(Credit: Javier del Real)

There are very few times when an operatic miracle of artistic excellence happens inside an opera house. But attending the performance of soprano Yolanda Auyanet as Maria Stuarda on the night of December 19^th was one of those. She is no stranger to the Teatro Real theatre and bel canto repertoire, including her performances of Il Pirata and Norma, or even this role. She has also performed the roles of the three Tudor Queens. The quality of this artist is well-known and as soon as she entered the stage during this production’s short prelude to her recitative, her stage presence was hypnotizing, and one could immediately empathize with her character.

When she started singing her first recitative and aria, “E che! Non ami…Oh! Nube!,” it sounded natural, easy and perfect. One might think this role had been written for her. The long lines, the dynamics, the phrases, her strong high notes, especially her interpolated high C in the bridge between the cabaletta, proved her clean bel canto technique and enabled her to sing precise, fast scales in the cabaletta. Her singing was also aggressive at moments, imprinting a vocal and dramatic weight that lighter voices that usually sing this role cannot achieve. Her palette of vocal colors and performing resources seemed unlimited, as she turned emotional, sweet and even lamenting in her first act duet with Leicester. Her high B flat in “misero cosi” sounded thunderous and powerful.

She was by far the focus and center of the whole final scene and ensemble, due to her vocal power and strong stagecraft. Her pianissimo B flat in “il fiero livor” was perfectly audible even though it was a sextet, and the other five soloists were singing along. Her line, “No! figlia impure di Bolena,” sounded terrifying because of her use of chest voice, her powerful middle register and her strong intentions. She was the absolute protagonist during the final concertante of Act one, and no extra high notes were needed to add vocal virtuosity, just her big projection and strong intentions which clearly delineated her character.

Auyanet became vulnerable and emotional in her second act duet with Talbot, “Quando di luce rose,” alternating low notes in her chest voice with covered descensions into her lower register, long legato lines in her secure middle range, a clean attack of the B natural in “le mie lagrime” and a perfect soaring pianissimo during the A natural of the final cadenza. But she turned desperate and emotionally insecure during her aria, “or che morente é il mio Raggio,” with brave strong ascensions to the several B naturals written at the end of the duet.

Auyanet’s final scene was hair raising and very emotional. She became weak and lamenting as she pretended to be calm and secure in front of the court before her execution. Her interpretation of “La preghiera” was a lesson of bel canto, imprinted with strong deep emotions. She managed to hold the high G in mezza voce for eight bars, as Donizetti demands, keeping a light soaring sound for her subsequent chromatic ascension to B flat. Auyanet’s Stuarda gradually loses all her “false” confidence for her final number, “Ah! se un giorno,” as terror for her imminent execution approaches, and delivers her final display of vocal characterization and strong secure ascensions to B naturals. She walked while trembling in horror to face her death.

Auyanet’s vocal performance was astounding and secure. Her portrayal of the emotional arch that Stuarda goes through is so powerful and emotional that one might forget how difficult and demanding the role is.

Silvia Tro Santafé as Elisabetta

The Spanish mezzo soprano Silvia Tro Santafé, as Elisabetta I, is a favorite of Teatro Real. With a marked vibrato and modest volume, she defended her character with her pure bel canto technique, producing long fiato lines, dynamics and clean scales. However, she overused her chest voice in her lower register. There are lots of low D’s in her entrance recitative and aria, “Si vuol di Francia…Ah! Quando al’ara,” and even if her attempt was to provide her character with vocal power, it seemed a bit excessive as it sounded too dramatic. She omitted singing the written high B natural at the end of the cabaletta, showing that either she had problems with her high range, or she was not feeling in top form. However, she did sing the high B natural at the end of her duet with Leicester, which either means she felt her voice was capable, or she felt less exposed when singing along with the other soloist.

Her voice sounded small and weak alongside Auyanet in the final scene of act one, making not only her singing but her character weak and unbelievable. She did not transmit the authority of a queen who sentences Stuarda to death. She was more noticeably comfortable in her duet with Cecil in the second act and subsequent trio with Leicester where she could show her low chest register on the line, “E morta ogni pieta,” imprinting some drama. Although the absence of music during this line might have helped her. The B flat that concludes this trio sounded distant and small with the orchestra playing super loud.

Airam Hernández as Leicester

The ardent Leicester was portrayed by tenor Airam Hernández. He has a beautiful voice with a warm timbre and plenty of volume. But he was inadequate for this role, that either requires a lighter voice or a singer with a clear upper register. Although there are just a few high notes written (a single B natural), in the score, the tessitura is extremely high (especially in his entrance aria and both duets with Elisabetta and Stuarda), navigating constantly between high G and A natural. Therefore, Hernández struggled during most of the opera, as he seemed out of breath, and excessively covering the passaggio, making some notes small, guttural and lacking projection. And it was quite visible that it was very physically and challenging for him to sing the constant ascensions to A naturals in “Hai nelle giostre…Ah! Rimiro…Se fida tanto.” The line “Si, del fato mio,” which requires phrasing in A naturals, seemed specially troublesome for the tenor as it sounded irregular, not fluid and pushed. The B natural of his duet with Elisabetta in “Era celeste l’anima” lacked projection and sounded pushed and forced, breaking the fluidity of this legato line (Donizetti wrote this high note in the middle of a legato line, so it is a passing note rather than a strong climatic moment, so it must keep the sweetness and fluidity of the line). But somehow he seemed more comfortable in his duet with Elisabetta (where the tessitura is slightly lower) than in her duet with Stuarda, where it is required for the tenor to sing the upper line, even though the tessitura only rises to A flats (a bit lower than in his entrance aria and cabaletta) considering that the line with the high B flat was cut. His voice was barely audible during the final concertante of Act one.

Hernández sang a beautiful soaring pianissimo on the F of the line “il tuo voler” in the second act trio. Unfortunately, the previous A flat sounded pushed and strained. I cannot tell if he sang a B flat at the end of the trio as his voice was completely hidden by the orchestra in forte and his colleagues singing along.

More Cast Highlights

The baritone Simon Mechlinski as Cecil had only his second act duet with Elisabetta to show all of his potential. He has a warm timbre with modest volume but a strong and secure top register as demonstrated during his interpolated high G in “tel spranno perdonar.” The bass, Krzysztof Baczyk, in the short role of Talbot performed with perfect bel canto style, singing fluid legato recitatives and long lines in his second act duet with Stuarda. His voice is beautiful with a dark timbre and even vibrato

José Miguel Pérez-Sierra kept with his bombastic and super loud approach, as the orchestra and chorus of Teatro Real sounded bright and strong.

Attending the performance of the 19^th of December with Yolanda Auyanet in the titular role was an unforgettable experience, for the extraordinary vocal and dramatic portrayal that this underrated Spanish soprano was able to deliver on the stage of Teatro Real. The rest of the cast was overshadowed completely by the soprano’s performance.