Maria Stuarda

Maria Stuarda or also dubbed as Mary Stuart is actually an opera about tragedy and it is comprised of two acts. The first act has two scenes: Elisabetta's court at Westminster and in Fotheringhay Castle. The last act on the other has three scenes: "A room in Elisabetta's apartments," "Maria's room" and "The courtyard at Fotheringhay". Mary Stuart's music in the two acts was plyed out by Gaetano Donizetti and its librettist is Guisepped Bardari. Moreover, the opera is anchored in the Friedrich Schiller's 18th century play, which is the Maria Stuart. The story's plot hinged on the lives of two dominant and eminent  personalities in Mary Stuart (Mary, Queen of Scots) and her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. To make the story appealing and interesting, Schiller flirted with history as he made some interesting plays on the story. Scenes such as the confrontation of the two rulers, the romance of Mary Stuart and Dudley and the love triangle of the three main characters of the story are mere fictions. Donizetti was in his elements in providing remarkable and compelling operatic panache including the intense rivalry between Mary and Elizabeth. Although the two queens never met, Donizetti was at his best as he invented scenes where the two royal entities figured in a fiery confrontation, turning the opera in a peppery verbal tussle. Maria Stuarda entwines two powerful conquerors in a story that is sprinkled with a twist of Italian and the stinging Shakespearian tirades. Maria Stuarda is filled with abhorrence yet it provides a superb performance and very delicate music that can sooth the ears.