A bel canto opera of great vocal virtuosity and a gripping psychological portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England (Elisabetta), a victim of her own despotism. Filled with rage, sorrow and despair, Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux brings to a close his Tudor tetralogy, comprising Il Castello di Kenilworth (1829), Anna Bolena (1830) and Maria Stuarda (1835). Mariella Devia, Gregory Kunde, Marco Caria and Silvia Tro Santanfé portray the ill-fated leading couples.
In the claustrophobic, inbred and terrifying court of the Tudors, Queen Elisabetta discovers that her young lover, Roberto Devereux, Earl of Essex, is in love with Sara, Duchess of Nottingham, a confidante and friend whose husband is a close friend of the adulterer. The impetuous queen’s unbridled emotions, lustful urges and corrosive torments will lead to a destructive spiral that will drag the protagonists towards a tragic conclusion.
Tragedia lirica in three acts
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, based on the tragedy Elisabeth d'Angleterre (1829) by Jacques-François Ancelot
Premiered at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, on October 28, 1837
Premiered at the Teatro Real, Madrid, on March 5, 1860
Production of the Welsh National Opera of Cardiff
Artistic team
Conductor | Bruno Campanella
Stage director | Alessandro Talevi
Set and costume designer | Madeleine Boyd
Lighting designer | Matthew Haskins
Choreographer | Maxine Braham
Chorus master | Andrés Máspero
Cast
Elisabetta | Mariella Devia
The Duke of Nottingham | Marco Caria
Sara, Duchess of Nottingham | Silvia Tro Santafé
Roberto Devereux, Earl of Essex | Gregory Kunde
Lord Guglielmo Cecil | Juan Antonio Sanabria
Sir Gualtiero Raleigh | Andrea Mastroni
Teatro Real Chorus and Orchestra
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