THE MET: LIVE IN HD RETURNS TO THE CLARK WITH MARIA STUARDA

For Immediate Release

January 10, 2013

Williamstown, MA—The Met: Live in HD returns to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute with Maria Stuarda on Saturday, January 19 at 12:55 pm. Tickets are $25 ($22 members; $18 students) and may be ordered online at clarkart.edu or by calling 413 458 0MET (458 0638).

Like the play by Friedrich Schiller on which it is based, Maria Stuarda presents a fictionalized version of events leading to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, who is a prisoner in England under Queen Elizabeth. The opera focuses on the emotional dynamics between the two women, who are blood relatives and political rivals, raising the stakes with a love triangle involving Robert, Earl of Leicester.

David McVicar, who directed last season’s Met premiere of Anna Bolena, directs the company premiere of the second opera in Gaetano Donizetti’s famous trilogy of operas about Tudor history.

“Donizetti’s three Tudor operas are very different in tone, mood, and musical content,” McVicar says. With Maria Stuarda, he added, “we’ve gone for a visual style that is freer, more romantic”—one that reflects the “sweeping romantic nature” of Donizetti’s music.

Joyce DiDonato sings the title role of the defiant Mary, Queen of Scots. South African soprano Elza van den Heever makes her Met debut as Mary’s formidable rival, Queen Elizabeth. Maurizio Benini conducts a cast that also includes Francesco Meli as the Earl of Leicester, Joshua Hopkins as Cecil, and Matthew Rose as Talbot.

Approximate running time is 180 minutes.

About the Clark

Set amidst 140 acres in the Berkshires, the Clark is one of the few major art museums that also serves as a leading international center for research and scholarship. The Clark presents public and education programs and organizes groundbreaking exhibitions that advance new scholarship. The Clark’s research and academic programs include an international fellowship program and conferences. Together with Williams College, the Clark sponsors one of the nation’s leading master’s programs in art history. The Clark receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The galleries are open daily in July and August (open Tuesday through Sunday from September through June), 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $15 June 1 through October 31; free November through May; and free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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Press contact:

Amanda Powers
[email protected]
413 458 0471

Calendar Listing

The Met: Live in HD Returns to the Clark with Maria Stuarda

January 19, 2013
12:55 pm

The Met: Live in HD returns to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute with Maria Stuarda on Saturday, January 19 at 12:55 pm. Tickets are $25 ($22 members; $18 students) and may be ordered online at clarkart.edu or by calling 413 458 0MET (458 0638). Approximate running time is 180 minutes.