Donizetti - Mary Stuart / Dame Janet Baker · Plowright · Rendall · Tomlinson · Opie · ENO · Sir Charles Mackerras
Donizetti and his librettists took some liberties with English history. The great confrontation between Mary Stuart and Queen Elizabeth I, which is the focus of the opera's second act, never took place. And it's a pity, too. It's great theater and would've been great history. This recording, taken from four live performances in London in 1982 in which Janet Baker sang the title role, carries a huge wallop. Baker is a superb Mary: proud but injured, enraged and indignant, pious and noble. Rosalind Plowright, with a voice as acidic and wild as Baker's is not, is a cruel Elizabeth. She's implacable and jealous. Their showdown is magnificent. The English of David Rendall and Alan Opie is more understandable than that of the ladies, and the men both turn in fine performances. Charles Mackerras is a superb leader. The orchestra and chorus are at their best for him.  The fact that these were live performances adds to the passion for all concerned.--Robert Levine