Michael Volpe, not Sir Alan Sugar, should be elevated to the House of Lords by Gordon Brown as an example of British innovation. This is the man who, in the teeth of an entrenched bureaucracy, managed to get the Libraries Arts Services of a London borough (Kensington and Chelsea) all the way from a few concerts to the sponsorship of a major opera organisation – Opera Holland Park.

Roberto Devereux (Donizetti) last Saturday was a splendid achievement. The auditorium – so nearly an opera house that, as at Garsington, one feels they might as well pull it down and build a proper one – was perfectly suited to a single, monumental Tudor architectural set. This is the story of the Earl of Essex (Devereux, played by Leonardo Capalbo) and his fatal entanglement with Queen Elizabeth. Donizetti will have none of the subtle ambiguities that ruin Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana; here, Essex is the object not just of Elizabeth’s passion, but that of his true love, Sara, Duchess of Nottingham. It’s Aida, and ten thousand other dramatic plots – two women love the same man.

Donizetti’s version, however, is anything but an Italian ‘number’ opera. At every point, we feel a touch of a master whose early passions were Mozart and Haydn. The conductor, Richard Bonynge, in a most elegant interpretation, allowed the suave orchestral contribution to underline the fury of these three protagonists – though I should add a fourth, Sara’s husband, the Duke of Nottingham. He was splendidly sung by Julian Hubbard, particularly good in Act II finale, in which he hurled imprecations at his wife (Yvonne Howard). She, in turn, elevated her role to something much beyond the standard seconda donna; tortured between two loves, her passion for Essexmakes her the true protagonist.

But not quite – the opera is dominated by the figure of Queen Elizabeth, present or absent. In this production, Majella Cullagh scores a sensational success as an Elizabeth tormented by the rival cares of love and state; her love of Essex – the last of her life – perhaps the final agony of a life of pain. Much as we had admired Cate Blanchett, among others, in this role in film, I felt that Cullagh/Donizetti was the best Elizabeth of the lot – starring in rage when appropriate, able to float a top C when required – she was the true Elizabeth.

There are further performances tomorrow and next Friday and Saturday. Tel: 0845 230 9769 (www.operahollandpark.com).