Concertante version.
For the first time in the opera.
Lucrezia Borgia remains one of the most characteristic facets of early Italian romanticism in addition to being a foretaste of the aesthetic revolution undertaken by Verdi several years later. Felice Romani’s solidly structured libretto is the pretext for a series of dramatic scenes which are fairly faithful to Victor Hugo’s play. As for Donizetti’s score, with its fine efficiency and surprising freedom, alternating as it does between laughter and tears, between wine and blood, it is certainly of incomparable tragic grandeur. And the title role? Gruelling for any dramatic coloratura who chooses to tangle with it. Here, the element of pure virtuosity has to give way to the violence of the accents and the power of the tone required. This venomous, scheming incestuous mother and monstrous mistress is performed by the great June Anderson, a soprano with exceptional high notes. A guest of the most prestigious opera houses in Europe and the United States, she has sung with famous conductors such as Bernstein, Conlon, Dutoit, Gatti, Levine, Mehta, Muti and Ozawa. It is she who sings the Queen of the Night aria in Milos Forman’s film Amadeus. June Anderson will be accompanied, among others, by the young Spanish tenor Ismael Jordi, who was voted the best singer in 2004 by the specialist press. Since then, he has appeared on the leading European stages where he has found great success.
Approximate length 2 h 50
