Martha Argerich [Adriano Heitman]

MARY Queen of Scots is not unknown to tread the opera stage. She stars in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, where, in an encounter that never happened historically, she loses her cool (not to say her head) by calling Elizabeth I a “vile bastard”. And she also stars in a score by Thea Musgrave that played recently at ENO.

But her turbulent life gets operatic treatment once again in a new piece by composer Louis Mander premiering at the Cockpit Theatre, Sept 9. Called Eight Days, it’s a one-woman show that homes in on Mary’s final hours as a prisoner in Fotheringay Castle. The libretto uses her own words, passed down in letters and other documents (“vile bastard” not among them). And, spoiler alert, it ends badly as tension mounts and a horribly botched execution (three goes with the axe) awaits. thecockpit.org.uk

• On grander scale, the Royal Opera revives its set-heavy Don Giovanni, Sept 10-Oct 15, this time with Aigul Akhmetshina as Donna Elvira. Best known as the world’s go-to Carmen, she doesn’t usually sing Mozart roles and claims to hate them. Which will make an interesting evening. rbo.org.uk

• Hard to believe, but the Proms are drawing to a close: this is the last full week. And it’s a good one, with some ear-catching events. On Sept 7, Simon Rattle comes over from Germany – not with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra that he now runs, but with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. And, er, they’re not playing baroque music but an all-Schumann programme. Period-style though.

Two nights of English music start Sept 4 when the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic play Vaughan Williams (his 9th Symphony), Britten (the Violin Concerto) and a new work by the magnificently named Mancunian composer Carmel Smickersgill.
Then there’s more Britten Sept 6 when John Wilson’s Sinfonia of London give what will be supercharged performances of the Frank Bridge Variations and Les Illuminations, neatly packaged with music by other figures in Britten’s world. But note the early Sunday start time of 11am. Culture can demand cruel sacrifices.

It’s particularly cruel because anyone with sense will have been at the Albert Hall the night before, Sept 5, for an appearance by perhaps the greatest living pianist on the planet, Martha Argerich. She’s hopefully playing Beethoven with the Munich Philharmonic – and I say hopefully because, at the venerable age of 85, she does have a habit of cancelling. Fingers crossed.

Another big deal at the Proms, Sept 6 in the evening, is the premiere of a new triple concerto by composer Gwilym Simcock. Simcock’s background is in jazz, but with a broad reach and exuberant complexity that isn’t bound by labels. And this piece is written for the BBCSO with horn-player Ben Scheider, saxophonist Jess Gillam and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Classy.

All Proms are at the Albert Hall but also broadcast live on Radio 3. bbc.co.uk/proms

• Two final things not at the Albert Hall. Will Harmer, a young composer/pianist worth hearing, plays his own music at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Sept 11. stmartin-in-the-fields.org

And there’s a satellite event connected to the Proms at St Jude’s, Sept 8, when the genial Antonio Pappano – music director of the LSO, formerly of the Royal Opera – talks at Henrietta Barnett School about his life and work. He talks well, and is often candid. Take notes. promsatstjudes.org.uk