About this episode
Roberto Devereaux, from 1837, is a Bel Canto opera by Gaetano Donizetti set at the end of the end of the reign of Elizabeth I of England. The opera is the third of Donizetti’s “Tudor Queen Operas,” preceded by Anna Bolena (1830) and Maria Stuarda (1835). The man, Roberto Devereaux, is the last in a series of courtiers favored by the famous Virgin Queen. However, Roberto has seriously disappointed both Elizabeth and Parliament. Matters of state and matters of the heart provided inspiration for both librettist Salvatore Cammaramo and composer Donizetti. English history was a starting point, but the story is not limited to the facts. Invention and imagination soar with the beautiful Bel Canto tunes. Hosted by Pat Wright and Keely Herron.