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Roberto Devereux Fun Facts
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We’ve said it, time and again: opera is not “musical spinach.” Yes, it’s nutritious, substantial even, but you don’t have to hold your nose and swallow. Opera is consistently entertaining, both onstage and off, and occasionally, it’s downright outrageous. Need proof? Check out these Fun Facts. |
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You’ve encountered Donizetti’s music in some unlikely places, like the 1997 Bruce Willis Science Fiction cult classic, “The Fifth Element;” 1991’s “Cape Fear;” Martin Scorcese’s “The Departed” (2006) and “Any Given Sunday” (1999).
Despite the success of Roberto Devereux, its composer was convinced, almost from the start, that the opera was “jinxed.” Nevertheless, Donizetti carefully prepared at least four different productions of this work and it is today considered a masterpiece. It’s thought that Beethoven’s early piano sonatas may have influenced the introduction to the Tower Scene in Act III and that Verdi’s Aida and La forza del destino were inspired, in part, by the music of Roberto Devereux.
Donizetti was an incredible letter writer, more than a thousand survive today. Can you imagine what he could have done with an ergonomic keyboard and a memory stick?
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