Benjamin Britten, Gloriana (1953)

One of your lesser-known Britten operas. It's about Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux, who was a favorite of the Queen but then started a rebellion and was executed. Eagle-eyed viewers may remember that as exactly the plot of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, although that I think was significantly more fictionalized than this--in Donizetti, Elizabeth is explicitly in love with Roberto and his execution is in large part due to her jealousy. Not so in this; her being into him is just barely implied. It was written for Elizabeth II's coronation, so it was supposed to be sort of positive about the British monarchy in some way. To me, the idea of an opera meant to glorify a monarch feels incredibly archaic in the mid-twentieth century. That's what La clemenza di Tito was commissioned for, fercrissake. Though in fairness, while not exactly a vicious assault on anyone, Britten's opera isn't much of glorification--which probably explains in part why it was a significant failure at its premiere.

Well, failure or not, there are definitely thinks to say in Gloriana's favor. The music is good as always--not, I feel, as dramatic as the others, but still plenty lush and attractive. In particular, there's one scene at a dance, and there's a series of dance pieces where Britten does an excellent job of mimicking a late Renaissance/early Baroque style. Impressive. Also, it does a good job of portraying the queen: competent administrator, vulnerable woman, and someone who sometimes just likes to GET DOWN. Definitely an actor's role, and Sarah Walker does a great job (in this version; I'm a little surprised that there are no less than THREE performances on disc of such an obscure work--but maybe I'm just wrong about the "obscure" part).

However, I can also see why it was a flop: of the five Britten operas I've seen thusfar, this is definitely the least, and it's more down to the drama than anything else. As I said, Elizabeth is depicted well, but Devereux? I dunno. He just comes across as kind of whiny through most of it: oh, how come good things happen to Mountjoy and not me? Why can't I attack Ireland? IT'S NOT FAIR; and then his state of mind and his motivations for starting a rebellion are extremely far from clear, as is the Queen's relationship to him. I think the tragedy would have more weight if he were more of a significant character.

So no, not gonna match up to Donizetti quite, I wouldn't say, but hey, it's all right, and I still want to see everything by Britten.