Superb from the word 'go' in Music & Vision del 4 ottobre

Superb from the word 'go'
Donizetti's last Tudor Queen returns to Rome,
and Carmela Remigio enchants GIUSEPPE PENNISI

Gaetano Donizetti composed four operas about the Tudor Queens during a seven year time span, from 1830 to 1837. The texts were written by different librettists; three of the four operas (Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux) form a tragic trilogy. As such, they were staged and sung by Beverly Sills at New York City Opera in the mid-1970s, toured all over the United States and recorded by EMI (on a small boxed set that's now hard to find). The fourth opera (Elisabetta al Castello di Kenilworth) was performed only once in modern times, in Bergamo in 1989. It is an opera seria with a happy ending which features a very difficult cavatina (the aria with which the singer enters the stage) full of technical fireworks; Mariella Devia sang it in Bergamo and on the ensuing recording.
Of the 'trilogy', Maria Stuarda and Anna Bolena (in this order) are staged quite often; they were favorite hits of, for example, Maria Callas, and they are still loved by many coloratura sopranos (such as Mariella Devia). They are also based on excellent librettos by Felice Romani and Giuseppe Bardari (who borrowed heavily from Schiller's play). Roberto Devereux was frequently staged in Italy and in the rest of Europe from 1837 until the mid-1880s. In those years, one of the elements of its fortune was that among Donizetti's work, it is one of the most similar to Verdi's melodramas, then at the peak of their success. It disappeared during verismo to have a renaissance in the 1960s, mostly associated with important sopranos such as Leyla Gencer, Monserrat Caballé, Raina Kabaivanska and, of course, Beverly Sills. Now, Dmitra Theodossiou and Edita Gruberova are especially fond of the opera. In a recent Munich production (and its related DVD), the plot is set in modern times, in the UK (of course) and Edita Gruberova is made up as Margaret Thatcher.
Even though Roberto Devereux is the least staged opera of the 'trilogy', this reviewer has a particular affection to it: the first time I saw it fully staged was in September 1973 in Seoul, South Korea, in a huge cinema-theatre with an oversized screen but a narrow stage, normally used for vaudeville in between film performances. The stage sets were mostly props and the Italian diction left a lot to be desired, but the singers were quite exceptional. It was moving to see how the Koreans were engrossed by Queen Elisabeth's tragic love for the Earl of Essex, and her abdication, after the devious plot that caused the Earl's beheading.

A scene from 'Roberto Devereux' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2010 Corrado Maria Falsini
In Rome, Roberto Devereux has not been staged for nearly twenty-three years. As the Teatro dell'Opera is recovering from a financial crisis, the twenty-three-year-old Alberto Fassini was brought back by Joseph Franconi Lee (direction) and David Walker (sets and costumes). Fassini had been Luchino Visconti's assistant. Thus, there is no Maggie Thatcher on stage. A very traditional production broadly based on the Hollywood movie by Michael Curtis -- The Private Lives of Elisabeth and Essex -- with Bette Davis in the main role.
As William Ashbrook rightly comments, in Donizetti and his Operas (Cambridge University Press, 1982), Salvatore Cammarano's rather poor libretto has the advantage of being, at least partly, derived from Felice Romani's Il Conte d'Essex for Saverio Mercadante. The dominant figure is Elisabetta, but neither Mercadante nor Donizetti could name the opera after her because Rossini's Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra was, at that time, popular and touring Italian towns.

Carmela Remigio as Elisabetta in 'Roberto Devereux' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2010 Corrado Maria Falsini
In Roberto Devereux, Elisabetta is aged and weary but still a loving woman. She becomes a furious queen when traumatized by the sense of betrayal, both as a sovereign and as a woman. In the final scene, she almost disintegrates as she is consumed by remorse and beset by an avenging vision. The part has been generally taken up by sopranos mature in terms of age, not only of experience. On the 1 October 2010 opening night, the role was played by the young but experienced, attractive -- indeed sexy -- Carmela Remigio, mostly known abroad for her Mozart interpretations. She is made up as an old, frustrated lady and no longer sexually appealing.

Carmela Remigio as Elisabetta and Massimiliano Pisapia in the title role of 'Roberto Devereux' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2010 Corrado Maria Falsini
Remigio is superb from the word 'go', for example from the cavatina, where she sets her dual role as lover and as Queen; her energy is expressed in a scalar sweep to a high A descending quickly to middle C -- a difficult passage that few sopranos sing well. She was perfect in the duet Un tenero core (andante, 3/8, D major) whilst her Roberto (Massimiliano Pisapia) was still warming up and sounded rather stiff. In the second act trio, Pisapia had sufficiently warmed up for the initial melody. Then, at the heart of the scene Alma infida ingrate core (largo, in E flat major) with Remigio and Alberto Gazale (as Nottingham), the double (yet false) betrayals exploded in the wide ranging line which encompasses top C. Where Remigio excelled was, however, the final scene, Vive Ingrato; coloratura had no flavor of being a decorative addition to show the singer's ability but was, as it should be, the means to transmit torment and suffering.

Sonia Ganassi as Sarah in 'Roberto Devereux' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2010 Corrado Maria Falsini
The Queen's rival is the innocent Sarah (Sonia Ganassi), a character of limited psychological development. Ganassi is a well-known mezzo and sang well -- both in her romanza with cabaletta at the start of the opera, and in her duet with Roberto.
A few more words on the singers. After warming up, Pisapia exploded in Act 3 with cabaletta and received a strong open stage applause; nonetheless, Donizetti is not his main strength. He has sung Puccini and Giordano for several years; thus his timbre is thicker than it should be. In contrast, Gazale is very much at ease with his role, a velvet baritone.
From the outset, I have emphasized that Roberto Devereux is a bridge leading towards Verdi's melodrama. Thus the orchestral score does not serve as a support to the singers. From the overture, it is clear that it has a relevance on its own (such as in the fifteen measures of orchestral introduction which sets the whole climate surrounding the drama). Bruno Campanella's baton was particularly skilled in underlining some of the solo and almost chamber music moments, such as the orchestral E major melody in the second act, and the powerful measures setting the Queen's downfall in the final scene.
Copyright © 4 October 2010 Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy

GAETANO DONIZETTI
TEATRO DELL'OPERA
ROME
ITALY
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