Donizetti

David McVicar, who directed last season’s Met premiere of Anna Bolena, directs the company premiere of the second opera in Donizetti’s famous trilogy of operas about Tudor history. “Donizetti’s three Tudor operas are very different in tone, mood, and musical content,” McVicar says. “With Maria Stuarda being a different kind of opera than last season’s Anna Bolena, which we presented with a great deal of historical accuracy, we’ve gone for a visual style which is freer. Rather than reflecting history, it reflects the romantic nature of this retelling of the story and the sweeping romantic nature of Donizetti’s music.” Joyce DiDonato sings the title role of the defiant Mary, Queen of Scots. South African soprano Elza van den Heever makes her Met debut as Mary’s formidable rival, Queen Elizabeth I. Maurizio Benini conducts a cast that also includes Matthew Polenzani as the Earl of Leicester, Joshua Hopkins as Cecil, and Matthew Rose as Talbot.

A lecture will precede the opera at 12:15 pm in the Balcony Lounge.

The opera will begin at 1:00 PM with a pre-opera lecture with Lynn Laufenberg of Sweetbrier College at 12:15pm in the Balcony Lounge of The Paramount.

Lynn Marie Laufenberg, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Medieval & Renaissance Studies program at Sweet Briar College (Amherst, VA). Her research and teaching focus on the cultural and legal history of Renaissance Italy. She has collaborated  with Speak! (and its earlier incarnation, Ecco Italy) for nearly a decade.

Approximate runtime: 3 hrs. 15 min.