TheLittleSongbird I also highly recommend the 1976 Met production with Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes and Morris(on CD), which is simply a must for any fans of the opera or of these four singers. This is a wonderful production though, with contributions from Renee Fleming and the late great Beverly Sills that are very insightful and in Sills' case quite moving.The costume and set design I cannot fault, they are very sumptuous and captured perfectly by some excellent video directing. Of the staging which is very efficient while never too cluttered, the highlight is easily where Anna Netrebko lies supine on the stage with her hair hanging into the orchestra pit.The opera is a masterpiece. The story is an interesting one albeit a little flimsy, but the music is just outstanding with Qui La Voce, O Vieni Al Tempio and the duet between Riccardo and Giorgio some of Bellini's best work.The performances are excellent. The orchestra and conducting are on top form, and the chorus perform more than adequately. Of the support cast, Maria Zifchak's Erichetta is outstanding. Eric Cutler is overall very good as Arturo with a lovely voice and decent acting. He performs his first aria very well, maybe the top notes lack radiance but how he sustains and hits them is very impressive.John Relyea is a very impressive Giorgio, with a rich, warm baritone voice- even with a few gravelly moments- and his acting is benevolent and authoritative. Watching him and Netrebko together, you would think that she is lucky to have an uncle like him. Likewise with Franco Vassalo as Riccardo. There is one clumsily executed note at the end of his act 1 aria, however in the rest of the production he sings beautifully especially in the duet between him and Relyea.Best of all is Netrebko who is just sensational. She has an appearance and acting ability that makes you warm to her very quickly and she is in fine voice with good grace and style to all the difficult ornamentations. Her Qui La Voce is great, but her shining moment is O Vieni Al Tempio which is deeply moving.In conclusion, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Gyran 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.