Maria Stuarda

Recently, there was an interview (I think it was with James Levine) during an intermission in a broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera where he was excited that the Met is finally going to be putting on Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. They haven't done it before because it is so difficult to cast.

Great, I thought, we get to see it in a few weeks by the San Diego Opera. But then I don't really know the difference between a good cast and a great cast. The cast we saw today seemed to be pretty good but kind of uneven. It ranged from belt canto to his-lips-are-moving-but-is-anything-coming-out? (In the ensembles the tenor sometimes got drowned out.) So, I can see that it could be difficult to get all six soloists to be great at the same time. And even harder when they have to be great in a 4000-seat theater.

I wish I would keep my eyes open. I have a tendency to close my eyes and just listen. Too often I sort of doze off. I think I was awake for it all but I don't have a lot of recollection of the big scene with Elizabeth and Mary. I opened my eyes just in time to get to see the supertitle where Mary calls Elizabeth a "vile bastard." That sent Mary to the block.

I remember dozing off at the Santa Fe Opera when Alessandra Marc was being impressive in Strauss's "Friedenstag." I kept waking up and saying to myself that what was going on is really, really worth watching. But I kept going back to my little nap. My loss. Then we had only one more opportunity to see Ms. Marc. Too bad her physique kept her from being cast very often.

And today's opera was in the afternoon. Just put me in a dark room and I get sleepy.