Baltimore Opera Company

Study Guide

Maria Stuarda

Friedrich Schiller

Maria Stuarda is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Giuseppe Bardari wrote the Italian libretto after Friedrich von Schiller's play Maria Stuart. Friedrich Schiller was born on November 10, 1759 in the quaint village of Marbach, Württemberg, located in southwest Germany. Schiller was the only boy of 11 children.

Friedrich’s father was a military doctor employed by Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg. Although “Fritz”, as they nicknamed him, disliked the strict regimentation of his father's chosen profession, he was forced by the Duke of Würtemberg to enter the military academy, Karlsschule. While studying law and medicine at Karlsschule, Schiller found himself trapped and fraught with depression, and he began to compose poetry with dark and morbid elements. His quite sudden shift in mood and disposition led to his first theatrical composition, The Robbers (Die Räuber).

The Robbers critiqued social corruption and its affirmation of revolutionary republican ideals. The advanced and profound subject matter astounded the original audience. Thus, it was promptly produced and performed in a nearby village, where Schiller stole away to view the premiere. However, when the Duke learned that Schiller had, without permission, left his regiment to see the play performed, he put the young officer under arrest and forbade him to write anything more. These incredulous restrictions forced Schiller to flee to Leipzig, Germany where he settled and composed his first major poetic drama, Don Carlos. The success of this play not only brought Schiller an invitation to Weimar, the German Athens, but made his name known throughout most of Europe

For the decade following his success with Don Carlos, Schiller abandoned writing plays and poetry and instead engulfed himself in historical writings. During this period, Schiller also developed a close friendship with Sir Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Under Goethe's counsel, Schiller soon returned to his first love: playwriting. While pondering the History of Mary Queen of Scots and the controversy surrounding her execution, Schiller soon decided Mary would be a great subject for his next tragedy he would eventually title, Mary Stuart.

For Schiller, the process of composing Mary Stuart was a labor of love. He worked laboriously reading essays and journals about the subject as well as consulting respected historians. Finally, after a year of meticulous fact checking and character development, Schiller’s Mary Stuart was complete. The premiere of Mary Stuart was in Weimar on June 14th, 1800, before a full house, and was an instant success. Within mere weeks of the premiere, it was acted in Berlin and Leipzig.

After the triumphant run of Mary Stuart, Schiller composed several compelling dramas including Wallenstein's Camp, The Piccolomini, The Maid of Orleans, and Wilhelm Tell. Following his success as a playwright, he and Goethe collaborated to make the Weimar Theatre one of the most prestigious theatrical houses in Germany.
On May 9, 1805, Friedrich Schiller died of tuberculosis. He was only forty-six years old. His plays, however, along with those of Goethe, had established a theatrical renaissance in Germany which is now known as "Weimar Classicism." For more than a century after his death, Schiller remained the favorite playwright of the German people.

Kristin Symes

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