Lucrezia Borgia: mapping human passion

(Guy Joosten © Herman Ricour)

Thanks in part to the television series, the name “Borgia” conjures up images of a panorama of political intrigue, voluptuousness, corruption, and murder. The godfather of that 15^th-century version of a Mafia clan was one Rodrigo Borgia, who went down in history as Pope Alexander VI. Would his daughter Lucrezia have exerted the same fascination on the public down the centuries if her reputation had not been given added spice by her (alleged?) incest with her father and her monstrous brother Cesare, the sinister hero of Machiavelli’s Il Principe?

Donizetti, for his part, is associated above all with Lucia di Lammermoor, a Romantic smash hit of the bel canto repertoire that De Munt/La Monnaie last presented in 2009. Now they have turned to Lucrezia Borgia, a work that – remarkably – has not been performed at the Brussels opera house for a century and a half. This less well-known Donizetti opera is a drama of love, desire, and ambiguity. The composer set himself the task of presenting a “cartography of the human passions”, in which he would explore an unfathomable tangle of maternal love and passion, jealousy and ambition, self-respect and renunciation, intransigence and cynicism.

The conductor Julian Reynolds and the director Guy Joosten are back together again, following their much-acclaimed collaboration on Lucia di Lammermoor. A select cast of soloists combines bel canto technique with a great sense of theatre and tragedy. For the occasion, the Brussels opera house has moved to the Koninklijk Circus/Cirque Royal. If you can’t make it, take note that from 12 March, for three weeks, you can watch the whole production, free, on De Munt/La Monnaie’s website.

Gaetano Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia 19, 21, 23, 26 & 28/2, 6 & 8/3, 20.00, 3/3, 15.00, €19 > 120, Koninklijk Circus/Cirque Royal, Onderrichtsstraat 81 rue de l’Enseignement, Brussel/Bruxelles, www.demunt.be, www.lamonnaie.be