Anna Bolena 1959

Synopsis
Artists

King Henry VIII is in love with young Jane Seymour…

…the handmaiden of his Queen, Anne Boleyn. To live his love in broad daylight, the King must first dispose of his wife, and elaborates a machiavellian scheme to that end, recalling from exile his spouse’s former lover, Lord Percy.

Music By

Gaetano Donizetti

Libretto By

Felice Romani

English Version By

Chester Kallman

Act I

At the Court of Henry VIII, it is no secret that the King no longer loves Anne Boleyn, his Queen. The Queen’s friend and lady in waiting, Jane Seymour, is anxious that her own love for the King could result in the Queen’s death.

The Queen, surrounded by her courtiers, commands her page, Lord Smeaton, to console her with a song. When Smeaton sings of “first love”, the Queen interrupts and reflects upon her own first love for Lord Richard Percy which she sacrificed on the altar of ambition, paving the way to her present plight. The Queen retires, followed by her courtiers, Seymour remaining alone. The King enters and declares to Seymour that he intends publicly to reveal his love for her. Seymour gives him to understand that she will be his only if they be married, and she threatens to leave him. Rather than lose her, the King promises that he will make her Queen. Suddenly distressed by the reality of the Queen’s fate, Seymour, filled with remorse, begs the King to show mercy on his wife and to abandon his wicked plan. A company assembles in the courtyard of Windsor Castle to go hunting with the King. Lord Rochford, the Queen’s brother, meets Lord Percy who has been recalled from exile. Lord Percy, still in love with the Queen and concerned for her welfare, expresses his resentment at the injustice meted out to him by the King. Rochford warns him to be discreet as his presence endangers both Rochford’s and the Queen’s life. The King, the Queen, and her Ladies in Waiting arrive in the courtyard from the Castle. Lord Percy kneels before the King and thanks him for his pardon. The King advises him that it was the Queen, not he, who was solely responsible. The Queen endeavors to maintain her composure. The King commands Hervey to watch Percy closely, while Rochford beseeches Percy not to betray his feelings, lest his love for Anne destroy her.

Lord Smeaton is secretly in love with the Queen. He has entered the Queen’s apartment to return a portrait of her which he had stolen, and is forced to hide when she and her brother, Lord Rochford, appear. Rochford asks Anne to receive Lord Percy fearing that Percy may take his life if she refuses. She consents, but despite her own feelings for Percy, rejects him declaring that if he does love her, he must leave her and England. Percy is prevented from stabbing himself by Smeaton who comes out of hiding. The Queen faints and the King’s arrival prevents a duel between Percy and Smeaton. The King now has the proof he hoped for and accuses Anne of unfaithfulness. Smeaton swears to the King that the Queen is guiltless. In tearing open his shirt to offer his life as proof of his truthfulness, the stolen portrait falls to the floor. The King, armed with this new “evidence” orders Anne and the three men to be imprisoned.

Act II

The Queen is comforted by her Ladies in Waiting until they are led away by Lord Hervey, having been summoned to appear before the Court of Peers. Seymour enters. Anne is overjoyed to see her best friend but is horrified at the news she brings her from the King who is determined to break their marriage. If Anne wants to save her life, Henry demands that she confess to adultery. She refuses and furiously curses her rival. Seymour. torn by her own conflicting emotions, confesses that she, Jane Seymour, is the rival and implores the Queen for mercy and forgiveness. In a truly magnanimous gesture, Anne forgive her friend, hoping to somehow redeem her own suffering. But Seymour is despondent, fearing that heaven may not bestow its blessing on a love so dearly bought.

Believing he will save her life, Smeaton confesses to the Queen’s guilt. Having won this first victory, the King leaves the council as the Queen and Lord Percy are brought in. Anne implores Henry’s mercy swearing to her innocence, accusing him of having corrupted Smeaton. Percy appeals to the King’s respect for truth. Realizing all is lost, he now claims to the King that Anne was his own bride and challenges the validity of her marriage to Henry. The King orders them led away, and announces to Jane that she is now Queen. Jane appeals to Henry to prove his love for her by showing mercy to Anne vowing that to atone for her sin she would spend her remaining day in exile. The King is adamant and declares he hates Anne the more for causing Jane this sorrow. Hervey announces the Peers have found the Queen guilty and that she must die on the scaffold. Percy and Rochford are also condemned to death. The Queen enters, surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting. She is distraught and reflects upon her wedding day, reliving all the glory and the heartbreak of her marriage. For the last time she is reunited with Percy, her brother Lord Rochford, and Smeaton. Smeaton vows that it was really his secret hope to win the Queen’s love that led him to trust in the King and accuse her in order to save her life. In the distance music is heard as the crowd acclaims their new Queen. Anne prays that Henry and Jane be forgiven as she walks to the scaffold.

Synopsis

Act I

Act II

Artists

Maria Ferriero

Maria Ferriero

Regina Sarfaty

Regina Sarfaty

Elaine Bonazzi

Elaine Bonazzi

Andrew Foldi

Andrew Foldi

Frank Porretta

Frank Porretta

Peter Binder

Peter Binder

Rolf Sander

Rolf Sander

Robert Craft

Robert Craft

Robert Ackart

Robert Ackart

Patton Campbell

Patton Campbell

Margaret Hillis

Margaret Hillis

Anna Bolena 1959