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Henry VIII (opera)

October 21, 2023

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) (1627) by Pedro Calderón de la Barca.

Henry VIII
Opera by Camille Saint-Saëns
Setting for the premiere, evoking Westminster Hall
Librettist
LanguageFrench
Based onEl cisma en Inglaterra
by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Premiere
5 March 1883 (1883-03-05)
Académie Nationale de Musique, Paris

The opera covers the period in Henry VIII's life when the king was attempting to divorce Queen Catherine of Aragon in favour of marrying Anne Boleyn, a move rejected by the Church.

Composition history Edit

 
Fragment of the sheet music as depicted in Saint-Saëns (1914) by Lucien Augé de Lassus [fr][1]

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 two airs by William Byrd (c. 1540–1623), contained in The Will Forster Virginal Book (1624),[2] the "Carman's Whistle" and a section of a tune called "The New Medley". He also sampled from the Benjamin Cosyn's Virginal Book (1620), using the opening from the tune "Mr Beauins Service", along with "Te Deum".[3] Henry VIII died in 1547, about 70 years before these compositions were published.

Performance history Edit

Henry VIII was premiered on 5 March 1883 by the Paris Opera at the Palais Garnier in Paris. The choreography was by Louis Mérante, the costumes were designed by Eugène Lacoste, and the settings were by Antoine Lavastre and Eugène Carpezat (act 1), Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (act 2 and act 4, scene 2), and Auguste Alfred Rubé and Philippe Chaperon (act 3, scene 2, and act 4, scene 1).[4] The opera was revived in three acts on 19 July 1889 with the ballet organized by Joseph Hansen. A new production in the original four-act version, directed by Paul Stuart, premiered on 18 June 1909, with choreography by Léo Staats, costumes by Charles Bianchini, and sets by Carpezat, Marcel Jambon and Alexandre Bailly. Henry VIII remained in the repertoire of the Opéra until 1919.[4]

 
Scene design act 3 by Chaperon

It was also seen at the Royal Opera House, London, in 1889 with Maurice Renaud in the title role, Lina Pacary as Catherine d'Aragon, and Meyriane Héglon as Anne Boleyn. It was revived in 1991 at the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne in a production by Pierre Jourdan, with Philippe Rouillon as Henry VIII, Michèle Command [fr] as Catherine of Aragon and Lucile Vignon as Anne Boleyn. The production was made into a film.[5]

The United States premiere was presented by Bel Canto Opera in New York City on 27 April 1974 with Jason Byce as Henry VIII, Francesca Lawton-Sherman as Queen Catherine, Katherine Basler as Anne Boleyn under the musical direction of Susan Peters.

Performances were given at the Liceu in Barcelona in 2002 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.

A concert performance was given at the Bard College Music Festival, Annandale-on-Hudson, on 20 August 2012, with Ellie Dehn as Catherine, Jason Howard as Henry, and Jennifer Holloway as Anne Boleyn. Leon Botstein conducted.[6] Botstein also conducted a fully staged performance of the work at the 2023 Bard Summerscape festival.

Roles Edit

 
Jean Lassalle
 
Gabrielle Krauss
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 5 March 1883[4][7]
Conductor: Ernest Altès[4]
Henry VIII baritone Jean Lassalle [fr]
Catherine d'Aragon soprano Gabrielle Krauss
Anne Boleyn mezzo-soprano Alphonsine Richard
Lady Clarence soprano Mlle Nastorg
Don Gomez de Féria tenor Étienne Dereims
Cardinal Campeggio, papal legate bass Auguste Boudouresque
Le duc de Norfolk bass Eugène Lorrain
Le comte de Surrey tenor Étienne Sapin
Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury bass M. Gaspard
Garter King of Arms tenor M. Malvaut
Bailiff bass M. Boutens

Recordings Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ Lucien Augé de Lassus (1914). Saint-Saëns (in French). Paris: Librairie Ch. Delagrave. plate after p. 156 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ Will. Forster (1624). The Forster Virginal Book (manuscript facsimile). OCLC 53236915.
  3. ^ MacDonald, Hugh (2019). Saint-Saëns the Dramatist. Cambridge University Press. pp. 378–379. ISBN 9781108550925.
  4. ^ a b c d Wolff, Stéphane (1962). "Henry VIII", pp. 111–112, in L'Opéra au Palais Garnier (1875–1962). Paris: L'Entr'acte. OCLC 7068320, 460748195. Paris: Slatkine (1983 reprint) ISBN 978-2-05-000214-2 OCLC 233656332
  5. ^ Henry VIII (1991) at IMDb
  6. ^ "Leon Botstein Mounts Saint-Saëns' Henry VIII / Ellie Dehn as Catherine Wins at Bard", berkshirefinearts.com
  7. ^ Piotr Kamiński [fr; pl], 1001 opéras, Fayard, 2003, p. 1383 (in French)
  8. ^ Saint-Saëns: Henry VIII, 2005 ASIN B000BP86V4
  9. ^ "Véronique Gens: Tragediennes 3 (Les Héroïnes Romantiques)", Presto Music
  10. ^ Christopher Cook (21 July 2022). "Saint-Saëns: Henry VIII (Odyssey Opera review)". ClassicalMusic. BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved 16 August 2022.

Further reading Edit

External links Edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henry VIII (opera).

October 21, 2023
henry, viii, opera, henry, viii, opera, four, acts, camille, saint, saëns, from, libretto, léonce, détroyat, armand, silvestre, based, cisma, inglaterra, schism, england, 1627, pedro, calderón, barca, henry, viiiopera, camille, saint, saënssetting, premiere, e. Henry VIII is an opera in four acts by Camille Saint Saens from a libretto by Leonce Detroyat and Armand Silvestre based on El cisma en Inglaterra The Schism in England 1627 by Pedro Calderon de la Barca Henry VIIIOpera by Camille Saint SaensSetting for the premiere evoking Westminster HallLibrettistLeonce Detroyat Armand SilvestreLanguageFrenchBased onEl cisma en Inglaterraby Pedro Calderon de la BarcaPremiere5 March 1883 1883 03 05 Academie Nationale de Musique ParisThe opera covers the period in Henry VIII s life when the king was attempting to divorce Queen Catherine of Aragon in favour of marrying Anne Boleyn a move rejected by the Church Contents 1 Composition history 2 Performance history 3 Roles 4 Recordings 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksComposition history Edit nbsp Fragment of the sheet music as depicted in Saint Saens 1914 by Lucien Auge de Lassus fr 1 In an effort to evoke the historical context Saint Saens researched English music from the period and incorporated several English Scottish and Irish folk melodies into his score as well as two airs by William Byrd c 1540 1623 contained in The Will Forster Virginal Book 1624 2 the Carman s Whistle and a section of a tune called The New Medley He also sampled from the Benjamin Cosyn s Virginal Book 1620 using the opening from the tune Mr Beauins Service along with Te Deum 3 Henry VIII died in 1547 about 70 years before these compositions were published Performance history EditHenry VIII was premiered on 5 March 1883 by the Paris Opera at the Palais Garnier in Paris The choreography was by Louis Merante the costumes were designed by Eugene Lacoste and the settings were by Antoine Lavastre and Eugene Carpezat act 1 Jean Baptiste Lavastre act 2 and act 4 scene 2 and Auguste Alfred Rube and Philippe Chaperon act 3 scene 2 and act 4 scene 1 4 The opera was revived in three acts on 19 July 1889 with the ballet organized by Joseph Hansen A new production in the original four act version directed by Paul Stuart premiered on 18 June 1909 with choreography by Leo Staats costumes by Charles Bianchini and sets by Carpezat Marcel Jambon and Alexandre Bailly Henry VIII remained in the repertoire of the Opera until 1919 4 nbsp Scene design act 3 by ChaperonIt was also seen at the Royal Opera House London in 1889 with Maurice Renaud in the title role Lina Pacary as Catherine d Aragon and Meyriane Heglon as Anne Boleyn It was revived in 1991 at the Theatre Imperial de Compiegne in a production by Pierre Jourdan with Philippe Rouillon as Henry VIII Michele Command fr as Catherine of Aragon and Lucile Vignon as Anne Boleyn The production was made into a film 5 The United States premiere was presented by Bel Canto Opera in New York City on 27 April 1974 with Jason Byce as Henry VIII Francesca Lawton Sherman as Queen Catherine Katherine Basler as Anne Boleyn under the musical direction of Susan Peters Performances were given at the Liceu in Barcelona in 2002 where it was staged once again by Pierre Jourdan with Montserrat Caballe as Catherine Simon Estes as Henry and Nomeda Kazlaus as Anne Boleyn with Jose Collado conducting A concert performance was given at the Bard College Music Festival Annandale on Hudson on 20 August 2012 with Ellie Dehn as Catherine Jason Howard as Henry and Jennifer Holloway as Anne Boleyn Leon Botstein conducted 6 Botstein also conducted a fully staged performance of the work at the 2023 Bard Summerscape festival Roles Edit nbsp Jean Lassalle nbsp Gabrielle Krauss Roles voice types premiere cast Role Voice type Premiere cast 5 March 1883 4 7 Conductor Ernest Altes 4 Henry VIII baritone Jean Lassalle fr Catherine d Aragon soprano Gabrielle KraussAnne Boleyn mezzo soprano Alphonsine RichardLady Clarence soprano Mlle NastorgDon Gomez de Feria tenor Etienne DereimsCardinal Campeggio papal legate bass Auguste BoudouresqueLe duc de Norfolk bass Eugene LorrainLe comte de Surrey tenor Etienne SapinCranmer Archbishop of Canterbury bass M GaspardGarter King of Arms tenor M MalvautBailiff bass M BoutensRecordings EditPhilippe Rouillon Henry Michele Command Catherine Lucile Vignon Anne Boleyn Alain Gabriel Don Gomez conducted by Alain Guingal Le Chant du monde 1991 also available as a DVD Kultur International Films 8 O cruel souvenir Catherine Veronique Gens on Tragediennes 3 Les Talens Lyriques Christophe Rousset 2011 Virgin Classics 9 Complete recording of 1883 version 4 CDs Michael Chioldi Henry Ellie Dehn Catherine Hilary Ginther Anne Boleyn Yeghishe Manucharya Don Gomez Gil Rose conducting the Odyssey Opera 2022 Odyssey Opera OO1005 10 References Edit Lucien Auge de Lassus 1914 Saint Saens in French Paris Librairie Ch Delagrave plate after p 156 via Internet Archive Will Forster 1624 The Forster Virginal Book manuscript facsimile OCLC 53236915 MacDonald Hugh 2019 Saint Saens the Dramatist Cambridge University Press pp 378 379 ISBN 9781108550925 a b c d Wolff Stephane 1962 Henry VIII pp 111 112 in L Opera au Palais Garnier 1875 1962 Paris L Entr acte OCLC 7068320 460748195 Paris Slatkine 1983 reprint ISBN 978 2 05 000214 2 OCLC 233656332 Henry VIII 1991 at IMDb Leon Botstein Mounts Saint Saens Henry VIII Ellie Dehn as Catherine Wins at Bard berkshirefinearts com Piotr Kaminski fr pl 1001 operas Fayard 2003 p 1383 in French Saint Saens Henry VIII 2005 ASIN B000BP86V4 Veronique Gens Tragediennes 3 Les Heroines Romantiques Presto Music Christopher Cook 21 July 2022 Saint Saens Henry VIII Odyssey Opera review ClassicalMusic BBC Music Magazine Retrieved 16 August 2022 Further reading EditHuebner Steven 2006 French Opera at the Fin de Siecle Henry VIII Oxford University Press US pp 213 230 ISBN 978 0 19 518954 4 Upton George P Borowski Felix 1928 The Standard Opera Guide New York Blue Ribbon Books pp 320 323 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henry VIII opera Henry VIII Saint Saens Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Henry VIII 1883 visual documentation of the premiere on Gallica Work details Odyssey Opera O cruel souvenir audio on YouTube Veronique Gens Les Talens Lyriques Christophe Rousset Portal nbsp Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henry VIII opera amp oldid 1177937581, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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