Abstract
Gaetano Donizetti was in the middle of his greatest personal crisis when he wrote his tragedia lirica Roberto Devereux. In the space of only a year, he lost his parents, his two children, and his wife. Yet he still mustered the strength to create his 57th opera. It is a work that ranks among the highlights of his entire oeuvre, with a score bursting with melodic ingenuity. Its dramatic punches and emotional urgency would influence Giuseppe Verdi’s later musical works for the stage. The interlacing of political power and a ruler’s personal interests holds tragic potential, as was the case in the opera’s two predecessors Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda – which together with Roberto Devereux form Donizetti’s «Tudor Queens Trilogy». At the center of this opera is the relationship between the aging Queen Elizabeth I of England (Elisabetta) and her young favorite, Roberto Devereux. He’s threatened by a trial for treason. Elisabetta stays the verdict out of love for Devereux, but when she learns of Devereux’s relationship with Sara, Duchess of Nottingham, she signs his death warrant. Too late, she learns of the scope of her decision. Bitterly, she must now recognize that she has sown nothing but destruction – «non regno, non vivo». The Tudor dynasty will die out with her, the «virgin queen».
Donizetti gave his female protagonist – whose tragic fate bears a notable resemblance to that of Norma or Lady Macbeth – a richly-faceted psychological profile. Latvian soprano Inga Kalna, who is equally at home in bel canto repertoire as she is in virtuosic Baroque repertoire, will take on the challenge of portraying her in our new production. The role of Roberto Devereaux also poses massive vocal demands, and will be sung here by tenor Stephen Costello, who has previously appeared at the Opernhaus in Verdi’s Requiem. Anna Goryachova, who is closely associated with the Opera House, will take on the role of Sara. Following productions of Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda, American director David Alden returns with Roberto Devereux to complete our trilogy of Donizetti’s Tudor queens.