After the Borgia palace is defaced, Lucrezia (Renée Fleming and Sondra Radvanovsky) demands the desecrator's death. When Gennaro (Vittorio Grigolo) is arrested for the crime, Lucrezia's thirst for vengeance sets in motion a tragic chain of events that eventually destroys her enemies-and herself.
WNO General Director Plácido Domingo conducts this tour de force. John Pascoe designs and directs this new production.
Nov 1, 5, 7, 9m, 11, 15, 17 2008
Kennedy Center Opera House
*Tickets available to single ticket buyers, starring Sondra Radvanovsky
"Sondra Radvanovsky's Angelica was a veritable sensation. ...she was pretty terrific here, from big climaxes to a pianissimo held out beyond what seemed humanly possible." ~Washington Post
"Sondra Radvanovsky sealed her reputation as one of today's leading spinto sopranos..." ~Financial Times
"Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky sang fabulously...
earning a deserved standing ovation." ~Associated Press
Please note: The running time for this production is approximately two hours and 36 minutes including
two
20-minute intermissions.
The opera is performed in Italian with projected English supertitles.
Curtain Times:
Saturdays and Mondays at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.
Wheelchair accessible seating is available in all price categories for all operas.
Gaetano Donizetti's (1797-1848) Lucrezia Borgia is based on a play, Lucrèce Borgia, by Victor Hugo, which was, in turn, based on an historical figure. The actual Lucrezia Borgia (1840-1519) was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI of the infamous Borgia family. She was married three times-each match was a political strategy planned by her father. It is said that when her husbands were no longer politically useful to her father, they were disposed of. Poison was the Borgia family's weapon of choice: this is perfectly illustrated in the final scene of Donizetti's melodrama, when Lucrezia vengefully poisons the wine of partygoers who had insulted her in the prologue by saying that her family had caused the deaths of their loved ones (ironically enough, through poisoning).
Synopses
Prologue
The Palazzo Grimani in Venicee.
Gennaro, a young soldier, and his friends enjoy a festive evening on the terrace; they talk about Lucrezia Borgia, the dangerous wife of the local duke. Tired, Gennaro breaks from his friends and naps nearby. Lucrezia, wearing a mask, walks onto the terrace and sees Gennaro sleeping; she gazes at him fondly ("Com'è bello"). Gennaro wakes to the beautiful Lucrezia, and, not knowing who she is, tells her of his love for the mother he has never known ("Di pescatore ignobile"). Maffio Orsini, one of Gennaro's friends, returns with the other revelers. Seeing Lucrezia, they tell tales of family members who died because of her.
Act I
Ferrara, the next day.
Duke Alfonso, Lucrezia's husband, mistakenly believes Gennaro to be his wife's lover and plots his murder ("Vieni la mia vendetta").
Gennaro and his friends pass by the Duke's palace while on their way to a party. Gennaro defaces the Duke's crest to show his distaste for the Borgia family's immorality. When Lucrezia is informed of the vandalism, she demands death for the perpetrator. The Duke calls Gennaro before him and accuses him of the crime; Gennaro confesses immediately and without remorse. Lucrezia, wishing to spare him, tries to deny any impropriety on Gennaro's part. The Duke offers Gennaro a glass of wine as a pardon, but he has secretly poisoned the wine ("Guai se ti sfugge un moto"). Lucrezia rushes to Gennaro with an antidote; as he drinks it, she begs him to flee the city.
Act II
A party at the princess Negroni's palace in Ferrara.
Ignoring Lucrezia's advice, Gennaro joins his friends at a party hosted by Princess Negroni. Maffio Orsini and the partygoers sing a drinking song ("Il segreto per esser felici"). Lucrezia enters and announces to Orsini and his friends that she has poisoned their wine as retribution for their slander in Venice. Five coffins already await their corpses. To Lucrezia's horror, Gennaro steps forward from the crowd and proclaims that he has poisoned a sixth cup of wine-his own. When Gennaro lunges for Lucrezia with a dagger, but halts when she reveals she is his mother. She begs him to take the antidote, but he chooses to die with his friends. Lucrezia mourns her son before she also dies ("Era desso il figlio mio").
