Anna Bolena
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Anna Bolena is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in two acts 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 tellings of the life of Anne Boleyn. It premiered on December 26, 1830 at the Teatro Carcano, Milan.
The duet "Sui suo capo aggravi un Dio" between Anna (soprano) and Jane Seymour (mezzo soprano) is considered one of the finest in the entire operatic repertoire.
Performance History
Anna Bolena was not performed frequently during the latter half of 19th century and early 20th century, but it was revived with more frequency in the post-war years. In April 1957, the opera was revived at La Scala for Maria Callas in a lavish production directed by Luchino Visconti, and it proved to be one of her greatest triumphs. Other famous interpreters of the role were Leyla Gencer, Beverly Sills, Montserrat Caballé, Renata Scotto and Edita Gruberova.
Anna Bolena is part of the standard operatic repertoire. There are several recordings of it, and it is regularly performed.
Roles
| Premiere, December 26, 1830 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Anna Bolena | soprano | Giuditta Pasta |
| Enrico (Henry) VIII | bass | Filippo Galli |
| Giovanna (Jane) Seymour, Anne's lady-in-waiting | mezzo-soprano | Elisa Orlandi |
| Lord Rochefort, Anne's brother | bass | Lorenzo Biondi |
| Lord Percy | tenor | Giovanni Battista Rubini |
| Smeton, musician | contralto | Henriette Laroche |
| Hervey, court official | tenor | Antonio Crippa |
| Courtiers, soldiers, huntsmen | ||
External Link
[Libretto] (Italian)
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