16th October

Concert will begin at 23:30 hours GMT

Met's encore stream: Donizetti's 'Maria Stuarda' with van den Heever, DiDonato, Polenzani and Hopkins from New York

Donizetti's 'Maria Stuarda' is a tragic opera in two acts to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's translation of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play Maria Stuart. The Lords and Ladies of the Court enter after a tournament to honor the French ambassador, who has brought a marriage proposal to Queen Elizabeth from the Dauphin François. She considers the proposal, one which would create an alliance with France, but she is reluctant to give up her freedom and also pardon her cousin Mary Stuart, the former Queen of Scots, whom she has imprisoned because of various plots against her throne.

Performers: Elza van den Heever, Joyce DiDonato, Matthew Polenzani, Joshua Hopkins, Matthew Rose.

Metropolitan Opera Choir and Orchestra. Conductor: Maurizio Benini.

Recorded 19 January 2013.