At other times however, it is too heavy and ponderous, some of Act 2 did lack sparkle and had more of a mid-career Verdi approach than Bel Canto and the orchestra and Matthew Polenzani were not together towards the end of his last short aria. At many times, it is sprightly and energetic, with much of the overture having a stately and tense quality, and there is plenty of dramatic intensity and nuance. Maurizio Benini's conducting is also inconsistent. They act what they have very well, just that their stage direction was the least compelling compared to the rest of the stage direction. The chorus have come on a lot in their acting on the whole, being more individual over the years, but they are not given very much to do other than survey the action, as part of McVicar's play within a play concept, and comment and react on it. While David McVicar does a typically splendid job with the stage direction, it is of the personal opinion that the stage direction for the chorus could have been more interesting. While not one of the best of the Met HD Live's 10th season, the production sears with intensity and emotion and is a very, very good performance.
Once this production from the Metropolitan Opera appears on DVD, it will be no exception. Presently, 'Roberto Devereux' has a very solid DVD competition with all the productions available being worth watching. The story is one of the most dramatically compelling of all the stories for his operas, the four main characters are four of the most rounded and complex and the music, while not quite memorable as the music for 'Lucia Di Lamermoor', 'L'Elsir D'Amore' and 'Don Pasquale', is continually gorgeous. 'Roberto Devereux' has now become among my favourites of Donizetti's operas.
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