STELLDICHEIN!

In the organizer's words:

"We are both of one country, in one island and of one blood."

In the Stelldichein! series, the Bavarian State Opera takes the season's motto and premieres as the starting point for special partnerships. The ambivalent relationship between the rulers Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor is the focus of our encounter at the Literaturhaus München. This year's literature festival will take place there between April 21 and 30, 2026.

How free was the English queen in her decision to have her cousin executed? What human sides are hidden behind the façade of monarchical representation? These questions have been explored not only by historiography and numerous artistic adaptations for centuries, but also by the Australian composer Brett Dean and his librettist Heather Betts in their opera Of One Blood, which will be premiered at the Bavarian State Opera in May.

The two queens themselves will have their say at the Literaturhaus: Pia Händler and Lisa Stiegler are not only members of the ensemble at the Residenztheater, but also play the two women in the latest production of Friedrich Schiller's Maria Stuart. The fictional confrontation scene from this influential German drama is complemented by texts by Elfriede Jelinek and Stefan Zweig.

The readings are intertwined with a musical program performed by mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean and members of the Bavarian State Orchestra: Compositions by Brett Dean on texts by the historical Mary Stuart provide a foretaste of his grand opera at the National Theater.

PROGRAMME

Texts from Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart, Stefan Zweig's Mary Stuart and Elfriede Jelinek's Ulrike Maria Stuart

Brett Dean
Poems of Queen Mary Stuart op. 135 (1852/2023) for mezzo-soprano and string quartet
Madame ma bonne sœur (2020/21) for mezzo-soprano and string quartet

CAST

Soloist:inside Lotte Betts-Dean

Readings Pia Händler, Lisa Stiegler