“Figlia impure di Bolena,
parli tu di disonore?
Meretrice – indegna, oscena,
In te cada il mio rossore.
Profanato e il soglio inglese
Vil bastarda, dal tuo pie!

(Impure daughter of Boleyn,
do you speak of dishonor?
Obscene and unworthy whore,
May my blush fall on you.
Profaned is the English throne
Vile bastard, by your foot!)

Everyone loves the story of a “diva battle”….and even when one did not exist, they have sometime been created! One thinks of the famous “rivalry” between La Callas and Renata Tebaldi. Certainly these two ladies were too busy to worry about it, but the fans kept the idea going for years. One very famous battle did exist however, and was even reported in the newspaper of Donizetti’s time. The two ladies who sang the roles of Mary Stuart and Elizabeth in the dress rehearsal of his opera, Mary Stuart, were sworn enemies. When Giuseppa Ronzi, singing the role of Mary, turned to Anna del Serre (Elizabeth) to sing the above text in a very convincing manner during the first orchestra rehearsal, a famous fight ensued. Eyewitness accounts spoke of hair-pulling, biting, fainting, and the rehearsal came to a halt. It is one of those moments in history when we would have loved to have been the proverbial “fly on the wall”!

In reality, this scene in Donizetti’s opera had to be invented for the libretto. Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, although cousins, never met. Elizabeth sensed that she would not be able to make a difficult decision about Mary’s future if she had come to know her personally, so she kept her regal distance. But of course, the idea of a meeting and ensuing exchange of insults is the stuff of a wonderful operatic scene and could not be resisted! A video clip of our Queens is posted at mnopera.org/watchlisten. Better yet, come to the Ordway to see the whole magnificent opera, full of thrilling scenes, including our Diva Battle!