Elizabethan drama central to the opera Maria Stuarda
The battle for power in Elizabethan England?
It's tough to find better fodder for an opera, at least Gaetano Donizetto thought so.
Donizetti's intensely dramatic opera Maria Stuarda is being screened at the Cowichan Theatre Saturday as the latest edition in the Live at the Met series.
Joyce DiDonato stars as Mary, Queen of Scots in the first-ever Met production of Maria Stuarda, while South African soprano Elza van den Heever makes her Met debut as Mary's rival, the formidable Queen Elizabeth I, and Matthew Polenzani sings Leicester, the nobleman caught between the two.
Maurizio Benini conducts a cast that also includes Matthew Rose as Talbot, Mary's jailer, and Joshua Hopkins as Elizabeth's advisor Cecil. The production is by David McVicar, who also staged last season's production of Donizetti's Tudor drama Anna Bolen.
Soprano Deborah Voigt hosts the transmission and conducts backstage interviews with the stars.
The performance begins at 9:55 a.m. Phone 250-748-7529 or visit cowichantheatre.bc.ca for ticket information.
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