Film
The Metropolitan Opera: Maria Stuarda
Donizetti's bel canto masterpiece about the collision between Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I, sung by Joyce DiDonato at her absolute peak. Three hours of vocal pyrotechnics, political intrigue, and emotional devastation. For anyone who loves opera, history, or voices that can do things you didn't know were possible.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love opera where the drama lives in the singing, and two formidable women going at each other through florid, knife-edged bel canto is your idea of a great night in.
Skip it if you want the sung words to be secondary to the plot, or three hours of Italian-style vocal fireworks sounds more like a test of endurance than a good time.
What it asks of you: It runs about three and a half hours, with long stretches of recitative and big arias, so it asks for patience and a willingness to sit with the music rather than skim it.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Elizabeth1998
Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth I facing the same court politics and rival queens, but in costume drama form. If you want the history without the arias, this is the companion piece.
But It takes itself very seriously and moves deliberately. Some of the supporting performances feel stagey in a way that hasn't aged perfectly.
Norma Rae1979
Donizetti's other bel canto triumph, equally vocally ferocious, with a heroine facing impossible choices. If Maria Stuarda hooks you, this is the natural next opera to seek out.
But Even longer than Maria Stuarda, and the plot—a priestess caught between duty and forbidden love—requires patience with operatic logic.
Mary Queen of Scots2018
Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as the rival queens, made for audiences who want their history cinematically accessible and their conflict obvious.
But It prioritizes melodrama over nuance and compresses history into invented confrontations. If you prize accuracy, you'll spend it irritated.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Metropolitan Opera: Maria Stuarda
More like this (1)
Lucia di Lammermoor2009
Donizetti's most performed opera, with the famous mad scene. If you want to hear what bel canto obsession sounds like at its most extreme, this is it.
But The mad scene dominates everything else; the rest of the opera feels like setup. It's become a soprano's showpiece in a way that can feel reductive.
People
Cast
Joyce DiDonatoMary Stuart
Elza van den HeeverQueen Elizabeth I
Matthew RoseLort Talbot- Joshua HopkinsLord Cecil
Matthew PolenzaniRobert, Earl of Leicester
Maria ZifchakHanna Kennedy
Maurizio BeniniSelf - Conductor
Directing
- David McVicarDirector
- Gary HalvorsonDirector
- David McVicarStage Director
Writing
- Friedrich SchillerOriginal Story
- Giuseppe BardariWriter