Two Queens One Catholic and Scottish one Protestant and English One in prison at the others behest A man between them balancing loyalty and love A cry of Vile bastard is the impassioned insult that leads one to the scaffold The insult was so potent that the first performance of Donizettis lyrical tragedy was cancelled at the last minute in Naples through royal intervention A toneddown revision went awry at la Scala the following year when the great Maria Malibran chose to sing the original words More than a century would pass before Maria Stuarda would finally make its way into the operatic mainstream For the central female roles Irish National Opera has called on two Irish singers with glittering international careers mezzosoprano Tara Erraught and soprano Anna Devin Tom Creeds new production promises timely insights into what happens when larger imperial states encroach on their smaller neighbours and when geopolitics is clouded by emotions
