Leyla Gencer Archive

ANNA BOLENA

Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848)

Opera in two acts in Italian
Libretto: Felice Romani
Premièr at Teatro Carcano, Milan – 20 December 1830

07†, 09†, 12, 15, 17, 20, 23 April 1977

Teatro dell'Opera, Roma

THE FIRST PERFORMANCE AFTER 144 YEARS IN ROMA

Conductor: Gabriele Ferro

Chorus master: Augusto Parodi

Stage director: Filippo Crivelli

Scene and costumes: Nicola Benois (from Teatro alla Scala di Milano)

Enrico VIII King of England BORIS CHRISTOFF bass (5, 7, 9.04)
ALFREDO ZANAZZO bass

Anna Bolena his second wife LEYLA GENCER soprano

MARA ZAMPIERI soprano (20, 23.04)

Giovanna Seymour her lady-in-waiting MARIA-LUISA NAVE mezzo-soprano

Lord Rochefort Anne Boleyn’s brother ROBERT AMIS EL HAGE bass
BARNARDINO DI BAGNO bass (23.04)

Lord Riccardo Percy PIETRO BOTTAZZO tenor

PIERO VISCONTI tenor (23.04)

Smeaton the Queen’s page ANNA DI STASIO mezzo-soprano

AMILIA NACLERIO mezzo-soprano (17, 20, 23.04)

Hervey Official at the Court GINO SININBERGHI tenor

MANLIO ROCCHI tenor (17, 20.04)

PIETRO ROSSINI tenor (23.04)

Time: 1536
Place: London

† Recording date

GENCER ALLA OPERA DI ROMA

ANNA BOLENA

STAGIONE 1976 – 1977

https://archiviostorico.operaroma.it/edizione_opera/anna-bolena-1976-77/

A TELEGRAM TO LEYLA GENCER

1973.12.04

This production supposed to premier in 1974 November but postponed tp 1997 due to strike.

AVANTI

1974.07.05

AVANTI

1976.10.30

CORRIERE DELLA SERA

1976.10.30

OPERA MAGAZINE

1977 January

OPERA MAGAZINE

1977 April

IL PICCOLO

1977.04.05

L'UNITA

1977.04.05

AVANTI

1977.04.06

AVANTI

1977.04.07

CORRIERE DELLA SERA

1977.04.07

CORRIERE DELLA SERA
1977.04.07

L'UNITA
1977.04.08

AVANTI

1977.04.09

CORRIERE DELLA SERA
1977.04.09

FINANCIAL TIMES

1977.05.05

OPERA MAGAZINE

1977 September

IL PICCOLO

1977.10.05

OPERA TODAY

2007.08.28

CHRIS MULLIN

Donizetti: Anna Bolena

It got a boost from the 1950/60s bel canto revival, but in recent decades it has seldom been revived. Gala takes Donizetti fans back to the last years of that revival, with a four-disc set comprised of three performances dating from 1966 through 1977. The catch here: Only one of the performances is complete, that given in 1966 by the American Opera Society at Carnegie Hall. Starting on disc three and ending on disc four are some choice excerpts from a 1974 New York City Opera production, and disc four closes with an even more narrow range of selections from a 1977 performance at Rome Opera.
An in-house recording, the 1966 Anna Bolena captures an exciting performance, as the understandable but occasionally intrusive applause demonstrates. After one's ears adjust to the sound (decent for this type of source but buzzy in loud passages), the singing of fine vocalists in their prime can be enjoyed as they deliver Donizetti's passionate if unsubtle score with complete conviction. Elena Souliotis, the Anna, could not maintain the quality of singing evident here - dramatic, bold, fearless - and though her career ultimately did not fulfill its promise, she has this recording to substantiate the excitement she could generate. Marilyn Horne was establishing her greatness, and her Giovanna (Jane) Seymour has all her famed intelligence and control, with a voice not yet self-consciously beautiful. Placido Domingo went on to spinto roles fairly quickly, but his Lord Percy reveals how good a fit his dark, handsome tenor made in a Donizetti lead. Carlo Cava is a worthy Enrico (Henry the 8th), and in a wonderful piece of casting, Janet Baker takes the role of Smeton. Henry Lewis leads the orchestra, with the opening sinfonia sounding amazingly like a lost Rossini overture.
The NYCO performance gives very little away in terms of voices. Marisa Galvany (Anna) and Olivia Stapp (Giovanna) go at each other in the second act confrontation scene with delectable ferocity. Roger Patterson has a less distinctive sound than Domingo as Percy, but he is capable enough. A young Samuel Ramey contrasts well with the Boris Christoff performance in the third performance, discussed below. Ramey may slight the characterization, but he has all the music in his voice and that counts for a lot. Juius Rudel conducts well, at least as well as can be heard in an acoustic more constricted than that of the Carnegie Hall recording.
In his fine notes, Andrew Palmer cites Christoff as the main reason to enjoy the brief excerpts from the 1977 Rome performance crammed onto disc four. Christoff certainly roars and blusters, as one might expect an Enrico to do, but for these ears, his voice in 1977 is unpleasantly harsh. His Giovanna, Maria Luisa Nave, makes a much more appealing impression. Sadly, there is too little of Leyla Gencer, the Anna. Gabriele Ferro conducted.
Gala's decision to combine a full performance, a heavily cut one, and a fragmentary third ultimately doesn't make much sense. Those who only want the Suiliotis may resent having to pay for the others, and those who want the Galvany or Gencer will surely deplore the missing music. Lacking for any other alternatives, however, at least Gala offers this set at budget price, with good tracking information and, as mentioned, a solid though brief essay by Andrew Palmer.

COMPLETE RECORDING

1977.04.07

Recording Excerpt [1977.04.07]

Come, innocente Giovine Act I Scene III

Giudici ad Anna Act I Scene XVI

Al dolce guidami Act II Scene VI

Coppia iniqua Act II Scene VII

DONIZETTI'S MASTERPIECE

FROM CD BOOKLET

Not many of the 20^th Century’s greatest sopranos have had the opportunity to perform Donizetti’s tragic Anna on stage. The work had been virtually forgotten before Maria Callas created a sensation in Luchino Visconti’s wonderful production at the Teatro alla Scala di Milano in 1957. When the Greek soprano had sung her run of Annas, a young Turkish soprano named Leyla Gencer replaced her. Her success was almost as great as Callas’, and when RAI produced a first recording of the discovery, it became Gencer’s show. Callas never performed the role again in the seasons to come, but Gencer became the reigning Queen, including a famous revival at Glyndebourne Festival in 1965. For all those revivals, the severely cut edition chosen by Gianandrea Gavazzeni for his La Scala and RAI productions was used which put aside almost one hour of Donizetti’s composition.

When Roma’s Teatro dell’Opera offered her another Anna for the 1976-77 seasons, it was still Visconti’s famous La Scala production, but this time its conductor Gabriele Ferro insisted on a virtually uncut rendering. Gencer had enough time to re-think her portrayal and enough rest before the prime to surprise her fans with a superb dramatic performance in fresher voice that for some time. She changed her Anna from somewhat passive woman of the early Rai recording into a true self-conscious Queen really capable of being an opponent to the King.