"Politics," the American historian Henry Adams once noted, "is the systematic organisation of hatreds." His remark is particularly apposite to Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, which explores the intersection between private loathing and political ascendancy.
Based on Schiller, the opera is an unhistorical take on the circumstances that led to the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, an event that Donizetti views as being dictated as much by Elizabeth I's sexual jealousy of Mary as by her desire for political control. The two queens, rivals both for the English throne and the love of the Duke of Leicester, meet in a famous fictional slanging match during the course of which Mary's assertion of her moral superiority causes Elizabeth's detestation to harden into sadism. Mary goes calmly to the block. Elizabeth, whose power is now absolute, forces Leicester to oversee the execution.
Banned and bowdlerised in Donizetti's day, the opera gradually established itself in the 20th century as a showcase for rival divas. This concert performance, which pits Barbara Frittoli's Mary against Anna Caterina Antonacci's Elizabeth, does not disappoint. Frittoli exudes refined aristocratic sexuality. Antonacci, got up in a mountain of green and pink tulle, is viciously erotic. Vocally both are astonishing, but Frittoli, opting to play Mary as a victim, occasionally lacks the requisite toughness. The final scenes, however, in which Mary calmly reflects on the horrors of her past, are sung with a flawless line and exquisite spiritual radiance. Antonacci, contorting with rage and frustration, gives the performance of a lifetime and is utterly unforgettable. As Leicester, Paul Charles Clark is athletically glamorous, and with Charles Mackerras conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the score crackles with excitement. The whole is simply electrifying from start to finish.
