Someone who is a puritan presents himself as attached to moral rules.
Puritan is an adjective that derives from puritan , a term from the English language. It is used to qualify that individual who defends and spreads his or her attachment to moral rules considered virtuous and accepted by the majority of society. This attachment can be real or exaggerated by the subject in question.
For example: "Some puritan authorities did not accept that the singer appeared in that costume," "I hate people who pretend to be puritans but, behind closed doors, indulge in any vice," "Please, do not repeat that in front of me." to my parents: they are old and puritanical people .
a religious congregation
Another use of the concept is to name the member of a certain religious congregation that developed in the United Kingdom during the 16th century : Puritanism . The Puritans, in this sense, were reformers who called for the Anglican Church to break with Roman Catholicism.
The Puritans maintained that God was the ultimate authority regarding any human matter. Only divine grace had the ability to change people, who had to live according to God's precepts in gratitude for his mercy.
The values of the Puritans included constant reading and analysis of the Bible and consecrating every Sunday to God. The highest objective of the Puritan community was to maintain the purity of morality in all areas of life: in this way, they thought they were complying with what God wanted from human beings and, therefore, they would access Paradise .
In the 16th century, the Puritans were reformers who promoted changes in the Anglican Church.
The Puritans of Scotland
It is an opera by the Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini, with a libretto by Carlo Pepoli and based on the work " Roundheads and Knights ", by Jacques-François Ancelot and X. Boniface Saintine (it should be mentioned that the expression roundheads refers to the Puritans) . The premiere of this magnificent work took place in Paris in 1835, at the Théâtre Italien, and it was the last of the great Bellini, who lost his life shortly after the premiere.
Regarding the libretto, which for many lacks solidity, The Puritans of Scotland tells the love story between Arthur and Elvira in the midst of the civil war that pitted the Puritan community against the royalists, who supported Oliver Cromwell and the house of the Stuarts, respectively.
The music of this opera is among the best and most polished that Bellini ever achieved, and contains many notable moments, especially in the roles of the principal soprano and tenor, of whom it demanded vocal prowess like few others. composers. One of these demands on a technical level, probably the greatest of the entire work, is found a few minutes from the end: the tenor must execute a high F in his last piece, something that very few singers can do; instead, most opt for a lower note (a D flat).
A challenge for Bellini
It is said that Bellini felt a lot of pressure while composing The Puritans (the short name by which this work is known), since it was the first time that he would present his work in front of the Paris public , and that Rossini gave him his support given its success. which he had enjoyed in France for some time.
In fact, it took the composer nine months to complete his creation, much longer than was customary at that time, and the structure of the opera underwent more than one drastic change, such as the division into three acts shortly after the premiere, instead of the initial two. Among the obstacles that Bellini had to face while working on The Puritans of Scotland was the librettist's inexperience, although this did not prevent this opera from transcending and becoming a treasure of Italian music.