In the cold days of March, as part of the Opera 2022 musical theater festival, the State Theater in Košice opera ensemble visited the building of the Estates Theater in Prague with a performance of the opera by one of the most important Italian composers, Gaetano Donizetti, Roberto Devereux. The opera in three acts deals with the tragic relationship between Queen Elizabeth I of England and her secret lover Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, and is one of the three operas that Donizetti wrote about this important so-called monarch. of the "golden age of England" he wrote.
The story of the opera takes place in London in 1601, when Queen Elizabeth commissioned her brave warrior Robert Devereux to lead a military expedition to Ireland in order to punish the rebels there. But the English nobility is jealous of Robert's war successes and accuses him of treason. Only his friend and former comrade-in-arms, the Duke of Nottingham, stands up for him. Elizabeth doesn't believe the accusations too much and is willing to forgive Robert, but she learns about his relationship with another woman and this leads her to insane jealousy. Roberto's lover is Sára, wife of the Duke of Nottingham, but Roberto does not reveal her identity. He prefers the death penalty, which Elizabeth eventually signs. Sára tries to save Roberto and brings the queen a ring that Roberto once received from Elizabeth as a guarantee of protection. Elizabeth tries to stop the execution of Robert, but unfortunately, it is too late. The Queen goes mad with grief and has Sara and the Duke of Nottingham imprisoned. Finally, he gives up power and appoints Mary Stuart's son, King James, as his successor.
The score of the opera was born in the conditions of Gaetano Donizetti's deep personal crisis, when in a short period of time he gradually lost both parents, two small children and finally his wife. This difficult period of his life was even more strongly reflected in his music. The libretto was written by the talented Italian playwright and librettist Salvadore Cammarano, with whom the composer collaborated on several of his operas. The premiere, which was a huge success with the viewing public, took place on October 29, 1837 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
The Košice staging of a bel canto opera, which is rarely performed in our countries, was a pleasant surprise of the 15th year of the festival. In the role of Elizabeth I, the young Slovak soprano Eva Bodorová shone, following her famous colleagues Edita Gruberová and Monserrat Caballé in this challenging role. She convinced acting and singing. Before the viewer's eyes, during the performance, she practically changes from a young queen to an old, withering woman, and manages all positions brilliantly. He has the greatest support precisely in his singing technique, large vocal range and good mastering of the dramatic coloratura that bel canto opera requires from the performer. However, she was reliably countered by Juraj Hollý in the title role of Devereux with his fresh youthful tenor and great intonation. But it is certainly worth mentioning the balanced performance of another actor from this love quartet - baritone Marián Lukáč in the role of the Duke of Nottingham, who aptly completed the arc of the story of the main characters. The direction of the opera was taken by Anton Korenči, who set it in a modern framework, but in some places the individual arias seemed a bit static. After all, the contemporary audience demands a little more action from an opera work. On the other hand, the artistic aspect of the production was very interesting. Although screening in a theater is nothing new for a long time, abstract paintings by Jakub Pišek and Beata Kolbašovská in the background and tasteful lighting by Robert Farkaš in a chilling way completed the elements of the minimalist scenography. And the costume designer Mitzy von Hoffmann also surprised when at the end of the opera she switched from historical costumes to modern clothes, thus visually indicating the arrival of a new era in the history of England, but also of the whole of Europe. By including opera in its repertoire, the State Theater in Košice has undoubtedly paid a worthy tribute to the art of opera.
Vladimír Dubeň