Programs · Episode

DONIZETTI: Roberto Devereux

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, September 30, 2023 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

Donizetti had a long-standing affinity for historical stories about the English monarchy.  In Roberto Devereux, he takes on a tale of intrigue and jealousy in the court of Queen Elisabeth I, including her supposed entanglement in a regal love triangle, involving Devereux, the Earl of Essex, and Sara, Duchess of Nottingham. At the Opera, features the drama in two recordings, starring Beverly Sills and Dimitra Theodossiou as Elizabeth I.

MORE ABOUT THE OPERA:

Back in 2010 an Oscar-winning film, The King's Speech, demonstrated that history can be a rich source of dramatic and inspiring stories. What's less clear is whether that film – or any other that evokes historical events – should be seen as genuine history, or as just a story.

Even when the movie was raking in awards, any number of critics, including some who readily acknowledged the movie's effectiveness, pointed to aspects of the film that aren't, strictly speaking, historical. They mentioned key elements, such as the true extent of the king's stutter, along with less vital issues, including the extent of Winston Churchill's waistline.

The King's Speech, of course, is hardly the first successful movie to be taken to task for historical shenanigans. Still, when it comes to entertainment that re-writes history, especially England's history, few movie makers can top the bar set by the world's great opera composers — and Gaetano Donizetti was one of the prime offenders.

Donizetti was particularly fascinated by Elizabethan history. He wrote three operas featuring Queen Elizabeth I in a starring role. In all three he gave dramatic life to rumors that were already spreading back in the 1500s: that the so-called "Virgin Queen" actually had a secret and passionate love life.

In Donizetti's first two Elizabethan operas — Elizabeth at Kenilworth Castle and Maria Stuarda — the queen is romantically linked with Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. That's the same supposed relationship portrayed by Cate Blanchett and Joseph Fiennes in the 1998 Oscar-nominee Elizabeth.

In Roberto Devereux, Donizetti's final opera about Elizabeth, she's involved with the Earl of Essex. And to liven up that drama, Donizetti takes further historical liberties that might have critical nitpickers reaching for the smelling salts.

In the opera, Essex is eventually beheaded. That much is historically accurate. But Donizetti's Elizabeth signs the death warrant not because Essex led a treasonous rebellion, but because he had the temerity to fall for another woman. That is, she does it in a jealous fury. Then she turns more than a little nutty and abdicates, renouncing her throne as the opera ends. Talk about playing "fast and loose" with history.

Still, there are those rumors, including one from a supposed eyewitness, who said about the aging queen: "Her delight is to sit in the dark, and sometimes with shedding tears to bewail Essex."

On AT THE OPERA, we’ll make our way through Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux with extended selections from two recordings.  First, we’ll hear one from 2006, made live in Bergamo, Italy, with soprano Dimitra Theodossiou as Elizabeth I, and tenor Massimilliano Pisapia in the title role. After that, it’s a 1969 release with Beverly Sills as Elizabeth and Robert Ilosfalvy as Devereux, with conductor Charles Mackerras.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Marcello Rota, conductor
Orchestra and Chorus of the Bergamo Music Festival
CAST: Dimitra Theodossiou (Queen Elizabeth I); Massimiliano Pisapia (Roberto Devereux); Federica Bragaglia (Sara, Duchess of Nottingham); Andrew Schroeder (Duke of Nottingham)
Naxos 8.660222-23

Charles Mackerras, conductor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus
CAST: Beverly Sills (Queen Elizabeth I); Robert Ilosfalvy (Roberto Devereux); Beverly Wolff (Sara, Duchess of Nottingham); Peter Glossop (Duke of Nottingham)
DG 289 465 964-2

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