IN a live broadcast at the Torch Theatre this January, Met Opera fans will be delighted by the first new Met production of Bellini’s final masterpiece, I Puritani in nearly 50 years.

For gorgeous melody, spellbinding coloratura, and virtuoso vocal fireworks, I Puritani has few equals. Charles Edwards makes his company directorial debut after many successes as a set designer.

I Puritani sets the scene in England, around 1650. Plymouth, a Puritan stronghold, is threatened by siege from the Royalist troops. Distant voices herald the wedding day of Elvira, daughter of Gualtiero, the fortress’s commander. Riccardo enters lamenting that his promised bride, Elvira, loves another man—a Stuart partisan. Her father will not force her to marry against her will, it seems, so Riccardo’s friend Sir Bruno urges him to devote his life to leading the parliamentary forces.

Elvira tells her uncle, Giorgio, that she would rather die than marry Riccardo. Her uncle reassures her that he has persuaded her father to let her marry her lover, Arturo. Although Arturo is a Royalist, he is heralded as he approaches the castle.

Everyone gathers for the wedding celebration and Arturo greets his bride. He learns that King Charles’s widow, Queen Enrichetta, is a prisoner in the castle and soon to be taken to trial in London. Alone with the queen, Arturo offers to save her even if it means his death....

The Met has assembled a world-beating quartet of stars, conducted by Marco Armiliato, for the demanding principal roles. Soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Lawrence Brownlee are Elvira and Arturo, with baritone Artur Ruciński as Riccardo and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Giorgio.

I Puritani, a live broadcast by the MET Opera can be seen on the Torch Theatre screen on Saturday, January 10 at 6pm. Book via torchtheatre.co.uk or 01646 695267.