Music Director Graeme Jenkins speaks to the Amici di Opera group about Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux
He Brought a Voice to an Instrument Fight
Dr. Stephen Dubberly lecturing on Roberto Devereux at One Arts Plaza |
Dr. Stephen Dubberly promised not to sing for us at the beginning of his lecture on our upcoming production of Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux. About thirty-minutes in, he broke that promise.
As the University of North Texas’ Music Director, Dr. Dubberly is very familiar with Donizetti’s bel canto style and, from the lobby of One Arts Plaza, he was not shy about vocally disseminating the musical composition in front of fifty eager opera patrons, not to mention the staff and residents of One Arts. I’m quite positive Dr. Dubberly is a wonderful conductor – but a bel canto singer, he is not. Honestly, it was our own fault for not being able to provide a piano or keyboard for his demonstrations.
Despite the fact that he is not Stephen Costello (this season’s Robert), every one of us was grateful for his auditory teachings. And what he lacks in vocal talent, he makes up for in enthusiasm and overall know-it-all for every production he lectures. Roberto Devereux was no different as he spoke about the history of everything from the composer to the librettist to the original soprano for whom the opera was written (Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis).
If you’re a fan of Showtime’s The Tudors, then you’re going to love Donizetti. Roberto Devereux is the third installment of Donizetti’s Elizabethan series which was preceded by Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda (Mary Queen of Scots) which TDO produced for the first time in its 2006-2007 50th Anniversary season. Roberto Devereux is also a TDO premiere so don’t miss the opportunity to see Donizetti at the finest level by purchasing your subscription today!
Next month, Dr. Dubberly will be lecturing on Puccini’s romantic classic La boheme at the University of Texas at Dallas Artists’ Residency, Central Trak. View the works of Dallas’ own bohemians as you prepare yourself for one of the most popular operas in the world. RSVP by e-mailing amici@dallasopera.org or call 214-443-1044.
Cody Rubio, TDO Web Guy
Diva + Dreamboat = Dynamic Duo
I just left the Inwood Theater and I can’t stop humming the “love theme” that Erich Wolfgang Korngold composed for the score to The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Korngold was an established composer and had several operas, ballets, and orchestral works under his belt before Hollywood pressed him into service. He was nominated for 4 Academy Awards and won twice. But I digress from my title…
The Diva is, of course, the incomparable Bette Davis – the Dreamboat is Errol Flynn. The two stars didn’t enjoy working with each other…well…OK…they really despised each other – but the film is a wonderful technicolor adventure and relates directly to our January opera – Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux. Both the film and the opera explore the relationship of Queen Elizabeth I and her last lover, Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex. We may never know the extent to which either version is historically accurate – but there is no doubt that each telling of the story is engaging.
Many thanks to all that came out to join us this evening. I hope to see you at other “Figaro in Flip-flops” events.
James Hampton, Artistic Administration Coordinator.