Maria di Rohan, by Gaetano Donizetti

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The era of France's King Louis XIII, in the early 17th Century, has been a popular one when it comes to flashy entertainment. In books, movies and operas, it's often been portrayed as a time of passion, intrigue and, above all, gallantry -- a sort of Three Musketeers-style gallantry, with flashing swords and "one for all, all for one" attitudes. And that's exactly what we get in this week's opera, Donizetti's Maria di Rohan.

Donizetti might well be called the Stephen Sondheim, or Andrew Lloyd Weber of his day -- but that would be an understatement. He was every bit as popular as those modern creators of musical theater, but even more prolific. For a considerable period of time, Donizetti cranked out operas at a rate of nearly four per year, and he wrote about 70 of them altogether. For a long time, after the composer's death, relatively few of those works were ever heard, especially outside italy. The ones that were performed regularly -- Don Pasquale, Lucia di Lammermoor, The Elixir of Love -- certainly were audience favorites. But dozens of others were ignored for decades.

More recently, though, Donizetti's lesser-known works are being played far more often -- and listeners are getting a pleasant surprise. You might think that a guy who wrote 70 operas must surely have come up with more than his share of stinkers. He didn't. Instead, it seems that every time another rarely-heard Donizetti opera hits one of the world's stages, the composer's reputation for brilliance grows. Maria di Rohan is sometimes given credit as the last opera Donizetti ever composed. More accurately, it's one of the last two -- he was writing another one pretty much simulataneously. The story goes like this:

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Act I: As the opera begins, Maria, Countess of Rohan, is alone. Her husband Enrico has killed a man in a duel. Unfortunately, his victim was the nephew of Cardinal Richelieu -- the famous "bad cop" of Louis XIII's guilded age -- so Enrico is, not surpisingly, in jail. For help, Maria turns to a powerful friend, Riccardo, the Count of Chalais. He agrees to pull some strings, and he eventually gets Enrico released. But Riccardo is also Maria's former lover. When the two get together the sparks fly all over again, and thiings quickly get complicated.

One complication that arises is another duel. While Riccardo is visiting Maria at her home, a courtier insults her. With appropriate -- but unwise -- gallantray Riccardo promptly challenges him to "an affair of honor." When Enrico returns from prison, he learns about this impending duel, and offers his services as Riccardo's second. So, two men, in love with the same woman, become allies in a deadly potentially deadly conflict over her reputation.

Act II: Riccardo writes a letter to Maria declaring his love for her -- to be delivered only if he loses his life in the impending duel. Maria visits him secretly, warning him that Cardinal Richelieu is angry over Riccardo's involvement in a duel over a woman who is, after all, married to someone else. She hides when Enrico arrives to take Riccardo to the duelling ground. As it turns out, Enrico goes on ahead, to prepare things for the confrontation. Riccardo stays behind. This, of course, is the ideal time for him to "be alone" with Maria, which turns out to be just fine with her. But they get so wrapped up in their ardor that both lose track of time, and Riccardo is late for the duel. Word comes that Enrico is preparing to fight the duel himself, and Riccardo rushes off.

Act III: As the final act begins, the duel has already taken place -- during intermission, it would seem. Enrico has won it, but he's not back yet, so Riccardo visits Maria. They find out that Richelieu's men have ransacked Riccardo's home, and stolen all his documents -- including, naturally, his undelivered love letter to Maria. They also find out that the Cardinal's thugs are headed their way to arrest Riccardo. Maria urges Riccardo to get out of town ASAP. While he's trying to talk her into coming with him, the vitorious Enrico finally shows up. When it comes to his wife's relationship with Riccardo, Enrico is clueless. Knowing his "buddy" is in trouble, Enrico shows Riccardo a secret passage, through which he can escape. As Riccardo goes, he quietly tells Maria that if she hasn't joined him within the hour, he'll be coming back for her.

When Richelieu's men arrive, Riccardo is gone. Hoping to enlist Enrico's help in finding their fugitive, they show him Riccardo's letter to Maria. While Enrico is going into a predictable rage, the clock strikes, marking the top of the hour. As he promised, Riccardo promptly appears, looking for Maria. Enrico challenges him to -- yes -- a duel. The two draw pistols, and disappear into the secret passageway. A shot rings out, a body is heard falling, and Maria waits anxiously to see whether her husband or her lover emerges from the darkness. It's hubby. Riccardo, knowing that if Enrico didn't get him Richelieu would, has committed suicide. Maria shows her true loyalties by begging Enrico to shoot her, too. But he won't do it. Instead, he leaves her to live a lonely life, in disgrace. Whew.

In performance, Maria di Rohan comes off as much more straightforward, and much less complicated, than it's plot might indicate. The music is first-rate, the drama moves quickly, and the final scene is as exciting as just about anything Donizetti wrote.

 
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