NEW YORK—Portraying an aging, embittered Queen Elizabeth is hard work, but for Sondra Radvanovsky there’s a moment late in Donizetti’s opera “Roberto Devereux” that’s a real guilty pleasure.
“In the last scene, when I get into full chest voice and denounce Sarah and Nottingham, it’s a lot of fun,” the soprano said in an interview. The Tudor queen is blaming the couple for failing to save her beloved Roberto, the Earl of Essex, from the executioner’s ax.
Temperament can really take a toll on the voice.
