Lyric Opera presents ANNA BOLENA.
The tale of the unfortunate fate of King Henry VIII’s second wife is familiar. Queen Anne Boleyn’s reign ended by beheading. ANNA BOLENA’s liberetto by Felice Romani focuses more on the guilt of Anne than Henry. The fact that Henry is killing his wife to marry Jane Seymour is buried underneath a pile of accusations of Anne’s betrayals. The opera glosses over the King’s sport of disposing of inconvenient marital burdens. Instead, it places Anne center stage, on trial and fighting for her life. The drama revolves around Anne trying to recapture favor and Henry denying her any kindness in his lust for Jane. Instead of action-oriented activities, the libretto is heavy-duty he said/she said sequences. Even though the opera is itself a little dull, the singing is majestic. In particular, Sondra Radvanovsky (Anne) enchants in her fiery rebellion.
Radvanovsky is every bit the regal queen. She commands the stage with perfect elegance. And despite her obvious strength of character, Radvanovsky shows vulnerability at key moments giving us a peek into Anne’s internalized anguish. In one scene, she is juggling the presence of the devoted Bryan Hymel (Percy) and the lovesick Kelley O’Connor (Smeton) in her private chambers. The almost comedic shenanigans comes crashing to a halt when John Relyea (Henry) arrives. A solid bass, Relyea’s mere presence is menacing. And he sings his disdain with a frighteningly unapologetic fervor. He embraces his villainous tyranny so thoroughly that he received admiring ‘boo’s’ during the curtain call.
Still, the King can’t take away the spotlight from Radvanovsky. She is the vocal focal point. The duet, Dal mio cor punita io sono, with Jamie Barton (Jane) is especially powerfully delivered. A heartsick Barton conveys sincere regret. There is a beautiful epiphany moment where Radvanovsky and Barton bond in blaming the King. In that instant, we see both ladies as trapped victims in this male dominated world. Later, the appearance of Elizabeth, as an adorable young child, reinforces the Queen and mother’s emotional stakes. The princess and future queen is dressed in fairy wings as she watches her mother march towards the gallows. The visual is both stunning and stirring.
Radvanovsky is truly Queen in ANNA BOLENA. She bewitchingly rules this pitch-perfect ensemble and transfixes the audience in the process.
Running Time: Three hours and ten minutes includes an intermission
At Lyric Opera, 20 N. Wacker
Tragedia Iirica in two acts in Italian
Projected English titles
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Felice Romani, after texts by Ippolito Pindemonte (Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena) and Alessandro Pepoli (Anna Bolena)
Conducted by Patrick Summers
Directed by Kevin Newbury
At 7:30pm December 9th, 15th and January 7th, 10th, 16th
At 2pm December 12th, 21st
Buy Tickets at www.lyricopera.org
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