23-30 March 2006. Conducted by Riccardo Frizza, directed by Francesco Esposito, with Marianna Pentcheva, Mariella Devia and Claudio Di Segni, Enrico Turco.

Maria Stuarda by Donizetti will be performed at the Teatro dellOpera di Roma (23-30 March). An attractive highlight is the presence of Mariella Devia in the title role, which she tackles for the first time after a long career. A difficult role from a musical and interpretative perspective, but above all because Devia will have to give a more than excellent performance not to be dwarfed by those great singers of the past who made Maria Stuarda their bravura piece. She will have to give her all to compare well with Leyla Genger (the great Turkish singer who was the driving force behind the Donizetti revival) and with Montserrat Caball (who to her credit had the courage to present Maria Stuarda at La Scala in 1971, after it had been performed there in 1835 for the first and only time). Elisabetta Tudor, Marias rival, will be interpreted by Marianna Pentcheva. Riccardo Frizza will conduct.