TFE: You already have experience with Bellini's "Norma" and "La sonnambula". "I puritani" you are now conducting for the first time.

LP: Yes, exactly. Bellini is a composer I particularly love. With "La sonnambula" and "Norma", a completely new world opened up to me. "I puritani" is like his "testament", it is his last opera. He naturally did not know that it would become his last, rather he was at the beginning of his great breakthrough. The world premiere of "I puritani" in Paris was probably his greatest success in his lifetime. He was about to compose more operas for Naples and Paris, and Rossini greatly appreciated him. He was just about to jump to superstardom.

TFE: What is special about this opera compared to Bellini's other works?

LP: Bellini never leaves the melodic line here; there is always a melody that guides us. "I puritani" also has a political context, but this is not essential for him. At the beginning, the wind instruments create an atmosphere of struggle, but more important for Bellini are always the melodic and a certain gentleness of sound. The tenor presents himself, for example, not like in "Norma" with heroic arias, but with a soft tone. Or if we compare the Cavatina of Pollione from "Norma" with that of Arturo from "I puritani": That is something completely different. Arturo is a soldier, but Bellini does not emphasize this, and we also have a choir in "I puritani" like in "Norma", but no war song. What is important for Bellini is to convey emotions to the audience. The most beautiful melodies ever written are gathered in this opera, one follows the other. The special thing lies in the simplicity of the melodies - which at the same time represents a challenge for interpretation.

[...]

TFE: We are bringing the work to the stage in Erl in concert form. Is that an advantage, or does the opera lack something essential without staging?

LP: For Bellini's operas, concert performances are ideal in my assessment, because you can focus on and engage with the music. For "Nabucco" you need a stage, a clear case. Also with "La Bohème" you want to see the end scenically. But we have had such great success with a concert "La sonnambula" in Naples, for example, that we had to give two encores, and it became a four-hour performance, like in the golden age of opera. Here in Erl we will only bring in smaller scenic aspects, for example with entrances and exits, we will come up with something.

[...]

TFE: How is it to work in Erl, in the midst of the mountain landscape?

The working conditions are wonderful, it is a great team, a fantastic orchestra, a fantastic vocal ensemble. Much is made possible. I asked for three special trombones and that I get a harp on stage - and all of this is made possible. In an average theater that would not be so easy. There is no routine here. Also that we play "I puritani" at all is extraordinary, for us and for the audience. We are bringing it to the stage in Erl for the first time. There is great enthusiasm all around, and we need that for such a complex opera project - and enough time. That has also been taken care of: I asked for more time with the soloists, and that has also been made possible. Overall we have a very good rehearsal schedule. This is where the strength of the festival lies: to give the best conditions so that we can reach our best level. We don't have to make any compromises. Everything is possible.

You can find the complete interview in the program booklets for the performance.

The questions were asked by Martin Riegler.