roberto devereux is an italian opera in three acts by gaetano donizetti, libretto by salvatore cammarano, after françois ancelot's "elisabeth d'angleterre", it was first performed in naples, on october 29, 1837. it is a powerful and sweeping work and is sometimes considered one of the most "verdian" of donizetti's operas. after almost a century of neglect, it was revived in naples by soprano leyla gencer in 1964, and has since then been regularly performed, notably by sopranos montserrat caballé and beverly sills. the plot is about the love between queen elizabeth i of england and her favorite robert devereux, earl of essex.