Maria Stuarda: Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
About the Event
The well‐known fate of Mary 'Queen of Scots' is brought to the Gran Teatre del Liceu in this production of Gaetano Donizetti's masterpiece.
Mary Stuart was beheaded for treason after making the mistake of defying her powerful cousin Elizabeth I. Gaetano Donizetti and his young librettist Giuseppe Bardari – inspired by Schiller's play – transformed this clash between two Queens into the opera Maria Stuarda. However a personal conflict fired by rivalry between the two leading ladies was superimposed on the historical one. Their fits of temper disturbed the censors in Naples. In 1835 the opera was premiered at the Scala in Milan. Maria Malibran, in the title role, bravely decided to sing all the words that had been expurgated. After just a few performances, the authorities cancelled the work and 'Maria Stuarda' was forgotten for a century, until it was rediscovered in 1958. Since then the work has grown steadily in both popularity and prestige.
Lyric tragedy in three acts. Libretto by Giuseppe Bardari based on Andrea Maffei's Italian translation of Maria Stuart by Friedrich von Schiller.
Maurizio Benini, Musical direction
Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser, Stage Direction
Christian Fenouillat, Scenography
Agostino Cavalca, Costumes
Christophe Forey, Lighting
A New Co‐Production with:
Gran Teatre del Liceu, Royal Opera House Covent Garden (London), Polish National Opera (Warsaw) and Théâtre des Champs Elysées (Paris)
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Cast
Joyce DiDonato, Silvia Tro Santafé, Javier Camarena, Michele Pertusi, Vito Priante and Anna Tobella
(19, 23, 27, 30 December 2014; 2, 8 and 10 January 2015)
Irina Lungu, Marianna Pizzolato, Antonio Gandía, Mirco Palazzi, Àlex Sanmartí
and others
(21, 29 December 2014; 3 and 7 January 2015)
Practical Information
Please note: In some areas of the Gran Teatre del Liceu it is possible to be seated with a partially obstructed view of the stage. The Gran Teatre del Liceu recommends Category 2 for the finest and completely unobstructed view of the performance. The stage is not visible from seats starting in row 2 of Category 8. A monitor is provided for following the performance in this section. Only available for operas.
