Elisabetta, re d'Inghleterra was premiered at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on October 4, 1815. The librettist for Elisabetta was Giovanni Federico Schmidt. The origin of his libretto was a play by Carlo Federici on the same subject, which he adapted from memory into an opera libretto. Federici, in turn, got his story from an English romance novel. Rossini had been hired to be the musical director of the Naples theaters by Domenico Barbaja, a powerful and influential impresario of that city. But Rossini was an outsider to Naples; he came from the north from a city called Pesaro, and was unknown to the public and critics of his new home. Although he had become famous through recent successes in other cities with operas such as L'Italiana in Algeri and Tancredi, he was as yet unproven in the historically important city of Naples.

Barbaja hired Rossini to be music director of the theaters and resident composer. He was to provide two new operas a year for Naples, and Elisabetta, re d'Inghleterra was the first written specifically for that city's resources. Naples had at her disposal a mixed chorus of men and women, which was a luxury Rossini hadn't known in his earlier works. Hitherto his choruses had been comprised only of male voices. The Naples orchestra was extensive and superbly disciplined. Rossini could include all of the winds, brass, strings, as well as instruments such as the English horn in his writings, and write parts of greater difficulty than he had ever been able to before. His lead soprano star was a woman by the name of Isabella Colbran. Tall, elegant, dark, and classic, she became the lead for several serious works composed for Neapolitan theaters. A mistress of florid vocal techniques, the music composed for her in Elisabetta, as well as in later operas, is floridly virtuosic and elaborately embellished. The score to Elisabetta is the first instance of a Rossini score in which all of the vocal embellishments are written out, and not left up to the improvisational skills and musical tastes of the singers.

This opera is the beginning of a turning point in the history of Italian opera. The developments which were begun in this opera were continued and developed in the subsequent works of Rossini, the works of Bellini, Donizetti, and others. Secco recitativo is completely abandoned for lusher orchestral accompaniments and expressive orchestral effects. The chorus now takes part in the action of the drama, and is integrated into the fabric of the operatic composition. The vocal writing is richly florid, exuberant, and melodically brilliant. Dramatically daring orchestrations create intense moments throughout the drama.

Because Rossini was an outsider and newcomer to Naples, there were those that opposed him being hired to direct the music at the theaters. Naples was the home of Paisiello and Zingarelli, two composers who had influential friends that sought to thwart Rossini's efforts. The opening night of Elisabetta, re d'Inghleterra, was also the opening night of the fall season, and there was a great feeling of expectation in the air. The overture only served to raise those expectations, with its sumptuous orchestration and magnificent string writing. The finale to Act I is a stunning high point of the opera, and the dramatic buildup during Act II, which contains a moving dungeon scene and soliloquy for Leicester, and the exquisite aria "Bell'alme generose" for Elisabetta, is a veritable feast for the eyes and ears. Elisabetta brought Rossini immediate renown; he was the hero of the Neapolitan stage and adored by all.

© All Music Guide