Maria Stuarda Programme Book 2022

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A CLASH OF QUEENS FERGUS SHEIL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Maria Stuarda made a big impression on me when I first came across it at the 2002 Edinburgh International Festival. I was working as assistant to conductor Charles Mackerras, and my responsibility was preparing the chorus. I was captivated by the scale of Donizetti’s musical thinking, which seemed to be on a larger and more ambitious canvas than any other of his operas that I had encountered. And, by any measure, the work is extraordinarily dramatic. In many if not most Italian operas from the 19th century, there is one leading soprano role. But, typically there are two men playing the parts of rival lovers, one a tenor, the other a baritone. The tenor may be the favoured lover, but the downside is that he is liable to get killed for his efforts! (Maybe I’m thinking too much of Puccini’s Tosca, which is just around the corner for INO, with a new production starting at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on Monday 11 July.) Other female roles are usually secondary – a maid, a nurse, a servant or a mother. The idea of two female roles of equal importance and stature is much less common. And it’s something I find really thrilling in this opera. The two queens are both women certain of their own status and destiny, and neither is willing to give the other an inch. They are caught on diametrically opposing sides of a religious and political divide in a dispute that neither created. Henry VIII’s break with Catholicism meant that everybody found themselves on one side or the other. If you followed the Protestant faith, then Henry’s daughter Elizabeth was the rightful queen of England. If you kept to Catholic teaching, then Elizabeth was born of an unrecognised marriage and therefore could not be regarded as being in line to the throne. Henry’s niece, Mary Stuart – Mary Queen of Scots – was next in line. Donizetti didn’t confine himself to historic truths. He followed the source of the opera’s libretto, the 1800 German play by Friedrich Schiller, so the opera presents a meeting between the two monarchs, 04
even though in reality they never met. The meeting is at a contrived hunt in the grounds of Fotheringhay Castle, and it doesn’t take long for things to turn nasty. Elizabeth is unforgiving and Mary loses her temper, labelling her cousin a vile bastard and a prostitute. Throughout this notorious and confrontational Act I finale both queens get equal opportunities for vocal gymnastics and the result is hair-raising. The opera’s depth extends to the choral writing, particularly in Act II, where the chorus describe the scene of Mary’s execution, and when they join her in a final prayer. There’s real emotional profundity here. Throughout the finale of the opera, Donizetti employs a wonderful technique that Verdi also used at the end of La traviata. The music shifts from the sorrowful minor key into the major, but the traditionally more “up-beat” major key is transformed in a way that intensifies the feeling of heart-break and devastation. I’ve been longing to stage this opera for twenty years. But it is difficult to cast, and I’m delighted now to be able to field a truly excellent cast, especially when it comes to our two queens. Tara Erraught as Queen Mary and Anna Devin as Queen Elizabeth are both taking on these challenging roles for the first time, as is Amy Ní Fhearraigh, who takes on the role of Elizabeth in two of our performances. And, of course, as the conductor of the production, I’m having the great privilege of being part of the team bringing director Tom Creed and designer Katie Davenport’s vision to full fruition. The rehearsal room has been transformed by many moments of sensational beauty. I can but hope that you will relish the contribution of everyone on the INO team – onstage, backstage and in the pit – every bit as much as I do. Maria Stuarda, which has had a particularly convoluted performance history, has never previously been presented in a full staging with orchestra and chorus in Ireland. It’s an extraordinary pleasure to welcome you to this very special moment in Irish operatic history. 05
Page 1 and 2: DONIZETTI MARIA STUARDA
Page 3: GAETANO DONIZETTI 1797-1848 MARIA S
Page 7 and 8: lovers Così fan tutte. And in betw
Page 9 and 10: SHOW YOUR PASSION BECOME AN INO DON
Page 11 and 12: came to pass. When, after 18 years,
Page 13 and 14: ACT II Elizabeth struggles with the
Page 15 and 16: DO THAT later works that became bet
Page 17 and 18: ANNA DEVIN Company. My first profes
Page 19 and 20: on the stage. You have to find a ba
Page 21 and 22: IRISH NATIONAL OPERA CHORUS Soprano
Page 23 and 24: PRODUCTION TEAM IRISH NATIONAL OPER
Page 25 and 26: DENNEHY & WALSH THE FIRST CHILD GAL
Page 27 and 28: JOHN KING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR KATIE
Page 29 and 30: AOIFE O’SULLIVAN RÉPÉTITEUR Aoi
Page 31 and 32: AMY NÍ FHEARRAIGH SOPRANO ELISABET
Page 33 and 34: CALLUM THORPE BASS TALBOT British b
Page 35 and 36: ROSSINI WILLIAM TELL ROSSINI’S GR
Page 37 and 38: "Opera needs "Opera needs Opera Ope
Page 39 and 40: and digital technology. We are work
Page 41 and 42: ABL AVIATION OPERA STUDIO STUDIO ME
Page 43 and 44: “remarkable...vocally and dramati

Maria Stuarda Programme Book 2022

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