- Henry VIII (opera)
"Henry VIII" is an
opera in four acts byCamille Saint-Saëns , from alibretto byLéonce Détroyat andArmand Silvestre , based on "El cisma en Inglaterra" "(The schism in England)" byPedro Calderón de la Barca .Background and performance history
The action covers the period in
Henry VIII 's life when the king was discarding QueenCatherine of Aragon in favour ofAnne Boleyn , a move rejected by the Church.In an effort to evoke the historical context, Saint-Saëns researched English music from the period and incorporated several English, Scottish, and Irish folk melodies into his score, as well as an air by
William Byrd , contained in theFitzwilliam Virginal Book ."Henry VIII" received its first performance on
5 March 1883 at theOpéra de Paris , where it remained in the repertoire until 1919. It was seen at theRoyal Opera House ,London in 1889. It was revived in 1991 at the Théatre Impérial deCompiègne in a production by Pierre Jourdan, with Philippe Rouillon as Henry VIII, Michèle Command as Catherine of Aragon and Lucile Vignon as Anne Boleyn. The production was made into a film.Its most recent (2002) performance was at the
Liceu inBarcelona where it was staged once again by Pierre Jourdan withMontserrat Caballé as Catherine,Simon Estes as Henry and Nomeda Kazlaus as Anne Boleyn, with José Collado conducting.Recording
* Philippe Rouillon, Michèle Command, Lucile Vignon, conducted by Alain Guingal. "Le Chant Du Monde". (also available as a DVD, "Kultur Films")
External links
* [http://www.karadar.it/Librettos/saint-saens_henry.html French Libretto]
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