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Organization

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Itxaro Mentxaka

A Housewife

Tenor

Sam Furness

Spirit of the Masque

Gerardo López

Master of Ceremonies

Baritone

Alex Sanmartí

The City Crier

Conductor

Ivor Bolton

Stage director

David McVicar

Set designer

Robert Jones

Costume designer

Brigitte Reiffenstuel

Lighting designer

Adam Silverman

Choreographer

Colm Seery

Chorus master

Andrés Máspero

Ana González

Soprano

Anna Caterina Antonacci

Elizabeth I

Alexandra Deshorties

Leonardo Capalbo

Earl of Essex

David Butt Philip

Paula Murrihy

Countess of Essex

Hanna Hipp

Duncan Rock

Lord Montjoy

Gabriel Bermúdez

Sophie Bevan

Lady Rich

Maria Miró

Leigh Melrose

Cecil

Charles Rice

Bass

David Soar

Raleigh

David Steffens

Benedict Nelson

Henry Cuffe

Elena Copons

Lady-in-waiting

James Creswell

Blind Ballad Singer

Scott Wilde

Ballad Singer

Teatro Real de Madrid

Others

Coro Intermezzo

Orchestra

Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid

Gloriana

Madrid

Spain

Teatro Real

Ivor Bolton, musical director of the Teatro Real, takes on the challenge of conducting one of Benjamin Britten’s least known operas: Gloriana. The work was a commission for the coronation of Elizabeth II, and its debut in Madrid was on April 12, 2018. After last season’s resounding success of Billy Budd, also by Britten, the English conductor will work alongside stage producer David McVicar to present a historical and unpleasant account of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

On this occasion, Anna Caterina Antonacci performs the principal role, portraying an Elizabeth who is trapped between her obligations as a queen and her tempestuous  relationship with the ambitious Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux.

First performed in June 1953 to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana painted a nuanced and complex portrait of the new queen’s predecessor in name. In her repeated clashes with the Earl of Essex—a longtime favorite of the queen who was ultimately put to death for treason—Elizabeth I is depicted as flawed and vain, human and sympathetic.

To the public in 1953, eager to embrace a robust postwar optimism and celebrate their young monarch, the tragic and morally complicated subject matter of Britten’s opera was unpalatable. Its chilly reception kept the work out of opera houses for years, but a recent critical reappraisal has given audiences sublime new stagings like this one, starring the superb Anna Caterina Antonacci in the lead role. “One of the finest artists of her generation” (OperaWire), Antonacci's elastic, emotive voice brings high drama to the Elizabethan tragedy, supported admirably by a top-notch cast, including Leonardo Capalbo as Essex. The reliably outstanding Ivor Bolton conducts the Orchestra of the Teatro Real de Madrid in this “landmark” production, the “vindication of a neglected masterpiece” (Bachtrack).

One of Benjamin Britten's less known operas,"Gloriana",is conducted by Ivor Bolton,outstanding
Musical Director of the Teatro Real.First performed in 1953 to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth
II,the play presentsanuanced portrait of her predecessor,Queen ElizabethI,depicted as flawed and
vain,yet human and sympathetic.This new elevated staging,starring"one of the finest artists of her
generation"(Opera Wire)-Anna Caterina Antonacci-in the lead role,portrays the queen trapped
between her royal duties and her turbulent relationship with the ambitious Earl of Essex.

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