ricorda a Enrico che la clemenza è tra i doveri di un sovrano, ma il re è irremovibile. Nella Torre di Londra, Percy esorta Rochefort ad accettare l’offerta di clemenza del re: ma quando apprendono che Anna è stata condan-nata, entrambi rifiutano il suo perdono. Le dame commentano la miserevole condizione di Anna che or-mai, sprofondata nella follia, rievoca la giovinezza e l’amore per Percy. Quando i cannoni salutano le nuove nozze del re, Anna invoca dal cielo non la punizione, ma la benedizione per la nuova coppia, e cade a terra esanime.

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argomento

Giuditta Pasta, Luigi Lablache e Giovanni Battista Rubini, interpreti di Anna Bolena

al King’s Theatre di Londra nel 1831.

SyNOPSIS

first actHenry VIII’s court is in a state of great anxiety. Courtiers murmur that the Queen, Anne Boleyn, is distressed at the behaviour of her inconstant husband. The latest object of the King’s desires is Jane Sey-mour, the Queen’s lady-in-waiting. These events frighten the court, just as the Queen’s vulnerability frightens them. This sense of unease is heightened by the ballad sung by the page and musician Smeton at the request of the Queen. The King and Jane Seymour now enter and this meeting ushers in the impending tragedy. The King, offended by Jane’s refusal to become his lover, promises to divorce his wife and marry her instead. In order to have the grounds for a divorce, he will accuse Anne of having been in love with another man throughout the course of their marriage. The exiled Lord Richard Percy has been recalled to England by the King. Percy confides to Lord Rochefort, Anne’s brother, that this return is harder than exile. The King warmly welcomes the exile Percy but, in secret, orders that he is kept under surveillance. Percy and the Queen are emotionally affected by the presence of each other and it is clear that there is a romantic attachment between them from the past. The page Smeton waits alone in the Queen’s apartments. He is secretly in love with Anne himself and has a miniature of her in his possession. As Anne and her brother, Rochefort, enter, he hides behind a curtain. At Rochefort’s suggestion, Anne agrees to receive Percy, but rejects, even while sharing, the love the young man holds for her. At the same time, she is conscious that the King is about to reject her. Because of Anne’s rejection, Percy is about to kill himself with his sword when Smeton comes out from his hiding place and intervenes. The Kings enters with his entourage, including his new love, Jane, and

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Il libretto di Anna Bolena viene qui riprodotto in base all’edizione Fontana pubblicata per la prima del 1830 al Teatro Carcano di Milano.

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libretto

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personaggi