''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'' (; ''Elizabeth, Queen of England'') is a ''
dramma per musica
The phrase ''dramma per musica'' (also spelled ''drama per musica''; Italian language, Italian, literally: 'play (or drama) for music', plural: ''drammi per musica'') is commonly found after the title in Italian opera librettos beginning in the ...
'' or opera in two acts by
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...
to a libretto by
Giovanni Schmidt, from the play ''Il paggio di Leicester'' (''Leicester's Page'') by
Carlo Federici, which itself "was derived from a novel ''The Recess'' (1785) by
Sophia Lee."
It was premiered at the
Teatro San Carlo in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
on 4 October 1815 and was the first of nine operas which Rossini wrote for the San Carlo. Altogether, this was one of eighteen operas which he wrote during the time he spent in Naples.
Rossini took melodies from other operas to compose ''Elisabetta'', including the
overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...
, first written for ''
Aureliano in Palmira'', which is more famous as the overture to ''
The Barber of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...
''. As Holden notes, with the re-uses of earlier music, "it is as if Rossini wished to present himself to the Neapolitan public by offering a selection of the best music from operas unlikely to have been revived in Naples."
[Holden 2001, p. 775]
Some of ''Elisabetta''s music was recycled in later operas and a part of Elisabetta's first aria was re-used by Rossini four months later in Rosina's aria "Una voce poco fa" in the opera ''The Barber of Seville''.
Performance history
The opera was first given in the UK on 30 April 1818 at the
King's Theatre in London.
Notable performances include
Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
(1970),
Arles
Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...
(1975),
Teatro Regio di Torino
The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each.
Several b ...
, the
Teatro San Carlo, Naples (1991), in New York (1998, given by Opera Northwest), at the Teatro Margarita Xirgu, Buenos Aires (2004), and at the
Rossini Festival in
Pesaro
Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...
(2004).
Roles
Synopsis
:Time: Reign of Elizabeth I
:Place: London
Act 1
''Throne Room of Whitehall Palace'',
[ Source: Rossini Opera Festival website, rossinioperafestival.it](_blank)
Retrieved 16 June 2012
The Earl of Leicester is celebrating his victory over the Scots. The Duke of Norfolk, who is also present, scowls with jealousy. The Queen enters: (Aria: ''Quant'è grato all'alma mia''). Leicester is honored, and says he has brought home the sons of nobility as hostages. However, he recognizes his wife, Matilda, and her brother, Enrico, as belonging to that group.
When they are alone, Leicester reproaches his wife (Duet: ''Incauta, che festi?''). Because she is the daughter of Mary, Queen of the Scots, she is in danger. Matilda tells Leicester that the Queen loves him as well. She mourns her ill fortune: (Aria: ''Sento un'interna voce''). Leicester decides that, to avoid suspicion, he will speak to neither Matilda nor to her brother, Enrico.
''Royal apartments''
Instead, Leicester tells Norfolk of his secret marriage and Norfolk, in turn, tells the Queen: (Duet: ''Perché mai, destin crudele''). She reacts to the news in fury.
The hostages and Leicester are sent for. The Queen offers to make him consort, and, upon his refusal, she accuses him of treason, and has both him and Matilda arrested.
Act 2
''Rooms in the Palace''
The Queen states that she has sentenced Matilda to death. She demands that Matilda renounce her marriage to Leicester in return for his, her brother, Enrico's, and her own safety. Leicester enters, tears the document up, and is once again arrested along with Matilda. Also, the Queen banishes Norfolk for behaving badly towards Leicester.
''Outside the Tower of London''
People lament Leicester's upcoming execution. Norfolk appears. He induces the crowd to try to free Leicester.
''Leicester's prison cell''
He laments his fate. Norfolk enters and convinces Leicester that he has begged the Queen to pardon him, instead of having betrayed him. The Queen enters to see Leicester prior to his death. Norfolk has hidden, and Matilda and Enrico are hiding as well. Leicester tells the Queen that Norfolk has accused him. Norfolk emerges with a dagger drawn to stab the Queen, when Matilda emerges and throws herself between them. The Queen condemns Norfolk to death, and, in the aria, ''Bell'alme generose'', pardons Leicester and the Scottish prisoners.
[Kobbé 1978, p. ??]
Recordings
References
Notes
Sources
*Gossett, Philip; Brauner, Patricia (2001), " ''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'' " in
Holden, Amanda (ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam.
*Kobbé, Gustave (1976), ''The New Kobbé's Complete Opera Book'', NY:Putnam.
*
Osborne, Charles (1994), ''The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini'', Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press.
*Osborne, Richard, ''Rossini'' (1990), Ithaca, New York: Northeastern University Press.
*Osborne, Richard (1998), "''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra''", in
Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...
, (Ed.), ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes.
The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...
'', Vol. Two. p. 2. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc.
*Osborne, Richard and Philip Gossett, "Rossini, Gioachino", in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', edited by Stanley Sadie. Grove Music Online a
Oxford Music Online*
Toye, Francis (re-issue 1987), ''Rossini: The Man and His Music'', Dover Publications, 1987. ,
External links
''Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra''– Description of the
critical edition
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may range i ...
published by the University of Chicago
Plot description at the Rossini Opera Festival homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabetta, Regina D'inghilterra
Italian-language operas
Operas by Gioachino Rossini
1815 operas
Operas
Operas set in England
Operas about Elizabeth I
Opera world premieres at the Teatro San Carlo
Operas based on plays
Libretti by Giovanni Schmidt