Opera Scotland

Thea Musgrave opera at ENO

Posted 16 Jan 2025

Edinburgh-born composer Thea Musgrave was born in 1928 and her 97th birthday is due on 27 May.

English National Opera will celebrate the event by giving the London premiere of one of her most highly-regarded operas.

Mary, Queen of Scots was commissioned by Scottish Opera, who gave its premiere to general acclaim at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1977. They toured it in 1978, including a performance in Stuttgart.

While the famous character has appeared in a few operas most notably by Donizetti, ending with the pathos of her execution, the plot of this version, using the composer's own libretto, is centred on the brief years she spent as Queen living in Scotland. Subsidiary characters include her husbands Darnley and Bothwell, as well as Cardinal Beaton, David Riccio and Mary's notorious half-brother, James Stewart, the Earl of Moray.

ENO are giving two performances at the London Coliseum on 15 and 18 February at 7.00pm. The conductor is Joana Carneiro, with Heidi Stober in the title role and Alex Otterburn as the Earl of Moray. Initially billed as concert performances, it seems that Stewart Laing is now billed as director, indicating perhaps a semi-staging at least.

While Musgrave has spent many years living in the USA, her music was frequently performed on home turf by Sir Alexander Gibson and other notable Scottish musicians. She seems to have rather dropped off the radar in recent years, so we look forward to a renewed assessment.