Act II plays in another part of the fortress. It concerns itself chiefly with the exhibition of _Elvira's_ madness. But it has also the famous martial duet, "Suoni la tromba" (Sound the trumpet), in which _Sir George_ and _Sir Richard_ announce their readiness to meet _Arthur_ in battle and strive to avenge _Elvira's_ sad plight.
Act III is laid in a grove near the fortress. _Arthur_, although proscribed, seeks out _Elvira_. Her joy at seeing him again temporarily lifts the clouds from her mind, but renewed evidence of her disturbed mental state alarms her lover. He hears men, whom he knows to be in pursuit of him, approaching, and is aware that capture means death, but he will not leave _Elvira_. He is apprehended and is about to be executed when a messenger arrives with news of the defeat of the Stuarts and a pardon for all prisoners. _Arthur_ is freed. The sudden shock of joy restores _Elvira's_ reason. The lovers are united.
As an opera "I Puritani" lacks the naïveté of "La Sonnambula," nor has it any one number of the serene beauty of the "Casta diva" in "Norma." Occasionally, however, it is revived for a tenor like Bonci, whose elegance of phrasing finds exceptional opportunity in the rôle of _Arthur_; or for some renowned prima donna of the brilliant coloratura type, for whom _Elvira_ is a grateful part.
The principal musical numbers are, in act first, _Sir Richard Forth's_ cavatina, "Ah! per sempre io ti perdei" (Ah! forever have I lost thee); _Arthur's_ romance, "A te o cara" (To thee, beloved);
and _Elvira's_ sparkling polacca, "Son vergin vezzosa" (I am a blithesome maiden).
[Music: Son vergin vezzosa, in vesto di sposa,]
In the second act we have _Elvira's_ mad scene, "Qui la voce sua soave" (It was here in sweetest accents).
For _Elvira_ there also is in this act the beautiful air, "Vien, diletto" (Come, dearest love).
The act closes with the duet for baritone and bass, between _Sir Richard_ and _Sir George_, "Suoni la tromba," a fine proclamation of martial ardour, which "in sonorousness, majesty and dramatic intensity," as Mr. Upton writes, "hardly has an equal in Italian opera."
Suoni la tromba, e intrepido Io pugnerò da forte;]
"A una fonte afflitto e solo" (Sad and lonely by a fountain), a beautiful number for _Elvira_ occurs in the third act.