DONIZETTI: “MARIA STUARDA.” Edita Gruberova, Agnes Baltsa,...

DONIZETTI: “MARIA STUARDA.” Edita Gruberova, Agnes Baltsa, Francisco Araiza, Simone Alaimo; Chorus of the Bavarian Radio; Munchner Rundfunkorchester conducted by Giuseppe Patane. Philips 426 233 (two compact discs). Although “Maria Stuarda” has received three earlier commercial recordings, none has sustained the lyrical elements of the 1834 work so completely as this latest effort. Baltsa’s Elizabeth I and Gruberova’s Mary Stuart are evenly matched rivals in the epithet-slinging encounter in Fotheringay Park, the opera’s juiciest dramatic episode. Gruberova lends pathos to Mary’s famous prayer, and although Baltsa’s voice has acquired a steely edge, she bestows a measure of finesse on the conventional villain Donizetti has made of the queen. Araiza does what he can with the third side of the triangle. Credit is due Patane, who died shortly after making the recording; his seasoned leadership lends the whole project considerable pulse and idiomatic flair.