Anna Bolena

Anna Bolena is an Italian opera in two acts. Gaetano Donizetti wrote the music to a libretto by Felice Romani. The opera was first performed in Milan, on December 26, 1830. Anna Bolena was Donizetti's thirty-third opera. It was his first major success, and the work that established his reputation in Europe. The opera was long neglected until it was revived to great acclaim by Maria Callas at La Scala in Milan in 1957. It has since been regularly performed, notably by Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé and Beverly Sills.    

 Characters 
 Anna Bolena - soprano
 Giovanna Seymour - mezzo-soprano
 Enrico VIII - bass 
 Lord Percy - tenor
 Smeaton - mezzo-soprano
 Lord Rochfort - bass
 Hervey - tenor

 Plot 
The action takes place in England in 1536. The opera relates the stormy relationship between King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, and the king's new romantic interest in Jane Seymour. Anne is accused of treason and adultery and executed to make way for Jane to become his third wife. 

 References 
 The Complete Dictionary of Opera & Operetta, James Anderson, Wings Books, 1993.

Category:Compositions by Gaetano Donizetti
Category:1830s operas