Maria Stuarda , Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: Donizetti's 1835 romantic opera on Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart (Queen of Scots) is based on a Schiller play which, like Shakespeare histories, has a relaxed attitude towards historical accuracy but plenty of compelling drama. Its coup de theatre, a fictitious meeting of the rival queens in which Mary hurls the killer blow 'Vil bastarda' (referring to Elizabeth's c…