Mary, Queen of Scots definitely goes down in history as a woman who was surrounded by drama in both her personal and political life, which were heavily intertwined. Her life inspired Friedrich von Schiller’s play, which was then adapted into an opera by Gaetano Donizetti in 1835. Unfortunately, the opera depicting the lives of Mary Stuart and her cousin Queen Elizabeth was banned by the king, and did not make its first official debut until 1966. Its long anticipated premiere featured the fully restored original score, a resplendent operatic triumph that continues to delight audiences everywhere.
