, Glyndebourne’s new production justifies itself.’ The Observer 29 May 1960

‘Vittorio Gui conducts with an ideal blend of gentleness and high spirits, warmth and dash. The RPO and the excellent Glyndebourne Chorus are in good form… ’ Spectator 3 June 1960

The mid-price collection presents some of the most important and admired recordings of the EMI Classics and Virgin Classics catalogue which make EMI - The Home of Opera. This performance of I Puritani starring Maria Callas was recorded in 1953 at the Basilica di Santa Eufemia, Milan.

This performance was recorded in Rome on 5th January 1952.

JOAN SUTHERLAND starred also in the second Glyndebourne offering that year, Bellini’s I PURITANI. After the sensational LUCIA at Covent Garden in 1959, JOAN SUTHERLAND continued her way into the belcanto repertory with Elvira, which she was to record later twice commercially, but here she is at her youthful very best. Her Arturo is the Greek tenor NICOLA FILACURIDI. He made his debut in 1949 and for the next 25 years sang in most of Italy’s greatest theatres, including La Scala, as well as in Spain, France, Greece, and South America. He recorded many roles for the Italian Radio and starred in some of the RAI’s operatic films. ERNEST BLANC is Elvira’s unhappy suitor Riccardo, and GIUSEPPE MODESTI is Sir Giorgio Valton, Elvira’s benign uncle. The great Italian conductor VITTORIO GUI leads a wonderful performance. He was one of Italy’s most influential conductors, having founded Florence’s Maggio Musicale Festival in 1933 and started the Rossini renaissance at Glyndebourne in the Fifties. A must for Sutherland fans, then.

This performance was recorded in the King’s Theatre Edinburgh on 8th September 1960 and is a further release in memory of Joan Sutherland.

Recorded live in Trieste in 1957

Recorded live in Mexico in 1952