Tuesday 24 March 2009

Opera vs Reality: Lucrezia Borgia

I love the opera LUCREZIA BORGIA by Gaetano Donizetti.What a woman she is, Lucrezia Borgia. But in the opera she is murderess, who mostly use poison as her weapon. But the truth, she is not a villain nor is she just an ordinary woman liviing in Renaissance Italy. She is, however, sister of Cesare Borgia who was used to use murder to get his will, and daughter of the one of the most infamous and corrupt Popes of time, Pope Alexander VI.

Who was Lucrezia Borgia? Not a fool, neither a complete innocent woman nor a villainess. Living in the court of Pope Alexander VI even as she was a favourite child of a Pope who really loved his children, it was a hard life and nothing was too hidden. Not a place for innocence but neither a hotbed for incest. The charges of incest between Lucrezia and her father and brother propably came because the Borgia family was never popular and that the idea of the Pope as a father only could have fatherly feelings towards Lucrezia was hard to fanthom. And that Cesare Borgia, the most harden man of Italy, the man portrayed in Macchiavelli's IL PRINCIPE,  should have only brotherly feelings towards Lucrezia was also hard to fanthom, because Cesare really was a cruel man and had many lives on his conscience.

Renaissance, a time of beauty in culture but a hard time to live in. Cruel, corrupt. Money was their god in many ways.

What is true in the opera? Well, Lucrezia Borgia was certainly married to Alfono d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. But in the opera she sings "Don Alfonso, mio quarto marito" as a menace, meaning that she in the opera probably killed of the 3 other husbands by poison and that it could easily be Alfonso's destiny as well. But in reality was Don Alfonso her 3rd husband not 4th. In the opera it is often played like Alfonso is suspicious towards Lucrezia and does not really love her. And it was often told by those who was likely to backtalk any Borgia, that Alfonso never loved Lucrezia. But the opposite was true, he who was totally against a marriage to a Borgia came to love her very much. Every time that Lucrezia was ill, and it was often, did Alfonso come as fast as he could to stay with her. Did she love him? Not initially, but in the end a love came from the respect to a man who had much that she could admire him for. A man who hated Cesare Borgia and all that he stood for could for his wife's wish even try to get Cesare out of some trouble. Only love could make the proud Don Alfonso do something like that.

Lucrezia was smart, she had worked to get this 3rd marriage a place that she could be safe from all the meddling for her father the Pope and from her brother, a man who probably killed Lucrezia's second husband that she had loved. She managed to be loved by almost all of the d'Este family. Only Isabella d'Este never liked har, the proud and noble woman hated the upstart Borgia. And it did not help that Lucrezia became lover to Isabella's husband. So. Lucrezia was no Saint. But her Christian belief was true, and she was not too proud to help the people of Ferrara. She was a good, kind and strong administrator. In war time active in helping the people and so on. She was also an entrepreneur and a great negotiator of deals with ordinary people. Unlike many other noble people she would always work for a deal that was not only good for her but good for the others, too. And if there was problems, she would negotiate over and over again until reason won. She was fair to people. And the people of Ferrara loved her. They also loved Don Alfonso who also was a great administrator and had stopped many corrupt dealings that was after his father Duke Ercole I of Ferrara.

Front Cover
Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance Italy
By Sarah Bradford
Edition: illustrated
Published by Penguin, 2005
ISBN 014101413X, 9780141014135
432 pages


For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com

Saturday 21 March 2009

Life after the operation

Not bad my life after the operation, but not so easy as imagined. I do not sleep well. Not the whole niight through. Still on sick leave which is good for me. Being at my parent's has been good for me but I have not been blogging... Sorry about that.

Now I looking forward to Jenufa in Vienna with Agnes Baltsa as Die Küsterin (Kostelnicka) on April 4. Then later on it will be Tosca with Jose Cura and Maria Guleghina on April 25. After that I have not bought any more opera tickets. But I am looking forward to Oslo in December with Jose Cura in our new, wonderful opera house.Of course I will not wait so long to have more opera experiences...

But just now it is more a matter for me to agree on what this operation has meant for my body. I still sometimes get depressed and think that the operation was not really  necessary and then it gets even more depressing to think that this operation cannot be undone.However, I think that when/if I get to sleep better in the night then my mode will be much better.

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com

Sunday 1 March 2009

Update: Back from hospital

I am back from hospital. Still much more shaken from the operation than anticipated I am happy that Wiener Staatsoper/Culturall decided to reimburse me for my tickets to Carmen/Tosca in Vienna with Jose Cura in March 4/5.

My operation went well but I feel too much pain and am too tired to do much on my computer. And so I am going back home to my parent's to be better.

I'll try to write a little something once a week.

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com