ROBERTO DEVEREUX by Gaetano Donizetti (Canadian Opera Company). At the Four Seasons Centre (145 Queen West). Runs to May 21. $12-$332. See listing. Rating: NNNNN
Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux isn’t as well known as some of his other operas, but, based on the Canadian Opera Company’s triumphant production, it deserves to be. Above all, it’s a spectacular showcase for a soprano, since despite that title, it’s Queen Elizabeth I who’s at the centre.
Director Stephen Lawless understands that, staging it as a memory piece as the aging Elisabetta (Sondra Radvanovsky) looks back on her life, including her skill at politics, her love of theatre (the entire opera takes place on a replica of the Globe Theatre stage) and, ultimately, her tragic obsession with the title character, the Earl of Essex (Leonardo Capalbo, replaced by Giuseppe Filanoti in mid-May). He’s charged with treason and is in love with Sara (Allyson McHardy), who’s married to the Queen’s adviser, the Duke of Nottingham (Russell Braun).
The work is about the clash between private passions and the public face of politics. This being Italian opera, those passions rule, expressed in long, lyrical arias of utter beauty, as well as charged duets, tense trios and climactic choruses.
I can’t recall a COC opera this uniformly well cast. Capalbo, besides looking believable as the dashing cad, has a gorgeous tenor, delivering his lines with a lovely legato, while McHardy has a rich, full mezzo and an instinctual dramatic grasp of Sara’s situation. Braun, his baritone at the peak of its powers, makes Nottingham’s descent from concerned statesman to suspicious husband palpable.
But it’s Radvanovsky who brings the house down with her stunning portrayal of the complex Elisabetta, her flexible, lyrical voice capable of tender endearments followed by ferocious, demented fury and then poignant pathos. She’s an equally good actor. Look at her posture in public and private, or how she wields various props to reveal her character.
Although some scene changes take a while to set up, Lawless makes terrific use of set designer Benoit Dugardyn’s Globe Theatre motif, especially the window-like balconies at the top, where characters can suddenly appear to eavesdrop.
And although Donizetti’s score can occasionally feel repetitive, Corrado Rovaris and the COC orchestra bring an urgency and – especially in the arias – spontaneity to the music that makes this vivid musical theatre.
