Maria Stuarda is not among my top 3 Donizettis, but it does have some of his most gorgeous music, has an amazing scene between Maria and Elisabetta(Figlia Impura Di Bolena! Vil Bastarda!) and the story is moving at least. In terms of productions of Maria Stuarda(and there are not many around at the moment), my first choice is the Janet Baker/Rosalind Plowright production. This production is still good though, though things could have been even more to make it great. I did think the production looked fine, the mix of traditional and contemporary did work- though people may wish for a more sumptuous approach- and the costumes, apart from Maria's which could have been more regal, I didn't see much problem with either. The main problems were with the sound, which sounds as though the performance was recorded from some distance away, and the video quality which is often too dark and focused on things that quite frankly don't belong in the drama. The staging is involving on the most part, the Prison Scene and the poignant Prayer scene really stood out. The confrontation between Mary and Elisabetta is for me the highlight of the opera and although it started off a little too much like naughty schoolgirl vs. firm teacher by the end it was an example of drama on fire. The orchestral playing is stylish, beautifully balanced with some nuances, the chorus sing sympathetically and the conducting does show devotion to the score and is really polished and musical. I thought the performances were on the most part very good, though not the most ideal around. While she can lack breath support at times and possessing a heavier voice than most in the role, Carmela Remigio takes a noble stab at the title role and does very well with it. Okay, other sopranos have shown off more vocal acrobatics than her and there is the essence of "Donizetti done safe", however she has the high notes and at least sings the right rhythms in the right place. Her beautiful is a gleaming and quite beautiful one, shown to great effect complete with sustained legato in the Prayer scene, and she is a dignified and moving actress. I may have seen and heard better Elisabettas(ie. Shirley Verrett), but Sonia Ganassi proves herself to be an intelligent performer, and she manages to sing firmly and while perhaps too much on the girlish side to act regally. There is definitely some good rapport between these two. Joseph Calleja I am not a fan of strictly speaking, however he does make for a great Leicester, his tone is really sweet and beautiful here and he is at least a winning presence. Riccardo Zanellato has moments of gruffness as Talbot, but there is evidence also of some resonant singing as well and he does convey the drama well. Overall, not an amazing production but it is a good one. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I was impressed by the 2006 Bergamo production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena so I bought the DVD of the same company's 2002 Maria Stuarda. What a difference four years make in technical terms. The 2006 production is in pin-sharp widescreen. The 2002 DVD is in fuzzy squarevision and seems to be over-lit.Despite its technical limitations, this production is an artistic success featuring two outstanding performances from Sonia Ganassi as Elizabeth I and Carmela Remigio as Mary Stuart. The diminutive, red-headed Ganassi looks more like a cunning little vixen than the queen of England. Remagio is more demure. Vocal honours are shared with mezzo Ganassi getting the more showy numbers and Remagio getting the best of the high note music. Tenor Joseph Calleja is impressive as Leicester although his role in this opera is nothing more than spare prick at a beheading.Donizetti had the benefit of a brilliant libretto by Felice Romani for Anna Bolena. For Maria, he had to be content with the efforts of 17 year-old Giuseppe Bardari's adaptation of Schiller's play. The opera is very short on historical and political context so Mary's Scottishness, Catholic religion, the suspicious death of her husband Darnley and her involvement in the Babington plot are only mentioned obliquely. What we get is a head-on collision between two strong women, culminating in the best scene in the opera where Mary calls Elizabeth a "Vil bastarda". I wrote that in Italian in the hope that IMDb will not asterisk it out. Schiller is responsible for this scene, which never actually took place. He was also responsible for the spurious romantic rivalry between the two queens for Leicester's affections.So this is the best version of Maria Stuarda on DVD. It is also the only version. It is well worth seeing and it also makes me want to go to Bergamo next year to see, at first hand, a Donizetti production in its beautiful opera house