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A Family Divided The Bel Canto Tradition Tense Start for Mary Stuart Edmonton Opera’s Mary Stuart Musical Excerpts Further Study
Contents Characters Overview & Synopsis Composer Biography Historical Characters
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New to opera? Be sure to check out our educator’s guide, Your Guide to Opera, available as a free download online. It is designed to supplement this guide and offers an overview of the history of opera, activities for your class and useful information about attending our education dress rehearsals with students. Nothing beats the excitement of live opera! For more information on how your class can attend a dress rehearsal at special student pricing, contact us by email at education@edmontonopera.com or visit us online at edmontonopera.com/discover/education. Special thanks to our education community partners:
Photo Credit: David Cooper for Pacific Opera Victoria’s Mary Stuart, April 2012
Education Guide materials sourced and adapted from Pacific Opera Victoria Study Guide for Maria Stuarda, April 2012.
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Characters
Leicester—Tenor Robert Dudley, Elizabeth’s close personal friend. Though he is loyal to the Queen, he is mesmerized by Mary’s beauty and asks Elizabeth to be lenient towards her. Anna Kennedy—Mezzo-soprano Mary Stuart’s lady-in-waiting Mary Stuart—Soprano Queen of Scots, living in exile in England. She is held prisoner by Elizabeth.
(in order of vocal appearance) Elizabeth—Soprano Queen of England, cousin to Mary Stuart. Conflicted between family, love, and her duty to govern effectively. Talbot—Bass 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Mary Stuart’s keeper. Sympathetic to Mary’s predicament and tries to persuade Elizabeth to pardon her cousin. Cecil—Baritone 1st Baron Burleigh, the Queen’s chief advisor. He is a shrewd politician who senses a threat to Elizabeth’s throne and encourages her to punish Mary.
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Overview
Synopsis
Mary Stuart, the infamous Queen of Scots and former Queen of France is held prisoner by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth is concerned that Mary wants to claim the throne of England for herself. As Mary fights for her life and tries to earn Elizabeth’s forgiveness, the latter grapples with the weight of her decision. Should Mary be beheaded, or should her life be spared? Donizetti takes several liberties with his retelling of this important chapter in Tudor history. While the rivalry between Elizabeth and Mary was well known, the two never actually met! Elizabeth consciously avoided confrontation with Mary, but given how deeply the two despised one another, Donizetti might not be far off the mark in depicting the perfect ‘what if’ scenario.
Act I: The Palace of Westminster Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth I) is toying with the idea of marrying the King of France, although she is actually in love with Lord Leicester, Robert Dudley, a long time member of her court. Elizabeth is also full of ambivalence about her cousin, Mary Stuart (the exiled Queen of Scotland) who is claimant to the throne of England. While Mary is being held in prison, Elizabeth still senses the threat to her supremacy, and seeks the advice of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury (Mary’s keeper) and William Cecil, Lord Burleigh (Elizabeth’s advisor). Talbot encourages her to be lenient, while the shrewd Cecil wants Mary to be beheaded. Elizabeth orders Leicester to deliver a ring to the French Envoy as a token that she is considering the marriage proposal. She is exasperated by Leicester’s cool indifference.
Mary Stuart imparts a splendid operatic flair to the political and religious conflict between Mary and Elizabeth. Donizetti brings them together, concocts a love triangle, and lets the sparks fly. As the niceties of diplomacy go out the window, the confrontation erupts into some very unroyal language and the most lyrical catfight in all of opera.
Talbot privately gives Leicester a letter from Mary in which she begs him to arrange a meeting with Elizabeth. Leicester rhapsodizes over Mary’s beauty, proclaiming that he would happily die for her. Clearly in love, Leicester is discovered by Elizabeth. Her suspicions aroused, Elizabeth pressures the flustered Leicester to give her the letter. Elizabeth gloats over Mary’s change of fortune and the fact that her three crowns are now lost to her. Leicester begs Elizabeth to show compassion, but praises Mary’s beauty a little too
Donizetti’s Mary Stuart brings us two indomitable heroines and a wonderfully Italian twist on British history — Shakespearian invective hurled in purest bel canto, hatred and scorn spun into silken, sinuous melody — magnificent drama and ethereal music.
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ardently. Furious that Mary is trying to rob her of both her crown and the man she loves, Elizabeth agrees to a meeting, but secretly pledges to punish her rival.
Act III: Council Chambers in Westminster; Fotheringhay Castle Elizabeth is hesitant about Mary’s execution; Lord Cecil urges Elizabeth to sign and seal the warrant as England’s security and future hangs in the balance. Leicester’s arrival convinces her to follow through with signing the death warrant. His pleas for leniency only serve to fuel her conviction, and she orders him to witness Mary’s execution.
Act II: Fotheringhay Castle Imprisoned at Fotheringhay Castle, Mary enjoys a beautiful day with her companion Anna and sings nostalgically of her happy youth in France. When trumpets announce the arrival of Elizabeth’s hunting party, Mary's mood abruptly changes to dread at the thought of meeting her cousin. Leicester appears and urges Mary to appear submissive. He is confident Elizabeth will be merciful — if she is not, he vows to take revenge.
In Fotheringhay Castle, Cecil delivers the warrant to Mary, and Talbot stays to comfort her. Denied a Catholic last confession, Mary tells Talbot she is haunted by the ghosts of her murdered secretary Riccio, as well as her husband Darnley; she is tormented with remorse over her personal past, as well as her involvement in a plot (The Babington Plot) against Elizabeth. She experiences a moment of epiphany and release, and prepares herself for death. With great nobility, she leads a prayer to God. As cannon shots signal the imminent execution, Cecil asks Mary if she has any last wishes. She requests that Anna accompany her to the scaffold, and announces her forgiveness of Elizabeth, promising she will beseech God to bless England and its Queen.
The meeting begins tensely. The two women eye one another warily, Mary full of terror and apprehension, and Elizabeth infuriated by the pride she sees in her rival. When Mary kneels to ask forgiveness, Elizabeth taunts her about her sordid past, including rumors of adultery, and her implication in the murder of her husband. Even as Leicester and Talbot urge her to hold her tongue, Mary, provoked beyond endurance, loses her temper, and insults Elizabeth by calling her impure and illegitimate. Elizabeth orders her guards to take an unrepentant Mary away, and everyone expresses their horror, except, of course, the cunning Cecil.
Leicester enters, distraught and railing against the injustice of the death sentence. Mary begs him not to avenge her, but to support and comfort her as she goes to her death. She says farewell. Cecil declares that with the death of its enemy, England’s peace is now ensured.
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Composer Biography— Donizetti (1797-1848)
but as he matured, his compositions focused on building and reaching dramatic heights. Starting in 1822, he worked in Naples for 16 years, where he produced operas at a rapid pace; usually three or four per year. Donizetti enjoyed a successful professional life, although his personal life saw more tragedy — his wife, Virginia Vasselli, died in 1837 during a cholera outbreak, and none of their three children survived more than a few days of infancy. Later in his life, he spent some time in Paris and Vienna, but by 1845, he had become quite ill. He was placed in a French sanatorium for 17 months before being transferred to Bergamo (by this point, he was paralyzed, disorientated and rarely spoke). He died on April 8, 1848, in Bergamo, and was buried in the Valtesse cemetery. Late in the 19th century, his body was moved to Bergamo’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Considered one of the most sublime bel canto opera composers alongside Rossini and Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti would have one of the greatest influences on the operas that Verdi would eventually write. Born Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti on Nov. 29, 1797, in Bergamo, Italy, he was the youngest of three sons in a working class family. His music education included studying under Simon Mayr and later Padre Mattei, in Bologna. Donizetti’s father wanted him to return to Bergamo to teach music, but Donizetti didn’t like that idea and instead enlisted in the army. His first two operas, composed while enlisted, were great successes, and after the success of his second opera, he was discharged and exempted from further service so he could compose full-time. Even though Donizetti’s bel canto works are widely recognized, he wrote for all styles of opera, in addition to composing 16 symphonies, 19 quartets, 193 songs, 45 duets, three oratorios and 28 cantatas. His early operas were usually written for the talents of a particular singer,
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Historical Characters in Mary Stuart
Mary Stuart (Tudor), Queen of Scots Mary Stuart had an eventful life, complete with three marriages and claims to three different thrones. An infant in 1542, Mary was named Queen of Scotland. As a teen, she was married off to Francis II, King of France, but he died less than two years later and Mary returned to Scotland. She then wed her cousin Lord Darnley (Henry Stuart), but their marriage was extremely rocky and the man was known to be wicked. In a surprise turn of events, Darnley was murdered, and Mary married the chief suspect, Lord Bothwell. Embroiled in the murder controversy, Mary fled to England, where she was held prisoner for almost twenty years. She was convicted of treason for her supposed involvement in the Babington Plot of 1586 against Queen Elizabeth, and was soon ordered to be executed. While Mary perished, her legacy lived on. When Elizabeth died childless, Mary’s son was appointed as the King of both England and Scotland.
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I was born into an England in turmoil—her father, King Henry VIII, had separated from his first wife because she could not provide him with a male heir, and married a woman named Anne Boleyn. This dissolution of marriage caused the Catholic Church to sever all ties with Henry, and chaos reigned when he established the Church of England. Anne gave birth to Elizabeth in 1533, and the Catholic Church deemed this child illegitimate. Elizabeth went through life fighting against the shame of being called illegitimate, but eventually ascended the Tudor throne and ruled for 44 years. She never married.
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Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley is a very controversial figure in English history. He was a known friend and confidant of Elizabeth I, and their relations were suspiciously close. It is even suggested that they may have had an illegitimate child together. Even so, Elizabeth was primarily interested in ruling firmly and asked Dudley to marry Mary Queen of Scots for strategic reasons. He refused. Dudley wanted to stay by Elizabeth’s side, and he did until his death in 1588.
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burleigh William Cecil was Elizabeth I’s chief advisor, and a man of immense cunning. He sensed threats to the throne and kept Elizabeth informed about conspiracies. While some accuse Cecil of controlling and negatively influencing Elizabeth, it is clear that he played a major part in strengthening the Tudor dynasty. George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury A military commander by profession, Talbot was Mary Stuart’s jailer and occasional companion during her imprisonment. He hosted Mary at the several homes he owned and she was treated like the royalty she was.
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A family divided: Mary and Elizabeth’s legacy of conflict
rightful Queen of England? Her ambiguity makes her a hotly contested historical figure, and Donizetti tackles the questions surrounding her persona.
Elizabeth I has been called the greatest monarch in British history, her eponymous era a golden age that established English supremacy in the arts, commerce, and politics; that saw voyages of exploration and the rise of English naval power and a sense of national identity. Though by no means free of conflict, her 44-year reign provided a breather of relative tolerance, stability and peace amid centuries of turbulent seesawing between Catholic and Protestant rulers and power struggles between Parliament and the Monarchy.
Donizetti is clearly in favour of Mary Stuart, and depicts her as a character worthy of forgiveness. On the other hand, he does not demonize Elizabeth, and the complexity of her motivations is apparent in her indecision. By pitting the two historical figures against each other in a fictional meeting, Donizetti adopts a unique perspective on their conflict and invites the audience to understand these characters and their legacies.
There is less agreement about Elizabeth’s cousin Mary Stuart, who languished in prison for nearly 20 years until Elizabeth had her beheaded. Mary has always evoked complicated responses, beginning with Elizabeth's own, for she famously delayed the execution, reluctant to behead another queen and knowing the political implications both at home and abroad. At the same time, Elizabeth refused to ever meet Mary and hear her arguments for forgiveness. Did Mary really harbour a deathly hatred of Elizabeth, and a desire to topple her regime? Or was Mary a martyr and the
Photo credit: David Cooper for Pacific Opera Victoria’s Maria Stuarda, April 2012.
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The Sublime Beauty of Bel Canto
individual subjective experience above everything else. Art and music were a way to awaken the spirit and to enrich the human experience. The bel canto composers took this commitment to heart and created masterpieces with emotional highs, lows, and landscapes of feeling.
(Adapted from “Bel Canto, Then and Now” by Robert Holliston, April 2012)
Rossini describes the essential components of bel canto singing:
Donizetti’s definitive style of opera lives within the bel canto tradition, which literally means “beautiful singing”. Beauty and sublimity are thus essential components of this opera, and can evoke heightened emotions to great dramatic effect. The singing is succinct yet elaborate, accompanied by strong melodies at various paces, designed to showcase not only range but also convey character.
a) the Instrument — the voice — the Stradivarius, if you like; b) technique – that is to say, the means of using the Instrument – and the intensive training necessary to sustain a long, legato (smooth and seamless binding together of vowels), espressivo line as well as the agility demanded by faster coloratura (diverse, back and forth) writing;
Double arias (cavatina-cabaletta) are featured in Maria Stuarda, where the first part is a slow, contemplative aria, followed by a more vigorous aria that showcases the singer’s virtuosity. The prayer aria, when Mary is awaiting her execution, is also famous for its difficulty — a high G is sustained over seven measures and rises in a crescendo to a high B flat. All these compositions intend to produce a sublime experience in the audience, wherein they may have immediate sensory access to the characters’ emotions.
c) innate taste and feeling — or Style. Rossini emphasized that this really cannot be taught, but must be acquired as the novice listens to and studies great singers. “Style is Tradition.” In the present, we are seeing a revival of the bel canto tradition, and the works of Donizetti, Rossini, and Bellini are taking the stage at opera houses around the world. Even some lesser-known works are making their way into the opera performance repertoire, and Edmonton Opera’s production of Mary Stuart is part of this trend.
Bel canto was popularized in the first half of the 19th century by Italian composers such as Giaocchino Rossini (1792–1868), Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835), and of course, Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848). They were influenced by the Romanticism of the era, which emphasized the
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Tense Start for Maria Stuarda
so that it did finally premiere in Naples in 1834. This production flopped. After this, Donizetti took his opera to Milan, hoping it would have better luck there. He managed to get it produced but after only six performances, Maria Stuarda was banned. This opera faded into relative obscurity until it was revived in 1958, and has since seen a growing number of productions worldwide. With such a rocky and unsuccessful beginning, Maria Stuarda is finally becoming recognized as an important contribution to the bel canto tradition, and to opera itself.
Donizetti’s opera did not have a very smooth beginning, and faced trouble with both production and reception. Initially, Donizetti was unable to find a librettist, and he had to search desperately before finding a young man named Giuseppe Bardari. Bardari was only 17 years old and a law student in Naples. Maria Stuarda was the first and last libretto he ever wrote, a decision made in part because of the legal controversies the production faced. It was held by the censors until several changes were made, and a real-life quarrel between the leading ladies stalled the production further. Unfortunately, the production did not make it to the stage, and was banned by the King of Naples, Ferdinand II, because it apparently offended his wife who was a descendant of Mary Stuart. Donizetti reworked the content and changed the names of the warring families,
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Framed in history: Edmonton Opera’s Mary Stuart
As art comes to life, the story of Mary Stuart no longer feels like a chapter of the distant past, rather it takes on new meaning and comments on the use or abuse of power for personal gain. Does Elizabeth have the right to punish her cousin so brutally? Is Mary truly guilty of lusting after the throne? Pivotal elements to the production design are the works of art from Tudor England, namely the grand portraits of Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart. The portraits, of Elizabeth I on her Coronation day and of Mary Stuart in captivity, stand imposingly strong and tower over the cast to fill the stage with their authority. As the museum staff fusses about details of their exhibition, the Tudor women observe the entire operation and wait for the perfect moment to step in and tell their story. The costumes and set complement the emotive composition, allowing an audience to experience the gravity behind the Tudor Queens’ conflict. The design is highly evocative of royalty, passion, and the struggle for power.
Very few artists embrace grandeur and theatricality in the way Donizetti does. With Mary Stuart, Donizetti dramatizes and enriches a chapter of English history that already sizzles with conflict, which makes this opera truly enthralling. In a unique interpretation of this costume drama, director Maria Lamont and designer Camellia Koo set the production in a present-day Tudor mansion that is being transformed into a museum. As the staff prepares to mount an exhibition showcasing the lives of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, the two Tudor women enter the present and relive the conflict between them. The Tudor family, which played a significant part in shaping world history, literally steps out of its frame to and puts its troubled relationships on display for all to see.
Photo Credit: David Cooper for Pacific Opera Victoria’s Maria Stuarda, April 2012.
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Musical Excerpts
Nella pace del mesto riposo In the peace of my sad seclusion She will strike me with a new terror. I asked her, yet dare not see her, I cannot find such courage in my soul! Let her stay on her throne and be adored, as long as her gaze is far from me, Too sorely am I despised; In everyone's heart pity for me remains silent
Follow the links below to hear the excerpts on YouTube: Cavatina Oh nube! che lieve per l'aria ti aggiri and Cabaletta Nella pace del mesto riposo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedde d&v=bVa_vYerx24
Imprisoned at Fotheringhay Castle, Mary Stuart rejoices in being out under the open sky and sings nostalgically of her happy youth in France.
The double aria (Cavatina - Cabaletta) forms the traditional solo scene in the Bel Canto operas of the early and mid 19th century. The first part, the Cavatina, is a slow, contemplative aria, designed to to express the character's feelings and show off the singer's breath control, soft singing, and long vocal line. Then something happens on stage to change the situation and trigger a contrasting Cabaletta, a faster, more vigorous aria that shows off the singer's virtuosity and expresses different, more intense emotions.
O nube! che lieve per l'aria ti aggiri
The two queens meet for the first time.
Oh cloud! Lightly drifting in the sky, bear my affection, carry my sighs To the blessed land that once nurtured me. Ah! come down, please, take me up upon your wings, Take me to that land, take me away from my suffering!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedde d&v=Eh4uYM6jsM4
Mariella Devia: Maria Stuarda. Paola Gardina: Anna La Scala Chorus and Orchestra, Antonino Fogliani, conductor. Pier Luigi Pizzi, stage director, set design, costumes. Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 2008
Trumpets announce the arrival of Queen Elizabeth’s hunting party, and Maria's mood abruptly changes to dread at the thought of meeting her cousin.
This is an opulent 1982 English language production by the English National Opera. Although there is debate about presenting operas in translation, this production is exceptional for its dramatic impact and a strong cast led by the mesmerizing Janet Baker.
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Maria Stuarda (Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots): Janet Baker Elisabetta, Queen of England: Rosalind Plowright; Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, favourite of Elizabeth, in love with Mary: David Rendall; George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, friend of Maria: John Tomlinson; Sir William Cecil, Lord Chancellor, enemy of Maria: Alan Opie; Anna Kennedy, Maria's companion: Angela Bostock; Charles Mackerras, conductor Chorus & Orchestra of the English National Opera; Producer (Director): John Copley; Designer: Desmond Heeley
d&v=ntwH2dRwess The Singers Edita Gruberova, Sonia Ganassi Elena Mosuc, Stefania Kaluza Edita Gruberova, Agnes Baltsa Katia Ricciarelli, Glenys Linos Daniela Dessi, Agnes Baltsa Patrizia Ciofi, Marianna Pizzolato Joan Sutherland, Huguette Tourangeau Montserrat Caballé, Bianca Berini Ashley Putnam, Marisa Galvany Elena Mosuc, Katarina Karnéus Mariella Devia, Laura Polverelli Christiane Weidinger (Monte Carlo 1993) Mariella Devia, Anna Caterina Antonacci
A meeting has been arranged between Elisabetta and Maria, using a royal hunt as a pretext. The hunters arrive at Fotheringhay where Maria is imprisoned. Introductory passages of recitative establish that both women are jittery about the meeting, and that Elisabetta is jealous of Leicester's fondness for Maria. The tense sextet, È sempre la stessa, begins two and a half minutes into the recording as the two queens eye one another warily and all the characters, united in unease, express their separate emotions. When Maria humbles herself by kneeling before Elisabetta to ask forgiveness, Elisabetta provokes Maria, reminding her of her sordid past, accusing her of adultery and the murder of her husband.
Finally provoked beyond endurance by Elisabetta's taunts, Maria loses her head and flings at her cousin the worst possible invective. Her venomous insults carry a pointed reminder that many still believe Elisabetta's claim to the throne to be illegitimate. Elizabeth calls the guards to take Maria away. Figlia impura di Bolena, Parli tu di disonore? Meretrice indegna, oscena, In te cada il mio rossore. Profanato è il soglio inglese, Vil bastarda, dal tuo piè! Impure daughter of Boleyn, Can you speak of dishonour? Obscene, unworthy whore, My shame falls upon you, The throne of England is defiled, Vile bastard, by your foot!
Confrontation Scene Watch a baker's dozen of performances featuring the climactic moment when the gloves come off between the two queens. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedde
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Prayer: Deh! Tu di un'umile preghiera il suono Odi
The Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedde d&v=Xas_7xGcUQU
Montserrat CaballĂŠ Tiziana Fabbricini Mariella Devia 2008: Janet Baker
Beverly Sills as Maria Stuarda John Alldis Choir, London Philharmonic, conducted by Aldo Ceccato, 1971.
Edita Gruberova Joan Sutherland Patrizia Ciofi Elena Mosuc Katia Ricciarelli Mariella Devia 2009
Awaiting her execution, Mary and her supporters pray to God for forgiveness. Beverly Sills, one of the greatest interpreters of the role, sings the glorious Preghiera (prayer) in this transcendent scene. The Preghiera is famous for an extremely long high G sustained over seven measures and rising in a crescendo to high B flat (beginning at 2'35" in this recording; Ms. Sills holds the soaring high note for some 20 seconds).
Awaiting her execution, Maria and her supporters pray to God for forgiveness. Above is a selection of ten different performances of the spine-tingling portion of the Preghiera in which Maria sustains a long high note over the chorus. Tolta al dolore, Tolta agli affanni, Benigno il cielo ti perdonò. Freed from suffering, Freed from torment, Bountiful heaven has forgiven you.
Deh! Tu di un'umile preghiera il suono Ah! You hear the sound
Joan Sutherland in a sizzling concert performance of the Cabaletta Nella pace del mesto riposo with Margreta Elkins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw6PrpTBgr8& feature=player_embedded
Of a humble prayer, oh kindly God of mercy. Receive me in the shadow of your pardon For my heart has no other shelter. Freed from suffering, Freed from torment, Bountiful heaven has forgiven you.
Conductor Richard Bonynge, Covent Garden, 1975
Preghiera: Ten performances of the soaring high G in Maria's final prayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZW5trykE4&feature=player_embedded
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Further Study
Background Notes from Minnesota Opera (pdf): An indepth look at the genesis of the opera, the historical background, and a Tudor-Stuart family tree.
Maria Stuarda and Donizetti http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedde d&v=GCG4zJ-BJlw
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9 0891928
Introduction to Maria Stuarda from San Diego Opera Talk: Nick Reveles explores the historical background and music of the opera.
Quarreling Queens: Donizetti's 'Maria Stuarda: An amusing NPR segment exploring the connection between the Dixie Chicks and Maria Stuarda. Music and politics are a volatile mix, esecially with chicks who aren't ready to make nice. Read the article or listen to the segment, complete with music from both the Dixie Chicks and Maria Stuarda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedde d&v=9cOB0pDO9Js The Plot of Maria Stuarda in one minute with Brenda Harris and Judith Howarth (Minnesota Opera)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedde d&v=90gyxHWr7Rk
http://www.dynamic.it/maria_stuarda.pdf
Emilia di Liverpool : Here's a sample of Joan Sutherland's 1957 performance of Emilia's rondo finale, "Confusa è l'alma mia", from Emilia di Liverpool. Make sure to listen through to the end; the second part is a tour de force of vocal pyrotechnics.
Libretto (pdf): CD Booklet from the Dynamic recording of a production by Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo, including notes and the libretto in four languages. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6791
http://www.classicalshop.net/download_booklet.aspx?file =OP%200008.pdf
Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller . Download an English translation of the German play on which Donizetti's opera is based.
Emilia di Liverpool and L'Eremitaggio Di Liwerpool (pdf): Can't get enough Donizetti? Peruse the CD Booklet from an Opera Rara recording of both versions of
http://www.mnopera.org/files/performances/1945/1.6a %20- %20Maria%20Stuarda%20background6.pdf
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Donizetti's Liverpudlian opus, with copious notes, photos, and both libretti.
and her times http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/Historyof theMonarchy.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfFTMNRH6qc&featur e=player_embedded
History of the Monarchy: Official website of the British Monarchy: Explore in greater depth the kings and queens of Britain.
Music from Emilia di Liverpool (L'Eremitaggio Di Liwerpool): If you'd like to savour the charming music from this early work of Donizetti, you can listen to most of the historic 1957 Liverpool broadcast on Youtube. If you decide to follow along with the libretto, be warned that although this performance was billed as Emilia di Liverpool, it was actually the 1828 revision, L'eremitaggio di Liwerpool; the libretto begins on page 204 of the CD booklet.
http://etudesecossaises.revues.org/index146.html The Reputations of Mary Queen of Scots: A scholarly article published in Études écossaises. Jayne Lewis of the University of California, Irvine examines wildly differing perspectives on Mary Queen of Scots. For every Protestant who saw Mary as a bloodthirsty harlot there was thus a Catholic to see her as a pious martyr. For every Scottish person who had heard she was a Frenchified interloper, there was a French one who understood her to be the rightful unifier of the thrones of England, Scotland, and France. For every man who loathed and repudiated her as a Jezebel, there was a woman to love her as a composite of the biblical Marys who participated in Christ's passion.
Emilia di Liverpool: Joan Sutherland Conte Asdrubale: Hervey Alan Candida: April Cantelo Conductor - John Pritchard History http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/queenelizabeth-i/ Queen Elizabeth I: Overview of Elizabeth’s life and times. http://englishhistory.net/tudor/relative/maryqosbiograph y.html
http://etudesecossaises.revues.org/index146.html George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury: Biography of the historical character of Talbot http://is.muni.cz/th/215574/ff_b/bachelor_thesiselizabethan_secret_service.txt
Mary, Queen of Scots: Another introduction to Mary Stuart
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The Elizabethan Secret Service: Learn about the first stirrings of the British Secret Service during the time of Elizabeth I. Discover the espionage techniques and the plots and counterplots (including details of the Babington Plot, which led to the execution of Mary Stuart). The officers controlling the secret service included Sir Francis Walsingham and two of the characters in the opera, William Cecil, Baron of Burghley; and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. A Bachelor's Diploma Thesis by Michaela Mackovรก of Masaryk University in the Czech Republic
http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/burghley.htm William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley: Biography of the historical character of William Cecil Education guide write-ups either directly sourced, or adapted from Pacific Opera Victoria Study Guide for Maria Stuarda, April 2012.
http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/leicester.htm
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester: Biography of the historical character of Leicester
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