(''Mary Tudor, Queen of England'') is an Italian

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in three acts, composed by

Giovanni Pacini Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fam ...

from a libretto by Leopoldo Tarantini, which was based on the 1833 play ''Marie Tudor'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

. It was given its first performance at the Teatro Carolino, in

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 ...

, on 11 February 1843.

Performance history

The opera was greeted with considerable acclaim at its creation. After a decade or so, it lost its popularity and disappeared from the stage until its revival by

Opera Rara Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whi ...

at the Bloomsbury Theatre in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as part of the Camden Festival on 23 March 1983. Between March and May 2012, the opera was performed at the City Theater of Giessen in Germany. Odyssey Opera mounted a fully staged production on 1 and 3 November 2019 at the Huntington Theater in Boston.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place:

:Time: 1553.

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...

is infatuated with the Scottish adventurer Riccardo Fenimoore, whom she has ennobled as Lord Talbot, but he is unfaithful to her having seduced the foundling Clotilde, who is the only surviving child of the late Earl of Talbot. She has been raised and is now betrothed to the adoring Ernesto Malcolm, a commoner. Gualtiero Churchill, the Lord Chancellor, wants to protect the Queen by bringing Riccardo down, so he tells the Queen of Talbot's duplicity, and also reveals his knowledge that Clotilde is actually heir to the Talbot name. The Queen condemns Fenimoore to death but repents and orders Clotilde to help release him. However, to the dismay of the Queen, Churchill sees to it that the execution is carried out.

Recordings

References

Notes Sources *Balthazar, Scott L. (with Michael Rose) (1997), "Giovanni Pacini", in Sadie, Stanley (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', New York: Grove (Oxford University Press), Vol. Three, pp. 808–812. * Commons, Jeremy, ''"Maria, regina d'Inghilterra"'', essay in the booklet accompanying the Opera Rara recording. *Rose, Michael (2001), "Giovanni Pacini" in Holden, Amanda, (Ed.) ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria, Regina D'inghilterra Italian-language operas Operas by Giovanni Pacini Operas Operas set in England Operas set in London Operas based on plays 1843 operas Operas based on works by Victor Hugo