A melodrama in a prologue and two acts with music by Gaetano Donizetti and libretto by Felice Romani based on Victor Hugo’s drama and freely inspired by the historical figure of Lucrecia Borgia. It was premiered at Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 26 December 1833.

Donizetti looks deeply into the morbid legend of Pope Alessandro VI’s daughter who grew up in a family surrounded by rumours of incest, adultery, infidelity, betrayal, murder and horror, creating a strong psychological portrait of a powerful but fragile woman. The musical director of Teatr Wielki Opera Norodowa [Poland National Opera] Andriy Yurkevych, one of the most sought-after batons internationally, is leading the fourth title this season.

Stage director Silvia Paoli, who made her debut at Ópera de Tenerife with La Cenerentola [2014] and in the wake of her success came back with Le nozze di Figaro [2015] and I Capuleti e i Montecchi [2017], is returning with this international co- production of Ópera de Tenerife, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Ópera de Oviedo and Teatro de la Maestranza. Her interpretation of the opera transports us to the 1930s where the rise of fascism in Italy will control the pattern of women’s behaviour, ruled by the hidden vices and public virtues of a male-centred society.