Gaetano Donizetti: Maria StuardaTeatro Real, Madrid

With his Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux, Gaetano Donizetti spent almost a decade weaving a vast fresco in which the Tudor queens are the main characters. Maria Stuarda, the second part of this triptych, focuses in particular on the rivalry between Elizabeth I, Queen of England, and her cousin Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. The confrontation between these two diametrically opposed women will lead to a conclusion that is both tragic and sublime, transforming Mary Stuart into the archetypal Donizettian heroine.

In this new production at the Teatro Real, Lisette Oropesa plays Maria Stuarda while Elisabetta is played by Aigul Akhmetshina. Around this magnificent duo gravitate Ismael Jordi as the Earl of Leicester, Roberto Tagliavini as Giorgio Talbot, Andrzej Filonczyk as Lord Guglielmo Cecil and Elissa Pfaender as Anna Kennedy. Directed by David McVicar, this exceptional vocal ensemble matches the soaring heights of the Choir and Orchestra of the Teatro Real, conducted by José Luis Basso and Jose Miguel Pérez-Sierra respectively.

Filmed on 20 December 2024 at the Teatro Real, Madrid.