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Home , Anna Bolena, Anne Boleyn (play), Henry VIII (opera)

Opera Appreciation Synopses - Spring 2018 L. Jackson

Anna Bolena Synopsis

Anna Bolena is a tragedia lirica, or , in two acts by . Librettist – after Ippolito Pindemonte's Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena and Alessandro Pepoli's Anna Bolena Premiered on December 26, 1830 at the Teatro Carcano,Milan.

Principal Roles: Anna Bolena () Enrico (Henry VIII) Giovanna () Mezzo Soprano Lord Rochefort (George Boleyn) Lord Percy Smeton (Mark Smeaton) Harvey (Court Officia) Tenor

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 being troubled to Jane. At the queen’s request, her page Smeton plays the harp and sings 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, he tells Jane that soon she will have no rival, that the altar has been prepared for her, 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 be the spy of every step and every word of Anna and Percy.

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

Smeton 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. Smeton 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, Smeton rushes out from behind the screen. Smeton 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. Smeton 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: . 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 Smeton has talked and has revealed a crime. Henry VIII enters. Hervey says that Smeton has fallen into the trap. Henry VIII tells Hervey to continue to let Smeton 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 Smeton, 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. Percy, Rochefort and Smeton are brought in. Smeton throws himself at Anna's feet and says that he accused her in the belief that he was saving her life. In delirium, Anna asks him why he is not playing his lute. The sound of cannon is heard. Anna comes to her senses. She is told that Jane and Henry VIII are being acclaimed by the populace on their wedding day. Anna says that she does not invoke vengeance on the wicked couple. She faints. Guards enter to lead the prisoners to the block. Smeton, Percy and Rochefort say that one victim has already been sacrificed.

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Maria Stuarda: Tragedia lirica in two or three acts.

Music composed by Gaetano Donizetti. by Giuseppe Bardari after Andrea Maffei’s translation (1830) of Friedrich von Schiller’s Maria Stuart.

First Performance: 30 December 1835, Teatro alla Scala, Milan.

Principal Roles: Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra Mezzo-Soprano , Regina di Scozia Soprano Anna Kennedy, Nutrice di Maria Mezzo-Soprano Roberto, Conte di Leicester Tenor Lord Guglielmo Cecil, Gran Tesitore Baritone Giorgio Talbot, Conte di Shrewsbury Bass

Synopsis:

Act I

The

A tourney has been given in honor of the French ambassador, who is negotiating with Elisabetta concerning a marriage proposal from the King of France, which she is contemplating through a sense of duty to her subjects, while secretly pining for Leicester, whose absence from court she notices. Talbot, who is in charge of the royal prisoner, tries to intercede with Elisabetta on behalf of Maria, imprisoned in Fotheringay Castle since fleeing from Scotland. But the Queen is torn between sympathy for Maria and fear that she is plotting against her; Cecil warns against the perils of pity.

Leicester arrives and she gives him a ring to take to the French Ambassador as a token of her acceptance of the offer of marriage, but is incensed when Leicester seems unmoved by the commission. Privately Talbot gives Leicester a portrait of Maria and a letter from her and Leicester resolves to free the woman he loves by any means. He gives Elisabetta the letter, which is a plea for a meeting with her, and he urges her to consent, pointing out that she can use a hunting party in the vicinity of Fotheringay as a pretext. His enthusiasm for her rival's cause reminds Elisabetta of Maria's attempts on the English throne and when Leicester waxes unwisely lyrical about Maria's charms, the Queen exults that she has been brought low.

Act II

The grounds of Fotheringay Castle

Accompanied by Anna, Maria walks in the park, rejoicing in her limited freedom, but remembering sadly the happy days of her youth in France. The sound of the approaching royal hunt terrifies her, and she regrets having asked Elisabetta for a meeting, but, supported by Leicester and his assurances that Elisabetta had been moved by the letter, she agrees to stay and face her.

Elisabetta also views the occasion with mixed feelings, on the one hand rejecting Cecil's urgings that she execute Maria and on the other enraged by the fervor with which Leicester argues her rival's case. As the queens confront one another, each is already convinced that the other is haughty, but Maria makes an effort and humbles herself to ask for clemency. Elisabetta is obdurate, and her references to Maria's murdered husband and aspersions on her honor provoke Maria,

3 despite Leicester's attempts to calm her, into taunting Elisabetta with being a bastard and a "vile, lascivious harlot." Furious, Elisabetta advises her to expect her death sentence, but Maria exults in her temporary triumph.

Act III

Scene 1. The Palace of Westminster

Although mortally affronted, Elisabetta hesitates to sign the death warrant, despite the urgings of Cecil that her safety and that of the realm depend on Maria's death. Only the arrival of Leicester provokes her into signing. His prayers for mercy only provoke her into ordering him to witness the execution.

Scene 2. Maria's apartment in Fotheringay

Maria is still exultant over her humiliation of Elisabetta, though fearing that Leicester may be in danger from her wrath. Cecil brings the death warrant. She refuses his offer of a priest, but admits to Talbot that she is oppressed by the recollection of her sins. He reveals that he has taken holy orders so as to hear her confession.

She confesses to guilt over the murder of her husband, Darnley, and also seems to admit complicity in the Babington plot (not only to free her but elevate her to the English throne by murdering the Queen). Talbot gives her absolution.

Scene 3. A room next to the execution chamber

Maria's friends lament her fate, and she, facing death calmly, tries to comfort them and give them strength. As the cannon sounds the signal for her execution, Cecil asks for her last requests. She forgives Elisabetta and prays for a blessing on her and the kingdom. She tries to calm the grief-stricken Leicester and hopes that her innocent blood will placate the wrath of Heaven. She goes resolutely to her death as her friends grieve over her fate.

[Synopsis Source: Opera~Opera]

Roberto Devereux Synopsis

Place: London, England Time: The reign of Queen

Principal Roles: Elisabetta, Queen of England Soprano Lord Cecil Tenor The Duke of Nottingham Baritone Sir Gualtiero Raleigh Bass , Earl of Essex Tenor A Page Contralto

Act 1 Westminster

The story revolves around a love quadrangle involving Elizabeth, Queen of England; Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex; the Duke of Nottingham; and Sara, the Duchess of Nottingham. Robert and Sara had been lovers, but while Robert was fighting in Ireland, the Queen forced Sara to marry Nottingham. Elizabeth has given Robert a special ring to guarantee his safety. The Queen is in love with Robert and is willing to forgive his treachery to the throne of England if he pledges his love to her. He is arrested with incriminating evidence including a blue scarf that belongs to Sara. 4

Act 2 The Queen's ministers meet to try Robert, who refuses to name his secret lover. In addition, the queen is given the blue scarf which enrages Elizabeth who orders him sent to the Tower of London and executed.

Act 3 In the Tower

Robert refuses to betray Sara and further enrages Elizabeth and Nottingham. While in the Tower of London, Robert sends Sara his ring and tells her to beg Elizabeth for mercy. Nottingham stops Sara and imprisons her to enact his revenge on Robert.

Elizabeth is mournful about the pending death of her lover and wonders where Sara is. Finally, Sara arrives disheveled and gives Elizabeth the ring. The Queen in vain tries to stop the execution but then hears the cannons announcing Robert's death. She demands to know why Nottingham prevented this evidence from being given to her and he says, "Blood I wanted, and blood I got!" Elizabeth is haunted by the headless corpse of Robert. She longs for her own death and for James' accession to her throne. The opera ends with Elizabeth kissing Robert's ring to her lips and announcing her abdication.

Lucia di Lammermoor (Lucy of Lammermoor)

Tragic drama (Dramma tragico) in Italian in three acts Music by Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848) Libretto: Salvatore Cammarano, after Sir Walter Scott’s novel, The Bride of Lammermoor (1819) Premiere: Teatro San Carlo, Naples, Italy, September 1835

Principal Characters in Lucia of Lammermoor (Lucy Ashton) (Soprano)

Enrico, Lucia's brother (Lord Henry Ashton) (Baritone)

Edgardo, Lucia's lover (Edgar of Ravenswood) (Tenor)

Arturo, Lucia's bridegroom (Lord Arthur Bucklaw) (Baritone)

Raimondo, a Calvinist cleric, Lucia's tutor (Raymond Bide-the-Bent) (Bass)

Alisa, Lucia's companion (Alice) (Mezzo-soprano)

Normanno, Captain of Ashton's guard (Norman) (Tenor)

Ladies, knights, retainers and servants, pages, soldiers, wedding guests.

Time: Late 17th century, during the reign of William and Mary Place: The grounds and castles of Ravenswood and Lammermoor in Scotland

Brief Story Synopsis

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In Scotland, at the end of the seventeenth century, Lord Henry Ashton (Enrico), seeks to assure his political stability by arranging a marriage for his sister, Lucy (Lucia), with the influential Lord Arthur Bucklaw (Arturo). Lucy refuses her brother, admitting to him that she has pledged her love to Edgar of Ravenswood (Edgardo), Henry’s mortal enemy.

Edgar leaves Scotland on a diplomatic mission to France: Henry intercepts his letters to Lucy, and then presents her with a forged letter revealing that Edgar plans to marry another woman. Devastated and discouraged, Lucy accedes to her brother’s demands and agrees to marry Lord Arthur.

Immediately after Lucy and Lord Arthur sign the marriage contract, Edgar suddenly appears; he denounces Lucy's betrayal of their love, and curses the Ashton family. Henry and Edgar agree to a duel.

After the bride and groom retire for the night. Lucy murders Arthur. She emerges from the bridal chamber in a state of delirium: she hallucinates and fantasizes that she and her beloved Edgar have finally wed. Afterwards, she collapses and dies.

Edgar learns of Lucy’s death. In grief, he takes his own life, certain that in death, he and Lucy will be united in heaven.

Synopsis: La Damnation de Faust

COMPOSER Hector Berlioz LIBRETTIST Almire Gandonnière and the composer

PART I

The aging scholar Faust contemplates the renewal of nature. Hearing peasants sing and dance, he realizes that their simple happiness is something he will never experience. An army marches past in the distance (Hungarian March). Faust doesn’t understand why the soldiers are so enthusiastic about glory and fame

PART II

Depressed, Faust has returned to his study. Even the search for wisdom can no longer inspire him. Tired of life, he is about to commit suicide when the sound of church bells and an Easter hymn remind him of his youth, when he still had faith in religion. Suddenly Méphistophélès appears, ironically commenting on Faust’s apparent conversion. He offers to take him on a journey, promising him the restoration of his youth, knowledge, and the fulfillment of all his wishes. Faust accepts.

Méphistophélès and Faust arrive at Auerbach’s tavern in Leipzig, where Brander, a student, sings a song about a rat whose high life in a kitchen is ended by a dose of poison. The other guests offer an ironic “Amen,” and Méphistophélès continues with another song about a flea that brings his relatives to infest a whole royal court (Song of the Flea: “Une puce gentille”). Disgusted by the vulgarity of it all, Faust demands to be taken somewhere else. 6

On a meadow by the Elbe, Méphistophélès shows Faust a dream vision of a beautiful woman named Marguerite, causing Faust to fall in love with her. He calls out her name, and Méphistophélès promises to lead Faust to her. Together with a group of students and soldiers, they enter the town where she lives.

PART III

Faust and Méphistophélès hide in Marguerite’s room. Faust feels that he will find in her his ideal of a pure and innocent woman (“Merci, doux crépuscule!”). Marguerite enters and sings a ballad about the King of Thule, who always remained sadly faithful to his lost love (“Autrefois un roi de Thulé”). Méphistophélès summons spirits to enchant and deceive the girl and sings a sarcastic serenade outside her window, predicting her loss of innocence. When the spirits have vanished, Faust steps forward. Marguerite admits that she has dreamed of him, just as he has dreamed of her, and they declare their love for each other. Just then, Méphistophélès bursts in, warning them that the girl’s reputation must be saved: the neighbors have learned that there is a man in Marguerite’s room and have called her mother to the scene. After a hasty goodbye, Faust and Méphistophélès escape.

PART IV

Faust has seduced, then abandoned Marguerite, who still awaits his return (“D’amour l’ardente flamme”). She can hear soldiers and students in the distance, which reminds her of the night Faust first came to her house. But this time he is not among them.

Faust calls upon nature to cure him of his world-weariness (“Nature immense, impénétrable et fière”). Méphistophélès appears and tells him that Marguerite is in prison. She has accidentally given her mother too much of a sleeping potion, killing the old woman, and will be hanged the next day. Faust panics, but Méphistophélès claims he can save her—if Faust relinquishes his soul to him. Unable to think of anything but saving Marguerite, Faust agrees. The two ride off on a pair of black horses.

Thinking they are on their way to Marguerite, Faust becomes terrified when he sees demonic apparitions. The landscape becomes more and more horrible and grotesque, and Faust finally realizes that Méphistophélès has taken him directly into hell. Demons and damned spirits greet Méphistophélès in a mysterious, infernal language and welcome Faust among them.

EPILOGUE Hell has fallen silent after Faust’s arrival—the torment he suffers is unspeakable. Marguerite is saved and welcomed into heaven.

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