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Cast

Sir Bruno Robertson: Adrian de Peyer
Elvira: Mirella Freni
Lord Arthur Talbot: Luciano Saldari
Sir George Walton: Franco Ventriglia
Sir Richard Forth: Lino Puglisi
Lord Walton: Derick Davies
Queen Henrietta of France: Laura Sarti

Crew

ConductorGunnar Staern
DirectorPeter Ebert
Set DesignReginald Woolley
Costume DesignReginald Woolley
Costume Design (Elvira, Queen Henrietta)Desmond Heeley
Wexford Chorus CoachMrs C Hore
Assistant Chorus CoachesNora O'Leary, Rev Fr Humilis O.F.M.
Visiting Chorus CoachMyer Fredman

The Plot

I puritani is an opera in three acts and is set during the English Civil War in the 1640s.
The plot revolves around the love between Elvira, the daughter of a Puritan leader, and Arturo, a Royalist nobleman. Their marriage is approved by Elvira's father, Lord Valton, but opposed by Riccardo, a Puritan colonel who loves Elvira.
On their wedding day, Arturo helps Henrietta, the widow of King Charles I, escape from the Puritans who have imprisoned her. Elvira thinks that Arturo has betrayed her and goes mad with grief. Arturo returns to find Elvira in this state and is captured by the Puritans, who sentence him to death. However, a messenger arrives with news that Oliver Cromwell has pardoned all the Royalists. Elvira recovers her sanity and is reunited with Arturo.

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