Lucrezia Borgia was the most popular of all of Donizetti's operas during the nineteenth century, for its dark subject matter and somber tone appealed powerfully to Romantic sensibilities. The premiere took place on December 26, 1833, to mixed reviews, due to a variety of problems. But the work quickly gained in popularity, and its first run lasted for 33 performances.

The composer Mercadante had been hired by the Teatro La Scala of Milan to compose the opening opera of their Carnivale season; he and Felice Romani worked on an opera based on the life of Sappho. But the management of the theater was in disarray, and the project failed. So Donizetti was contracted to compose a new work based on the life of Lucrezia Borgia instead. Romani remained the librettist, basing his story on the play Lucrèce Borgia by the French author Victor Hugo. Historians will debate the exact extent of Lucrezia's involvement in her brother's and father's crimes, but this opera is not concerned with historical fact. Lucrezia is a vengeful, cunning, ambitious multiple murderess, with only one spot of human feeling, her love for her son Gennaro, whom she had given away at birth for his own safety.

Hennriette Meric-Lalande was to be the lead soprano in the premiere. Well past her vocal prime, she nevertheless still demanded prima donna treatment and added to Donizetti's difficulties by demanding a closing bravura aria. The problem for Donizetti was dramatic: Lucrezia dies at the end, surrounded by the bodies of her victims, who include her own son. Finally Donizetti gave in to Meric-Lalande and wrote her a showcase aria; when the opera was revived in 1840, however, he took out the aria and gave Lucrezia an arioso solo instead, creating an ending filled with pathos and horror.

Lucrezia Borgia is truly an ensemble opera; there are 12 significant roles, and while he retained the traditional four principals, he elevated the other eight characters to nearly equal status. The grim subject is reflected in the generally dark color of the vocal writing; there are few female voices in the chorus, and among the leads, only Lucrezia is a soprano. Orsini is a contralto, and the remaining voices are tenors and basses. This emphasis on the lower vocal timbres leaves the soprano voice of Lucrezia in relief, giving her aural prominence throughout the opera and evoking the psychological dominance she wields over the other characters.

Hugo's complex drama could not be turned into a typical nineteenth century operatic structure: the individual acts do not build up to large ensemble endings, and there is no love interest save for the bond that exists between Lucrezia and Gennaro. Hugo wrote of Lucrezia that her character is one of "moral deformity purified by motherhood." She is a monster, but she wins our sympathy in the end. To portray this monster, Donizetti wrote that he wanted new effects which would make his audience shudder. Every detail in scoring serves this end: when Lucrezia appears among her victims to announce that they all have been poisoned, we are truly horrified. The somber chorus, the death throes of Gennaro and his friends, and the offstage chorus singing the service for the dead all contribute to the effect. Historians will debate the exact extent of Lucrezia's involvement in her brother's and father's crimes, but this opera is not concerned with historical fact. Lucrezia is a vengeful, cunning, ambitious multiple murderess, with only one spot of human feeling, her love for her son, whom she had given away at birth, for his own safety.

© All Music Guide