Everything about Henry Viii Opera totally explained
Henry VIII is an
opera in four acts by
Camille Saint-Saëns, from a
libretto by
Léonce Détroyat and
Armand Silvestre, based on
El cisma en Inglaterra (The schism in England) by
Pedro Calderón de la Barca.
Background and performance history
The action covers the period in
Henry VIII's life when the king was discarding Queen
Catherine of Aragon in favour of
Anne 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 the
Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.
Henry VIII received its first performance on
5 March 1883 at the
Opéra de Paris, where it remained in the repertoire until 1919. It was seen at the
Royal Opera House,
London in 1889. It was revived in 1991 at the Théatre Impérial de
Compiègne 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 in
Barcelona where it was staged once again by Pierre Jourdan with
Montserrat 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)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Henry Viii Opera'.
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