About the work
„Maria Stuarda“ is an opera by Gaetano Donizetti with a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's Italian translation of Friedrich Schiller's play „Maria Stuart“. Its planned 1834 premiere at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples was banned by the censors; an altered version was staged there under the title „Buondelmonte“. The opera in its true form as „Maria Stuarda“ received its actual premiere on 30 December 1835 at La Scala in Milan, with Maria Malibran in the title role.
Plot
The plot is set in England in 1587, during the final days of the imprisoned Scottish queen Mary Stuart. A fictional meeting with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, escalates into open insults and seals Mary's death sentence; the opera ends with her execution.
Cultural significance
Together with „Anna Bolena“ and „Roberto Devereux“, the opera is counted among Donizetti's so-called three Tudor queen operas and remains a core work of the bel canto repertoire.