Maria: Wanton daughter of Anne Boleyn…
Is it you speaking of dishonor?
Obscene, unworthy prostitute,
I blush for you.
The English throne is sullied,
Vile bastard,
By your foot!
Elisabetta: Go, prepare yourself, raving creature,
To suffer your final fate;
On your hateful head
I will heap shame!
Drag away that raving creature
Who has condemned herself!
What 19th century Italian composer could resist such strong, overwrought language in a confrontation between two great ladies? The above moment comes at the end of Act II within the context of an ensemble scene which was meant to show off the lyric and dramatic gifts of Donizetti’s original dive, soprano Giuseppina Ronzi di Begnis and soprano Anne del Serre. Being both sopranos…with contrasting gifts…they were natural competitors and sparks flew at many of the rehearsals. But what a fascinating compositional choice: to write these two monumental roles as sopranos rather than as contrasting voice types, soprano and mezzo-soprano. This assignment of roles meant further choices in the building of ensembles, and the second act sextet, “È sempre la stessa”, is a case in point, an unusual combination of two sopranos (Maria and Elisabetta), mezzo-soprano (Anna), tenor (Leicester) and two baritones (Cecil and Talbot). [Contemporary casting will occasionally result in Elisabetta, much of whose role lies in the middle of the voice, being a mezzo-soprano so that the two ladies’ characters are distinguished through vocal color. That will be the case in our San Diego Opera production.]
The usual hallmarks of Donizetti’s bel canto style are in ample evidence here: long phrased, elegant melodies, an attempt to define scenic atmosphere through orchestral means, sensitive word painting, double-arias for all of the principal singers, and an attempt to characterize important roles through purely musical means. Listen to the opening of the final scene (introduction and chorus “Vedesta? Vedemmo. O truce apparato.”) and you will hear no finer example of operatic scene setting from the bel canto era. The orchestral texture of the introduction, featuring horns to delineate the melody, perfectly and simply captures the mood of Mary’s supporters as they face her imminent execution. The chorus itself, with its sustained melody over triplet figures in the accompaniment is a forerunner of choruses like “Va pensiero” in Verdi’s Nabucco. In terms of pure word painting, one need go no further than Mary’s cavatina “O nube che lieve per l’aria” (“Oh cloud that wanders light upon the breeze”) and its consistently ascending vocal line which describes her inner thoughts as they take her back to her homeland in spirit.
One of the more interesting aspects of Donizetti’s genius (and something that Verdi would capitalize later on) is his use of rhythm to delineate character in ensembles. In the first act duet between Leicester and Elisabetta, especially in the central section “Era d’amor l’immagine”, the tenor’s vocal line (marked dolcissimo, ‘as sweetly as possible’) is markedly different than the soprano’s angular and strongly dotted retorts. This underlines Leicester’s description of the pitiful Mary (“seeming an angel from above, charming everyone who saw her”) and Elisabetta’s ironic responses (“She is angelic, or else she would not merit your commendation. Who else in prison could still retain such a degree of fascination? I know that her cajolery entices men to her snare!”) Something similar happens in the confrontation between the two ladies in Act II, wherein Mary’s lines begin the scene after the sextet with short, lyrical utterances, while Elisabetta ‘ups the ante’ with more and more regal pronouncements until Mary’s lines match her counterpart’s in declamatory strength and sheer nobility of character. Neither lady ‘wins’, nor does Donizetti want that…this is a confrontation between two equals that ends in a stalemate vocally and dramatically. It is not until the tragic end of the opera that the music tells us that Mary is ultimately resigned to her fate, going to her death certainly with sadness but with great dignity as well.