Think murder by poison, and Lucrezia Borgia comes quickly to mind. Willful, beautiful, sexually promiscuous, and by historical reputation ruthless, she was said to rival her brother Cesare and her ...

As the opera's extended PROLOGUE begins, a young man named Gennaro has returned from Venice with a group of friends. When they leave him alone, Gennaro falls asleep on a bench. A masked woman appears.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Whether at home, in the church, or in government, power in Renaissance Italy was overwhelmingly male.

The very name Borgia brings to mind lurid imaginings. This powerful Sopranos-like Italian family dominated the Renaissance for many years. To maintain power, they ...

Incest, murder, adulterous sex, treachery and, naturally, poison. All are highlighted in the paperback original The Borgia Bride. Lucrezia Borgia was portrayed far more sympathetically in Sarah ...