Richard Jones's new staging of Bellini's last opera, set in the English Civil War, brought Lisette Oropesa to Covent Garden as Elvira.
The Royal Opera staged Bellini’s I puritani at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden from Tuesday 30 June to Sunday 19 July 2026. Richard Jones directed the new production, the house’s first of the opera in nearly 35 years.
I puritani is Bellini’s last opera. It premiered at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris on 24 January 1835, to a libretto by the exiled poet Carlo Pepoli. Its story comes from a French play set in the English Civil War.
The action is in Plymouth. Elvira, a Puritan commander’s daughter, is to marry the Royalist Arturo, who leaves on their wedding day to help a captive queen escape. Elvira believes he has abandoned her and loses her reason.
Jones, whose work for the house includes Festen, set the opera in the Civil War it describes. Riccardo Frizza made his Royal Opera debut as conductor.
Lisette Oropesa sang Elvira and Francesco Demuro sang Arturo. Andrzej Filończyk was Riccardo, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo was Giorgio and Marcela Rahal was the queen, Enrichetta, with the Jette Parker Artist Giorgi Guliashvili as Bruno Roberton.