Anna Bolena

Last updated
Anna Bolena
Opera by Gaetano Donizetti
Karl Brullov - Giuditta Pasta in the role of Anne Boleyn.jpg
Giuditta Pasta in the title role
Librettist Felice Romani
LanguageItalian
Premiere
26 December 1830 (1830-12-26)

Anna Bolena is a tragic opera (tragedia lirica) in two acts composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena and Alessandro Pepoli's Anna Bolena, both recounting the life of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII.

Contents

It is one of four operas by Donizetti dealing with the Tudor period in English history—in composition order, Il castello di Kenilworth (1829), Anna Bolena (1830), Maria Stuarda (named for Mary, Queen of Scots, it appeared in different forms in 1834 and 1835), and Roberto Devereux (1837, named for a putative lover of Queen Elizabeth I of England). The leading female characters of the latter three operas are often referred to as "the Three Donizetti Queens."

Anna Bolena premiered on 26 December 1830 at the Teatro Carcano in Milan, to "overwhelming success." Weinstock notes that only after this success did Donizetti's teacher, Johann Simon Mayr, "address his former pupil as Maestro." [1] The composer had begun "to emerge as one of three most luminous names in the world of Italian opera", [1] alongside Bellini and Rossini.

Performance history

19th century

Set design by Alessandro Sanquirico for the 1830 premiere Anna-Bolena-Alessandro-Sanquirico.jpg
Set design by Alessandro Sanquirico for the 1830 premiere
Rubini as Lord Percy in Anna Bolena Giovanni Battista Rubini in Anna Bolena 1830.jpg
Rubini as Lord Percy in Anna Bolena

After its opening performances in Italy in 1830, Anna Bolena was first given in London at the King's Theatre on 8 July 1831. Its first US performance was given in French (as Anne de Boulen) in New Orleans, at the Théâtre d'Orléans on 12 November 1839. [2] The New York premiere of the opera, and the first Italian presentation of the work in the United States, took place at the Astor Opera House on January 7, 1850, with conductor Max Maretzek and Apollonia Bertucca in the title role. [3] It appears to have been presented in Europe, up to 1850, in 25 cities and then again in 1881 in Livorno. After the rise of verismo , [2] it was performed infrequently.

20th century and beyond

Rarely seen in the first half of the 20th century, it was revived more frequently after World War II. On 30 December 1947, the opera was performed at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, to mark that theatre's centennial (it had opened in 1847 with Anna Bolena). The cast was Sara Scuderi as Anna, Giulietta Simionato as Jane Seymour and Cesare Siepi as Henry VIII. In April 1957, the opera was revived at La Scala for Maria Callas (one of the seven performances was recorded) in a lavish production directed by Luchino Visconti, with Giulietta Simionato as Jane Seymour. It proved to be one of Callas' greatest triumphs. In the revival the following year, Callas and Simionato repeated their roles and were joined by Siepi as the king, this role having been sung by Nicola Rossi-Lemeni at the premiere the year before.

Since its 1850 performance, the opera was not performed again in the United States until it was presented in a concert version by the American Opera Society in October 1957 with Gloria Davy the title role and Simionato as Giovanna Seymour for performances at both Town Hall and Carnegie Hall. [4] [5] On 26 June 1959, the Santa Fe Opera mounted the first fully staged production of the work since 1839. [6] Several famous modern sopranos have lent their voices to the role, including Leyla Gencer, Montserrat Caballé, Marisa Galvany, Renata Scotto, Edita Gruberova and Mariella Devia. In the 1970s, Beverly Sills earned a considerable degree of fame when she appeared in all three of Donizetti's "Tudor" operas at the New York City Opera. (She also made studio recordings of all three operas.) And Anna was one of the last new roles performed by Dame Joan Sutherland, at San Francisco Opera in 1984.

While not yet part of the "standard repertory", Anna Bolena is increasingly performed today, [7] and there are several recordings.

It was presented by the Dallas Opera in November 2010, which has also staged Maria Stuarda. The Minnesota Opera presented Anna Bolena as part of the "Three Queens" trilogy. The Vienna State Opera gave it in the Spring of 2011, with Anna Netrebko in the title role and Elīna Garanča as Giovanna Seymour. New York's Metropolitan Opera mounted it for the first time in September 2011, opening the company's 2011–2012 season, with Netrebko and with David McVicar directing. [8] Opera Seria UK in Manchester, England, staged Anna Bolena in 2012 as the first in their "Tudor Queens" trilogy, which continues into 2014. [9] And the Welsh National Opera presented the trilogy between September and November 2013, in many different venues in Britain. [10] [11] The Lyric Opera of Chicago also included Anna Bolena in their 2014–2015 season. [12] Sondra Radvanovsky has sung the title role at several opera houses including the Met in 2015. [13] [14]

Roles

RoleVoice typePremiere Cast, 26 December 1830
(Conductor: - )
Anna Bolena (Anne Boleyn) soprano Giuditta Pasta
Enrico (Henry VIII) bass Filippo Galli
Giovanna Seymour (Jane Seymour), Anna's lady-in-waiting mezzo-soprano Elisa Orlandi
Lord Rochefort (George Boleyn), Anna's brotherbass Lorenzo Biondi
Riccardo Percy (Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland) [15] tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini
Smeton (Mark Smeaton), musician contralto Henriette Laroche
Hervey, court official tenor Antonio Crippa
Courtiers, soldiers, huntsmen

Synopsis

Time: 1536
Place: Windsor and London [2]
Disegno per copertina di libretto, drawing for Anna Bolena (undated). Disegno per copertina di libretto, disegno di Peter Hoffer per Anna Bolena (s.d.) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON012415.jpg
Disegno per copertina di libretto, drawing for Anna Bolena (undated).

Act 1

Scene One: Night. Windsor Castle, Queen's apartments

Courtiers comment that the queen's star is setting, because the king's fickle heart burns with another love.

Jane Seymour enters to attend a call by the Queen; Anna enters and notes that people seem sad. The queen admits to Jane that she is troubled. At the queen's request, her page Smeaton plays the harp and sings in an attempt to cheer the people present. The queen asks him to stop. Unheard by any one else, she says to herself that the ashes of her first love are still burning, and that she is now unhappy in her vain splendor. All leave, except Jane.

Henry VIII enters and tells Jane that soon she will have no rival, that the altar has been prepared for her, and that she will have husband, sceptre, and throne. Each leaves by a different door.

Scene Two: Day. Around Windsor Castle

Lord Rochefort, Anna's brother, is surprised to meet Lord Richard Percy, who has been called back to England from exile by Henry VIII. Percy asks if it is true that the Queen is unhappy and that the King has changed. Rochefort answers that love is never content.

Hunters enter. Percy is agitated at the prospect of possibly seeing Anna, who was his first love. Henry and Anna enter and express surprise at seeing Percy. Henry does not allow Percy to kiss his hand, but says that Anna has given him assurances of Percy's innocence but she still has feelings for Percy. Henry VIII tells Hervey, an officer of the king, to spy on every step and every word of Anna and Percy.

Scene Three: Windsor Castle, close to the Queen's apartments

Smeaton takes a locket from his breast containing Anna's portrait. He has stolen it and has come to return it. He hears a sound and hides behind a screen. Anna and Rochefort enter. Rochefort asks Anna to hear Percy. Then he leaves. Smeaton peeps out from behind the screen, but cannot escape. Percy enters. Percy says that he sees that Anna is unhappy. She tells him that the king now loathes her. Percy says that he still loves her. Anna tells him not to speak to her of love. Before leaving, Percy asks whether he can see Anna again. She says no. He draws his sword to stab himself, and Anna screams. In the mistaken belief that Percy is attacking Anna, Smeaton rushes out from behind the screen. Smeaton and Percy are about to fight. Anna faints, and Rochefort rushes in. Just then, Henry VIII enters and sees the unsheathed swords. Summoning attendants, he says that these persons have betrayed their king. Smeaton says that it is not true, and tears open his tunic to offer his breast to the king for slaying if he is lying. The locket with Anna's portrait falls at the king's feet. The king snatches it up. He orders that the offenders be dragged to dungeons. Anna says to herself that her fate is sealed.

Act 2

Scene One: London. Antechamber of the Queen's apartments

The guards note that even Jane Seymour has stayed away from Anna. Anna enters with a retinue of ladies, who tell her to place her trust in heaven. Hervey enters and says that the Council of Peers has summoned the ladies into its presence. The ladies leave with Hervey. Jane enters and says that Anna can avoid being put to death by admitting guilt. Anna says that she will not buy her life with infamy. She expresses the hope that her successor will wear a crown of thorns. Jane admits that she is to be the successor. Anna tells her to leave, but says that Henry VIII alone is the guilty one. Jane leaves, deeply upset.

Scene Two: Antechamber leading into the hall where the Council of Peers is meeting

Hervey tells courtiers that Anna is lost, because Smeaton has talked and has revealed a crime. Henry VIII enters. Hervey says that Smeaton has fallen into the trap. Henry VIII tells Hervey to continue to let Smeaton believe that he has saved Anna's life. Anna and Percy are brought in, separately. Henry VIII says that Anna has made love to the page Smeaton, and that there are witnesses. He says that both Anna and Percy will die. Percy says that it is written in heaven that he and Anna are married. They are led away by guards.

Jane enters. She says that she does not want to be the cause of Anna's death. Henry VIII says that she will not save Anna by leaving. Hervey enters and says that the council has dissolved the royal marriage and has condemned Anna and her accomplices to death. Courtiers and Jane ask the king to be merciful. He tells them to leave.

Scene Three: Tower of London

Percy and Rochefort are together in their cell. Hervey enters and says that the king has pardoned them. They ask about Anna. Hearing that she is to be executed, they choose to be executed also. They leave, surrounded by guards.

In Anna's cell, a chorus of ladies comment on her madness and grief. Anna enters, she imagines that it is her wedding day to the king. Then she imagines that she sees Percy, and she asks him to take her back to her childhood home (Donizetti used the theme from the English/American song Home Sweet Home as part of Anna's Mad Scene to underscore her longing). Percy, Rochefort and Smeaton are brought in. Smeaton throws himself at Anna's feet and says that he accused her in the belief that he was saving her life. In her delirium, Anna asks him why he is not playing his lute. Cannon fire sounds and Anna regains her senses. She is told that Giovanna and Enrico are being acclaimed by the populace on their wedding day. Anna says she does not wish vengeance on them. She faints. Guards enter to lead the prisoners to the block.

Recordings

YearAnna Bolena
Enrico
Giovanna
Percy)
Conductor,
Opera House and Orchestra
Label [16]
1957 Maria Callas,
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni,
Giulietta Simionato,
Gianni Raimondi
Gianandrea Gavazzeni,
Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, Milan
(Recorded live on 14 April)
CD: EMI
Cat: CDMB 5 66474-2
1958 Leyla Gencer,
Plinio Clabassi,
Giulietta Simionato,
Aldo Bertocci
Gianandrea Gavazzeni,
Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro della RAI di Milano
CD: Andromeda
Cat: ANDRCD 5114
1965Leyla Gencer,
Carlo Cava,
Patricia Johnson,
Juan Oncina
Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Glyndebourne Festival,
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Glyndebourne Festival Chorus
(Recorded live on 13 June)
CD: Hunt
Cat: CD 554
1967 Teresa Żylis-Gara,
Karl Ridderbusch,
Vera Little
Gene Ferguson
Alberto Erede,
Orchester und Chor des Westdeutschen Rundfunks Cologne
CD: Opera Depot
Cat: OD 10388-2
1968/69 Elena Souliotis,
Nicolai Ghiaurov,
Marilyn Horne,
John Alexander
Silvio Varviso,
Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CD: Decca
Cat: 455 069-2
1972 Beverly Sills,
Paul Plishka,
Shirley Verrett,
Stuart Burrows
Julius Rudel,
London Symphony Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
CD: DG Westminster Legacy
Cat: 471 217-2
1975 Renata Scotto,
Samuel Ramey,
Susanne Marsee,
Stanley Kolk
Julius Rudel,
Opera Company of Philadelphia
(Recorded "live" on December 16)
CD: Opera Depot
Cat: 11399-2
1984 Joan Sutherland,
James Morris,
Judith Forst,
Michael Myers
Richard Bonynge,
Orchestra and Chorus of the Canadian Opera Company
DVD: VAI
Cat: 4203
1987Dame Joan Sutherland,
Samuel Ramey,
Susanne Mentzer,
Jerry Hadley
Richard Bonynge,
Orchestra and Chorus of the Welsh National Opera
CD: Decca
Cat: 421 096-2
1994 Edita Gruberova,
Stefano Palatchi,
Delores Ziegler,
Jose Bros
Elio Boncompagni,
Hungarian Radio Chorus and Orchestra
CD: Nightingale Classics
Cat: NCO 070565-2
2006Dimitra Theodossiou,
Riccardo Zanellato,
Sofia Soloviy,
Gianluca Pasolini
Fabrizio Maria Carminati,
Orchestra and Chorus of the
Bergamo Musica Festival Gaetano Donizetti
(Recorded at Teatro Donizetti in October)
DVD: Dynamic
Cat: 33534
2011 Anna Netrebko,
Ildebrando D'Arcangelo,
Elīna Garanča,
Francesco Meli
Evelino Pidò,
Orchestra and Chorus of the Vienna State Opera
DVD: Deutsche Grammophon
DDD 0440 073 4725 6 GH2
2011 Anna Netrebko,
Ildar Abdrazakov,
Edita Gruberova,
Stephen Costello
Marco Armiliato,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
(Production: David McVicar)
HD video:
Met Opera on Demand [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaetano Donizetti</span> Italian opera composer (1797–1848)

Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century and a probable influence on other composers such as Giuseppe Verdi. Donizetti was born in Bergamo in Lombardy. At an early age he was taken up by Simon Mayr who enrolled him with a full scholarship in a school which he had set up. There he received detailed musical training. Mayr was instrumental in obtaining a place for Donizetti at the Bologna Academy, where, at the age of 19, he wrote his first one-act opera, the comedy Il Pigmalione, which may never have been performed during his lifetime.

<i>La fille du régiment</i> 1840 opéra comique by Gaetano Donizetti

La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard. It was first performed on 11 February 1840 by the Paris Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse.

<i>Don Pasquale</i> Italian opera

Don Pasquale is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's opera Ser Marcantonio written in 1810 but, on the published libretto, the author appears as "M.A."

<i>Anne of the Thousand Days</i> 1969 British film by Charles Jarrott

Anne of the Thousand Days is a 1969 British historical drama film based on the life of Anne Boleyn, directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B. Wallis. The screenplay by Bridget Boland and John Hale is an adaptation of the 1948 play of the same name by Maxwell Anderson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Seymour</span> Queen of England from 1536 to 1537

Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was accused by King Henry VIII of adultery after failing to produce the male heir he so desperately desired. Jane, however, died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of her only child, the future King Edward VI. She was the only wife of Henry to receive a queen's funeral; and he was later buried alongside her remains in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford was an English noblewoman. Her husband, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, was the brother of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, and a cousin-in-law to King Henry VIII’s fifth wife Catherine Howard through Jane Boleyn’s marriage to George Boleyn: Catherine Howard’s cousin. Jane had been a member of the household of Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. It is possible that she played a role in the verdicts against, and subsequent executions of, her husband and Anne Boleyn. She was later a lady-in-waiting to Henry's third and fourth wives, and then to his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, with whom she was executed.

<i>Maria Stuarda</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Maria Stuarda is a tragic opera, in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's translation of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play Maria Stuart.

<i>Roberto Devereux</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Roberto Devereux is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after François Ancelot's tragedy Elisabeth d'Angleterre (1829), and based as well on the Historie secrète des amours d'Elisabeth et du comte d'Essex (1787) by Jacques Lescène des Maisons. Devereux was the subject of at least two other French plays, both titled Le Comte d'Essex: one by Thomas Corneille and one by Gauthier de Costes, seigneur de la Calprenède.

Mark Smeaton was a musician at the court of Henry VIII of England, in the household of Queen Anne Boleyn. Smeaton – together with the Queen's brother George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford; Henry Norris; Francis Weston and William Brereton – was executed for treason and adultery with Queen Anne.

<i>La favorite</i> 1840 opera by Gaetano Donizetti

La favorite is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play Le comte de Comminges by Baculard d'Arnaud with additions by Eugène Scribe based on the story of Leonora de Guzman. The opera concerns the romantic struggles of the King of Castile, Alfonso XI, and his mistress, the "favourite" Leonora, against the backdrop of the political wiles of receding Moorish Spain and the life of the Catholic Church. It premiered on 2 December 1840 at the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris.

<i>Fausta</i> (opera) Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Fausta is a melodramma, or opera seria, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was partly written by Domenico Gilardoni, who died while doing so: the remainder was written by Donizetti. The literary source of the opera's libretto is Crispo, a tragedy improvised by Tommaso Sgricci on 3 November 1827.

<i>Lassedio di Calais</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

L'assedio di Calais is an 1836 melodramma lirico, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti, his 49th opera. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto, which has been described as "...a remarkable libretto, the closest Cammarano ever got to real poetry, particularly in his description of the embattled city and the heartfelt pride of its citizens". It was based on Luigi Marchionni's play L'assedio di Calais, which had been presented in Naples around 1825, and secondarily on Luigi Henry's ballet L'assedio di Calais, which had been performed in Naples in 1828 and revived in 1835.

<i>Rosmonda dInghilterra</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Rosmonda d'Inghilterra is a melodramma or opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Felice Romani originally for Coccia's Rosmunda (1829). It is based on the legend of Rosamund Clifford.

<i>Gabriella di Vergy</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Gabriella di Vergy is an opera seria in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti written in 1826 and revised in 1838, from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on the tragedy Gabrielle de Vergy (1777) by Dormont De Belloy. Prior to that, the play was itself inspired by two French medieval legends, Le châtelain de Coucy et la dame de Fayel and Le Roman de la chastelaine de Vergy.

<i>Il castello di Kenilworth</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Il castello di Kenilworth is a melodramma serio or tragic opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Andrea Leone Tottola wrote the Italian libretto after Victor Hugo's play Amy Robsart (1828) and Eugène Scribe's play Leicester, both of which following from Sir Walter Scott's novel Kenilworth (1821). Daniel Auber composed another opera on the same subject, Leicester, ou Le chateau de Kenilworth in 1823.

<i>Gianni di Parigi</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Gianni di Parigi is an 1839 melodramma comico in two acts with music by Gaetano Donizetti to a libretto by Felice Romani, which had previously been set by Francesco Morlacchi in 1818 and by Giovanni Antonio Speranza in 1836.

<i>Enrico di Borgogna</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Enrico di Borgogna is an opera eroica or "heroic" opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Bartolomeo Merelli, wrote the Italian libretto based on Der Graf von Burgund by August von Kotzebue.

<i>The Other Boleyn Girl</i> (2003 film) 2003 British television film

The Other Boleyn Girl is a 2003 BBC television film directed and written by Philippa Lowthorpe, adapted from Philippa Gregory's 2001 novel of the same name. It centres around courtier Mary Boleyn and her sister Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, King of England, and their competition for his affections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of Anne Boleyn</span>

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England, and Queen of England from 1533 until she was beheaded in 1536 for treason, has inspired or been mentioned in many artistic and cultural works. The following lists cover various media, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture, film and fiction. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering, rather than a complete catalogue.

<i>Il paria</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Il paria is an opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni, based on Le Paria by Casimir Delavigne and Michele Carafa's Il paria with a libretto by Gaetano Rossi.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Weinstock 1963, pp. 7375
  2. 1 2 3 Osborne 1994, pp. 194 - 197
  3. Brodsky Lawrence, Vera (1995). Strong on Music: The New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton. University of Chicago Press. p. 3. ISBN   9780226470115.
  4. Howard Taubman (October 9, 1957). "Opera: 'Anna Bolena'" (PDF). The New York Times . p. 39.
  5. "Repeat for 'Bolena'" (PDF). The New York Times . October 15, 1957. p. 38.
  6. Scott 1976, p. 21
  7. Performances on operabase.com
  8. Anthony Tommasini (27 September 2011). "A Queen's Delusion and Defiance Opens the Met Season". The New York Times .
  9. Richard Wilcocks, "Anna Bolena, Opera Seria, Review" [ permanent dead link ], 18 June 2012 on Bachtrack.com
  10. Rian Evans, Anna Bolena - Review", The Guardian (London), 8 September 2013 on theguardian.com
  11. Rupert Chistiansen, "Anna Bolena, Welsh National Opera, review", Telegraph (London), 8 September 2013 on telegraph.co.uk
  12. Lyric Opera's website Archived January 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  13. Massuda, Raisa. "Sondra Radvanovsky shines in Washington National Opera's Anna Bolena". bachtrack.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  14. Malafronte, Judith. "Anna Bolena". operanews.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  15. The librettist changed the historical character's name from Henry (Enrico) Percy to Richard (Riccardo). According to William Ashbrook, this may have been to avoid confusion with the opera's other Enrico (Henry VIII). See Ashbrook, William (August 1969). "Donizetti's 'Historical' Operas". Opera , p. 9.
  16. Source for recording information: Recording(s) of Anna Bolena on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
  17. Anna Bolena, 15 October 2011, Met Opera on Demand.

Cited sources

Other sources