The struggle of queens of ‘Maria Stuarda’ says goodbye to the 12 months on the Teatro Real | Culture | EUROtoday

When it premiered Mary Stuartthe opera by the Italian Gaetano Donizetti—though retitled then as Buondelmonte and with its extra political facets diluted to keep away from censorship—in Naples in 1834, the 2 singers who performed the principle roles additionally ended up starring in a fist struggle on stage. The two divas had taken the stage to personify the true story of the confrontation between Mary Stuart, Catholic Queen of Scotland, and her executioner, Elizabeth I, the Protestant Queen of England. The violent conflict of opposing personalities and irreconcilable concepts assaulted actuality at a time that contributed to the shortage of success of the present, which was canceled after the primary efficiency. A 12 months later it arrived at La Scala in Milan, now with its unique title and with the well-known María Malibran within the position of Stuarda. Six performances later, it was additionally banned. Donizetti died earlier than seeing it produced once more.

More than a century handed—as is common in operas within the present repertoire—for Donizetti’s—quantity 40 of the 70 he made in simply 50 years of life—to be acknowledged as a masterpiece of the opera. lovely tune and common protagonist of opera seasons around the globe. The Teatro Real of Madrid has chosen her, in a brand new co-production with the Liceu of Barcelona, ​​the Donizetti Opera Festival of Bergamo, the Moannaie of Brussels and the Finnish National Opera, with the course of David McVicar – additionally accountable for opening the season with Adriana Lecouvreur—, to say goodbye to the 12 months with 10 performances between December 14 and 30.

Donizetti’s story, with a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, though true in substance, is “deeply romanticized,” because the director of the manufacturing defined this Friday on the presentation on the Madrid theater. Added to the political wrestle for a similar scepter is the wrestle for a similar love, that of the Earl of Leicester. But romanticization, based on McVicar, doesn’t forestall related underlying themes from being addressed: “Despite everything, if you listen and read it well, the work has a very present political discourse.” “The world is now as polarized and divided as it was in the 16th century. “This production has made us discover that we do not see any progress in our political situation in 400 years,” mentioned the Scottish director, acknowledging his intention to convey that concept.

The soprano Lisette Oropesa performs the principle position, that of Stuarda. “She is a woman who suffered a lot and was rejected, but she is too proud and has the constant feeling of being number one. She is not innocent, nor a total protagonist,” Oropesa mentioned as Aigul Akhmetshina, the Russian mezzo-soprano who performs Elisabetta (Queen Elizabeth I) appeared on. Their relationship appears removed from that of the primary opera performers. belcantistaand their conception of the characters as properly: each see the 2 queens with chiaroscuro and as victims of political and non secular forces that manipulate their future. “The first thing to say is that Elisabetta is not a villain,” Akhmetshina mentioned with amusing. “I didn’t want to kill Maria, but there is no other way. What I want in this production is for people to feel empathy for that character,” he concluded. Director McVicar delved into the identical concept: “Elisabetta is true, however Maria can be proper. And they may by no means have the ability to perceive one another’s perspective.”

That duality between goodness and evil that they describe about the characters presents an additional challenge for both interpreters. “It is the first of Donizetti’s operas that I have done that has a lot of darkness and that appears frequently, it does not have many moments of light and my voice, on the contrary, is very solar. “It has made me look for new colors and feelings,” said the soprano. Akhmetshina also encounters her own challenges: “It is very difficult to sing because it requires the vocal range of a soprano, but the intensity of a mezzo”, he said. But the problems, both have agreed, have been helped by the freedom of creation and experimentation of the musical director of the assembly, José Miguel Pérez-Sierra. “That’s why it is known as belcantor, no beldirectory”he joked. “When I do belcanto I leave my ego aside and my greatest satisfaction is helping my singers give the best of their voice. And what they propose 99% of the time is very good,” said Pérez-Sierra before the smiles of both.

Next to him, at the end of the table, the Spanish tenor Ismael Jordi, interpreter of Roberto, the Earl of Leicester, also participated in the event, a character, in his words, “very ungrateful.” “He sings a lot and then doesn’t applaud you, it makes you angry,” he said. Roberto’s is one of the characters he has represented the most in his career and he considers it “part of his life.” “He always goes over the top and the stage directors don’t usually treat him very well,” he continued. But it is in this production, with McVicar’s direction, as he acknowledged, that he has been able to “get pleasure from it for the primary time.”