23 – 25 March 2022
Venue: SOH: Joan Sutherland Theatre
Presented by Opera Australia.
Performance Times
Wednesday 23 March, 7.30pm
Friday 25 March, 7.30pm
Approximate Run Time:
2 Hours 30 Min (incl one interval)
Ticket Prices
Standard $48 – $335
Other Concessions Available
A throne is not made for two…
Every aria demands greatness. Some interpretations transcend talent to reach for the sublime. With its intense trills and stratospheric highs, Maria Stuarda calls for a true prima donna to portray the ill-fated monarch in this concert rendition of Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece.
Russian soprano Olga Peretyatko takes up the mantle of La Superba Montserrat Caballé and La Stupenda Joan Sutherland, giving us a Mary Queen of Scots of lyrical beauty.
Her coloratura finds its counterpoint in the darker tones of mezzo-soprano Carmen Topciu, who debuts as Mary’s steel-hearted cousin Queen Elizabeth I.
Bound by blood but divided by their beliefs, the rivalry between Mary and her former ally, the brilliant Virgin Queen, couldn’t be more bitter. Hanging in the balance is the English throne, and Leicester’s love.
French bass Nicholas Testé is masterful as Mary’s confessor Talbot while Indian born Australian tenor Shanul Sharma makes The Earl of Leicester irresistible with a voice capable of “dazzling fireworks” (The Age) and “laser-like precision” (Limelight Magazine).
Let the power games begin!
Conductor Renato Palumbo
Maria Stuarda Olga Peretyatko
Elisabetta Carmen Topciu
Talbot Nicolas Testé
Earl Of Leicester Shanul Sharma
Anna Sian Sharp
Cecil Richard Anderson
A Herald Anthony Mackey
Opera Australia Chorus
Opera Australia Orchestra
