Gaetano Donizetti y la “Solita Forma”: Roberto Devereux

Abstract

In 19th-century Italian opera, especially during the period known as bel canto, a conventional formal scheme was used to musically structure the different scenes. This multi-part structure was called the “solita forma.” The composers who most frequently employed it were Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi. From 1974 to the present, a few essays have been published on Bellini and, above all, Verdi; but none on Rossini and Donizetti. In this research, we examine the application of the “solita forma” in the opera Roberto Devereaux, a lyric tragedy in three acts with music by Gaetano Donizetti and an Italian libretto by Salvatore Cammarano. This opera premiered on October 29, 1837, at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, followed by performances in Venice, Portugal, and Lisbon.

The opera, based on the life of Robert Deveraux, Earl of Essex, was not exempt from plagiarism by Romani's widow from Cammarano for the use of the libretto, although the use or subtraction of plots was common among Italian opera houses of the time.

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