The Met’s bel canto jag continues with I Puritani, swan song of the short-lived Vincenzo Bellini. Like Donizetti’s better-known Lucia di Lammermoor, it’s set in the 17th century, though in England rather than Scotland. Still, the central plight of the heroines—each a pawn in underlying political conflicts in which neither has any personal stake—is much the same. And both take refuge in madness, the cue for cascades of technically fiendish, emotionally hypnotic coloratura. Lucia sings hers in a bloody dress, having stabbed her bridegroom on their wedding night, and expires. The Puritan Elvira gets not one mad scene but two and lives to enjoy a happy ending. Expect Lisette Oropesa, who represents the current gold standard in bel canto circles, to revel in Elvira’s gorgeous music. Likewise, Lawrence Brownlee as Arturo, her Royalist Romeo, as it were, whose long-spun melodic line in the great ensemble ”A te, o cara” is among the most ravishing in the repertoire. Charles Edwards, known to Met audiences as the set designer for several handsome productions by the house favorite David McVicar, here takes on directing duties, as well, seconded by the costume designer Gabrielle Dalton. Marco Armiliato conducts. —Matthew Gurewitsch