He settled for I puritani instead, though he’d have been equally happy (or so he told friends) to name the whole opera after its lovestruck heroine Elvira... of I puritani is Lisette Oropesa’s Elvira.
But for the record, it was Bellini’s I Puritani (The Puritans) which, despite royal enthusiasm, went on to fall out of fashion and hasn’t played Covent Garden for decades – until now, when it returns ...