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We do not get much Bellini in Birmingham: in fact nothing since the Moldovan National Opera passed through in 2002 with a production of Norma. So I was thrilled to see this production of I Puritani from the New York Met's 2007 season. This, apparently, is a 30 year old production that was revived specially as a star vehicle for Anna Netrebko. We must be grateful to Miss Netrebko for having the pulling power to bring about this revival and it is fascinating to see such an old production with a set consisting of just a few steps in front of a painted backcloth of Olde England.Anna Netrebko lives up to her star billing with a beautifully nuanced sound throughout her vocal range, with the low notes being as thrilling as the high. But this is not a one woman show, she is supported by an excellent tenor, Eric Cutler, as her cavalier lover Arturo and by baritones Franco Vassello as Arturo's roundhead rival Riccardo and John Relyea as her uncle Giorgio For what it is worth, this opera is a bit short of narrative drive and dramatic tension. All the characters are nice: Arturo, of course, is Mr Nice Guy but his rival Riccardo is a very polite villain and Uncle Giorgio is Mr Incredibly Nice Guy. The raison d'être of these bel canto pieces is for the heroine to lose her lover so that she can have a mad scene. Interestingly, as Beverly Sills points out during the interval, Bellini's mad scenes are much more demure than, say, Donizettis. At the height of her madness, Miss Netrebko very delicately lays herself down on the edge of the stage, so as not to crumple her dress and leans her head backwards over the orchestra pit as though she is about to kiss the Blarney stone. Visually, in this brief revival, the performances are of the stand and deliver variety. Sometimes singers appear not to know where they should be standing on stage or what they should be delivering. But none of this detracts from the superb vocal performances.It is a rare pleasure to watch an opera that I have never seen before, without knowing how it ends. I was completely thrown by the Hollywood ending when I was expecting the usual bloodbath. My favourite line is when Cromwell's herald arrives and announces: "The Stuarts are defeated and the guilty are pardoned". Would that all wars could end that way.
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