Anna Bolena
| Work data | |
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| Title: | Anna Boleyn |
| Original title: | Anna Bolena |
Title page of the libretto, Milan 1830 |
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| Shape: | Tragedia lirica in two acts |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Gaetano Donizetti |
| Libretto : | Felice Romani |
| Literary source: | Henri VIII by Marie-Joseph de Chénier and Anna Bolena by Alessandro Pèpoli |
| Premiere: | December 26, 1830 |
| Place of premiere: | Teatro Carcano, Milan |
| Playing time: | about 3 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | England 1536 |
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Anna Bolena (in the German version "Anna Boleyn") is an opera (original name: "tragedia lirica") in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti . Felice Romani wrote the libretto . The dramas Henri VIII by Marie-Joseph de Chénier and Anna Bolena by Alessandro Pèpoli served as literary models . The historical model for the title character was Anne Boleyn . The premiere took place on December 26, 1830 at the Teatro Carcano in Milan with Giuditta Pasta in the title role. In the German-speaking area the work was first performed on February 26, 1833 at the kk Hoftheater in Vienna .
action
The opera is set in England in 1536, the first act in Windsor, the second in London.
first act
King Enrico ( Henry VIII ) is passionately in love with Giovanna ( Jane Seymour ), the lady-in-waiting and confidante of his wife Anna Bolena . She herself knows that her husband has a lover, but has no idea who it is. In conversation with Giovanna, she reminisces part of her life and tells how she once gave up her deeply felt love for Lord Percy because she longed for honor and fame at the side of the ruler of England. Lord Percy was then banished from his homeland by the king. Anna implores her lady-in-waiting never to be seduced by the splendor of the royal throne.
Giovanna feels guilty. She is afraid that the queen will soon find out that she is their rival. She therefore asks Enrico to break the relationship with her. But the latter interprets the wish of his beloved completely wrong. He thinks Giovanna wants to be queen. Therefore, he decides to part with his hated wife as soon as possible.
The king is playing a shameful game. To convict his wife of adultery, he brings the exiled Lord Percy back home from his exile. In the palace gardens he meets Lord Rochefort, Anna's brother. This ensures that Percy and his unhappy sister can meet secretly.
The Page Smeton is an ardent admirer of the Queen. In order to at least kiss her mouth in a picture, he recently stole a miniature from Anna. But now he is plagued by a remorse and he wants to bring the picture back to its original place. He is surprised by Anna and Percy. He quickly escapes behind a curtain from where he can watch what is going on.
Anna confesses to Percy that the glow of her love for him has still not died out, but that she cannot return to him. Percy is so desperate after this confession that he wants to kill himself with the sword. Behind the curtain, Smeton misunderstands the situation. He thinks Percy wants to kill Anna. He quickly emerges from his hiding place to protect the queen from the supposed attack. At this very moment, the king comes on the scene. Trembling, the page lets Anna's picture fall out of his doublet. For the king this is proof that his wife is cheating on him not only with Percy, but also with her page. He then has all three arrested.
Second act
Giovanna visits Anna in the room where she is being held. In order to save her from execution, she advises her mistress to plead guilty. There is no other way out. In the course of the conversation Anna becomes aware that Giovanna is her rival. At first she feels anger, pain and disgust; but gradually her feelings give way to forgiving pity, whereupon Giovanna collapses.
The tribunal meets in the council chamber of the peers . In order to save the one he adores, the page - completely wrongly assessing the situation - says the untruth and pleads guilty. The king then brings charges against his wife and against Lord Percy. The two are so desperate and defiant at the same time that they profess their everlasting love for one another.
Giovanna makes one last attempt to save Anna's life. She fervently begs the king to spare his wife; but this one remains hard.
Anna was unanimously sentenced to death. Haunted by feverish dreams, she remembers the time of her first great love in the dungeon of the tower. Loud gunshots are the sign that Enrico has just been married to Giovanna. She pleads with God to forgive the sinful couple.
In the end, all convicts are brought to the executioner.
layout
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : two flutes (the second also piccolo ), two oboes (the second also English horn ), two clarinets , two bassoons
- Brass : four horns , two trumpets , three trombones
- Timpani , drums : snare drum , bass drum , cymbals
- harp
- Strings
- Incidental music behind the scene: two horns, banda (not differentiated), drums
Music numbers
first act
- No. 1. Introduction: Né venne il Re? (Choir)
- No. 2. Sortita: Ella di me sollecita (Giovanna)
- No. 3. Scene and Romanza - Cavatina: Deh non voler costringere (Smeton) - Come, innocente giovane (Anna, choir)
- No. 4. Scene and duet: Tutta in voi la luce mia (Enrico, Giovanna)
- No. 5. Scene and Cavatine: Da quel dì che, lei perduta (Percy, choir)
- No. 6. Scene and quintet: Io sentii sulla mia mano (Anna, Enrico, Hervey, Percy, Rochefort, choir)
- No. 7th scene and Cavatine: Ah, parea che per incanto (Smeton)
- No. 8. Scene and duet: S'ei t'abborre, io t'amo ancora (Percy, Anna)
- No. 9. Finale I: Tace ognuno, è ognun tremante (Enrico, Smeton, Percy, Anna, Rochefort, Giovanna, choir)
Second act
- No. 10. Introduction: Oh, dove mai ne andarono (choir)
- No. 11th scene and duet: Sul suo capo aggravi un Dio (Anna, Giovanna)
- No. 12. Choir, scene and trio: Ebben? Dinanzi ai giudici - Ambo morrete, o perfidi (Enrico, Anna, Percy)
- No. 13th scene and aria: Per questa fiamma indomita (Giovanna, choir)
- No. 14. Recitative, scene and aria: Vivi tu, te ne scongiuro (Percy)
- No. 15. Choir Chi può vederla a ciglio asciutto
- No. 16. Scene and Finale II: Piangete voi? - Al dolce guidami (Anna) - Coppia iniqua
Emergence
In 1822 Donizetti suffered a real fiasco with his opera Chiara e Serafina at La Scala in Milan . In order not to repeat this disgrace, he gathered all his strength in 1830 when he was commissioned by a group of wealthy noblemen and merchants to write an opera for the small Teatro Carcano. The effort had paid off: With Anna Bolena, his 35th opera, he finally made his breakthrough in Milan. The premiere on December 26, 1830 brought him a triumph and made him, alongside Bellini , whose opera La Sonnambula was also premiered with Pasta and Rubini in the same season and at the same theater, the leading composer of Italian music theater.
Filippo Galli (Enrico VIII), Giuditta Pasta (Anna Bolena), Elisa Orlandi (Giovanna Seymour), Lorenzo Biondi (Lord Rochefort), Giovanni Battista Rubini (Lord Riccardo Percy), Enrichetta Laroche (Smeton) sang at the world premiere at the Teatro Carcano in Milan ) and Antonio Crippa (Sir Harvey).
literature
- Philip Gossett : Anna Bolena and the artistic maturity of Gaetano Donizetti . Clarendon Press, Oxford 1985, ISBN 0-19-313205-2 .
- Richard Hauser: Felice Romani, Gaetano Donizetti, "Anna Bolena": on the aesthetics of political opera in Italy between 1826 and 1831 . Freiburg i.Br. 1980. (Dissertation at the University of Freiburg from 1979)
Web links
- Anna Bolena : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (Italian), Milan 1830. Digitized in the Internet Archive
- Work information and libretto (Italian) as full text on librettidopera.it
- Anna Bolena (Gaetano Donizetti) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Plot and libretto of it at Opera Guide landing page for URL upgrade currently unavailable
- Work data on Anna Bolena based on MGG with discography at Operone
- Discography on Anna Bolena at Operadis
Individual evidence
- ^ Norbert Miller: Anna Bolena. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Volume 1: Works. Abbatini - Donizetti. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-492-02411-4 , p. 741.
- ^ Record of the performance on December 26, 1830 in the Teatro Carcano in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .