It was Vincenzo Bellini's last opera *I Puritani* the opening performance
of which I attended at the Kennedy Center a few nights ago.  The Puritans
aren't the Massachusetts settlers who came after the Pilgrims and proceeded
to give their predecessors a bad name but the "Roundhead" followers of
Cromwell after the execution of Charles I.  While not securing a place on
my own short list of favorite operas (see my subject line), I must admit
that it has everything that I understand an opera of the time should have,
arias, ensembles, music which while it did not find itself hummed or
whistled by me on the way home was nevertheless pleasing, and never
tedious.

And, unusual, I believe, for the genre of the time, it had a happy ending.
He (Arturo) is a Cavalier; she (Elvira) is the daughter of an enlightened
Roundhead who agrees to the lovers' marriage.  Unfortunately, practically
at the altar, Arturo recognizes that the mysterious lady in black whom is
prospective father-in-law will be escorting to Parliament (and virtually
certain execution) is Enrichetta, the late king's widow and he feels duty
bound to save her, which he does by disguising her in Elvira's bridal
veil.  Elvira, believing herself jilted, goes mad.  Arturo returns, as
does Elvira's sanity.  It starts drifting away again as the Roundheads
corner him and condemn him to death.  Cromwell's military victory over
the royalists, resulting in a general amnesty, saves Arturo (and Elvira's
wavering sanity) in the last minute, and presumably everybody lives happily
ever after.

The first half hour or so found me dozing off (this could have been me and
not the opera) but the opera seemed to spring to life about halfway through
the first act.

The two leading singers that night, Lynette Tapia (Elvira) and John
Osborn (Arturo), who are in fact married to each other, sang beautifully.
especially Ms.  Tapia (although in the beginning, I thought she was letting
the orchestra drown her out).  Elvira's mad scenes, were touchingly
presented, moving w/out being histrionic.

Not since hearing the famous *Pearl Fishers* duet have I heard such a
wonderfully sung duet as that sung by Jorge Lagunes as Riccardo, Elvira's
rejected lover, and Daniel Sumegi as Elvira's uncle (Giorgio) where the
latter urges the former to conquer his resentment over Elvira's having
preferred Arturo to him and to save him from execution.

The sets were ingenious:  a series of ramps from either side to the center
revealed by backdrops that opened up successively as the action proceeded.

Ovations for Tapia, Osborn and Sumegi were loud and vocal.  Several
strangely dressed young folk suddenly appeared for curtain calls after
the conductor (Christopher Larkin) was called up and the curtain dropped
precipitously in mid bows.  I never found out what had been going on.
The opera has not yet been reviewed in the Washington Post.

Walter Meyer