Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Act One: Qui Si Attenda - Coro Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
2. Act One: Si, Vuol Di Francia... Ah, Quando All'ara - Shirley Verrett
3. Act One: Ah, Dal Ciel Discenda - Shirley Verrett
4. Act One: Ah, Rimiro Il Bel Sembiante - Franco Tagliavini
5. Act One: Sei Tu Confuso - Shirley Verrett
6. Act One: Era D'amor L'immagine - Franco Tagliavini
7. Act Two: Allenta Il Pie, Regina - Mafalda Masini
8. Act Two: Oh Nube! Che Lieve - Leyla Gencer
9. Act Two: Non M'inganna La Gioia - Leyla Gencer
10. Act Two: Da Tutti Abbandonata - Leyla Gencer
11. Act Two: Qual Loco E Questo? - Shirley Verrett
12. Act Two: E' Sempre La Stessa - Shirley Verrett
13. Act Two: Morta Al Mondo - Leyla Gencer
14. Act Two: Figlia Impura Di Bolena - Leyla Gencer

Disc 2:

1. Act Three: E Pensi? E Tardi? - Giulio Fioravanti
2. Act Three: Quella Vita A Me Funesta - Shirley Verrett
3. Act Three: Deh! Per Pieta Sospendi - Franco Tagliavini
4. Act Three: La Perfida Insultarmi - Leyla Gencer
5. Act Three: Quando Di Luce Rosea - Leyla Gencer
6. Act Three: Un'altra Colpa - Agostino Ferrin
7. Act Three: Vedeste? Vedemmo - Coro Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
8. Act Three: Anna - Coro Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
9. Act Three: Deh! Tu Di Un'umile - Shirley Verrett
10. Act Three: Di Un Cor Che More - Leyla Gencer
11. Act Three: Ah! Se Un Giorno - Leyla Gencer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #389562 in Music
• Released on: 2002-02-26
• Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

An Electrifying Performance
This is an old recording with some bad sound quality, as can be expected of a live recording but it is one heck of a performance. The Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer was a great singer in her own right at the time of Maria Callas. Leyla Gencer sang much of the same material Callas sang- Norma, La Vestale and the revivals of Anna Bolena and in this case Maria Stuarda. Leyla Gencer possessed a powerful, dramatic voice and her acting was always incredible. In this recording, fans will also be pleased she is singing opposite Shirley Verrett, a successful African-American mezzo-soprano/high soprano. Verrett had a long and remarkable career singing Tosca, Aida, Lady Macbeth, Norma as well as the mezzo roles of Azucena, Adalgisa and many others. Verrett as Queen Elizabeth I is a majestic performance. She is jealous, proud and haughty. Everything comes through in her performance.

It is of course a vehicle for Leyla Gencer's talents. Gencer as Maria Stuarda is a solid gold rendition. She is not willing to stay a victim. She is noble, but her fate at the end is controlled by the Queen and by politics. Leyla Gencer gets applause at all the dramatic moments, especially intense is the confrontation scene at Fotheringay in which she insults Queen Elizabeth by calling her a [...] daughter of Anne Boylen. Shirley Verrett has also sung in Anna Bolena, another Tudor Queen opera of Donizetti, in the role of Lady Jane Seymour, which is a far grander interpretation in comparison to the Queen here. In that role, she sang opposite Beverly Sills on recording. Verrett also worked with Sills as Neocle in Rossini's L'Assedio Di Corinto which was Beverly Sills' long awaited Met debut. This is a great recording for fans of both Leyla Gencer and Shirley Verrett, who are really two great queens of opera themselves.

Total enjoyment....
anyone who likes Donizetti or Bel Canto can not help but enjoy this wonderful performance. It goes beyond saying that Gencer is absolutely fabulous and dare I say comparable to Callas, but, as well, you get an outstanding S. Verrett, F. Tagliavini, etc. The only performance of this work that I feel surpasses this performance is the Naples performance a couple of years later ---also with Gencer, Verrett but with Oncina and Rossi as conductor.

Another Rare Recording For Opera Collectors
Maria Stuarda was a Donizetti opera that would have failed to been recognized as a great work for theater if not for the revival performances in the 20th century by such stars as Joan Sutherland and Beverly Sills, who both sang the role of Maria Stuarda. But even before them, Leyla Gencer sang the role. Leyla Gencer had already sang the role of Queen Elizabeth I in the other Donizetti opera "Roberto Devereaux" to much success during her time. This was the World War 11 and Depression Era. Leyla Gencer's dramatic soprano voice was clearly popular.

Maria Stuarda is the Italian equivalent of Mary Stewart, otherwise known as Mary, Queen of Scots. The controversial Catholic queen was a rival to Queen Elizabeth, a devout Catholic and charged with the crime of conspiring to kill her husband Lord Darnley and then usurping power and marrying his murderer. She was also charged with the crime of treason and trying to rid Elizabeth from the throne in the infamous Babbington plot. Mary Stewart in the Donizetti opera is meant to be potrayed as victim. It was a time when heated rivalry between Protestants and Catholics was rampant, when executions and beheadings were a common thing. In the opera, Queen Elizabeth becomes jealous of the ambitious Mary Stewart and orders her death sentence after a confrontation in Fotheringay Castle's park. This confrontation never took place in recorded history and is meant to be taken as fictional, purely for the sake of drama. Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stewart exchange insults and nearly get into a slapfight. The enraged Elizabeth orders Mary Stewart to be beheaded. Mary Stewart confesses to a priest her crimes but prays for forgiveness. In the most memorable and passionate moment of the opera, she gathers her servants and faithful followers in a prayer. The chorus breaks out and high above them soars Mary's floating high notes strongly sustained.

It is a remarkably difficult section for sopranos. Leyla Gencer's Maria Stuarda fails to be dramatic. There is no genuine performance here. Leyla Gencer's voice is faulty and she lacks the dramatic potency as actress. Her Mary Stewart merely comes off as a showpiece for some of her arias, such as the coloratura aria in the first act "O Nube!". In the more dramatic portions, such as her prayer and execution, she fails to deliver good, credible drama. The best interpretor of Maria Stuarda is Beverly Sills. Joan Sutherland sang the role as well but does not impress. Sutherland's heavy voice is suited for bel canto, but she does not put in any dramatic effort and sounds shallow instead. Beverly Sills on the other hand, gives us her all. She is a great actress as well as singer. Her lyricism, easy legato, florid coloratura and embellished dramatic ability is perfect for Maria Stuarda. You may find Beverly Sills singing Maria Stuarda in the Box Set recording by Deutsche Gramophone "The Three Queens" or in an individual cd.

Get this recording if you are a fan of old opera recordings in the World War II period, or if you are a fan of Leyla Gencer. Otherwise, I see no reason to buy this opera. The only good in it is Shirley Verret. Shirley Verret is an excellent soprano, as much a mezzo soprano as a dramatic soprano. Her majestic voice is perfect in this recording. She sings the role of Queen Elizabeth I. She is more convincing in acting than is Leyla Gencer. As Queen Elizabeth in this opera, she is jealous, proud and overbearing. Shirley Verret has a great voice and since she's not to be found in many recordings, it's good to get her in whatever opera she has been recorded on, for fans of Shirley Verret.