''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'' (; ''Elizabeth, Queen of England'') is a ''

dramma per musica Dramma per musica (Italian, literally: ''drama for music'', plural: ''drammi per musica'') is a libretto. The term was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the mid-17th and mid-19th centuries. In modern times the same meaning of ''dra ...

'' or opera in two acts by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

to a libretto by

Giovanni Schmidt Giovanni Schmidt ( in Livorno – in Naples) was an Italian librettist. Life He moved to Naples while he was still young and stayed there for the rest of his life. Between 1800 and 1839 he wrote libretti for 45 operas, especially for the Teatro ...

, 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 Sophia Lee (1750 – 13 March 1824) was an English novelist, dramatist and educator. She was a formative writer of Gothic fiction. She and her sister Harriet also wrote a number of ''Canterbury Tales'' (1797). Life and literary production She ...

." It was premiered at the

Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

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") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...

, first written for ''

Aureliano in Palmira ''Aureliano in Palmira'' is an operatic ''dramma serio'' in two acts written by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto in which the librettist was credited only by the initials "G. F. R." The libretto has generally been attributed to ...

'', which is famous as the overture to ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

''. 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 ( , ; scn, Palermu , 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 ...

(1970),

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

(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 bu ...

, the

, Naples (1991), in New York (1998, given by Opera Northwest), at the Teatro Margarita Xirgu, Buenos Aires (2004), and at the

Rossini Festival The Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) is an international music festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. Its aim, in addition to studying the musical heritage of the composer, is to r ...

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

(2004).

Roles

Synopsis

:Time: Reign of Elizabeth I :Place: London

Act 1

''Throne Room of Whitehall Palace'', Source: Rossini Opera Festival website, rossinioperafestival.it
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 an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

, (Ed.), ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'', 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 of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...

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