It's been a big year for the Tudors in New York. First there was the stage and TV series of Wolf Hall. And now the Metropolitan Opera is giving Ann Boleyn's side of the story with a revival of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, and the ill-fated second wife of King Henry VIII couldn't have a better advocate than the superb Sondra Radvanovsky to plead her case.
With the splendid mezzo Jamie Barton singing the role of Jane (or Giovanna) Seymour, this is an Anna Bolena that captures all the passion of one of history's most momentous love triangles.
Anna Bolena is, of course, one of the few operas that can boast a "based on a true story" label, though neither Donizetti nor his librettist paid very close attention to the actual history. For one thing, Boleyn and Seymour, her successor on the English throne and in Henry VIII's bed, were not exactly bosom pals. Quite the opposite.
But Ravanovsky's and Barton's thrilling second act duet, which begins with Anna's prayer and in which Anna learns that Giovanna is the king's new love interest, is of such raw emotional power and so magnificently sung, one is willing to forgive any historical liberties. Barton, singing only her third role at the Met has a soaring voice of crystal clarity and one hopes to hear more from her.
Radvanovsky is at the very height of her amazing powers, and Anna Bolena, once a favorite role of Callas, provides a showcase for the whole range of them -- from her ringing silvery high notes to the most delicate hushed pianissimo passages. Her final act "mad scene" (there is always a mad scene) is gripping in its intensity.
The Illinois native is in her 20th season at the Met, where she was nurtured in the Young Artist Development Program, and has sung over 150 performances in two dozen roles. She is now one of the most radiant stars in all opera.
From her 1996 debut as the Countess in Rigoletto she quickly graduated to lead roles in the lyric repertory, especially Verdi, and two years ago she wowed Met audiences with a brilliant bel canto performance in Bellini's Norma. It was only a forerunner of what she is undertaking this season -- singing all three of Donizetti's so-called Tudor operas.
Anna Bolena, described by the composer as a "lyric tragedy," is the first of the three and is the most arduous vocally. Radvanovsky moves from audacious high notes to plaintive pleas to convey the emotion of a queen who, in Donizetti's telling, finds herself suddenly betrayed -- unwanted by her husband, supplanted by her lady-in-waiting and closest friend and unjustly accused of adultery.
All three of the Donizetti operas Radvanovsky will sing this season are productions by the veteran director Sir David McVicar, the last one next March is a Met premiere of Roberto Devereux in which the soprano will sing the daughter of Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth I. The next one of the trio is a revival of Maria Stuarda in January.
There are other liberties with history in the opera -- Lord Percy, suspected of being Anna's first lover and possibly husband, plays a major role though he was bought off in real life, and Thomas Cromwell, who organized both Boleyn's marriage as well as her beheading, is totally absent.
The solid cast for this Anna Bolena includes the Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov as Henry VIII, who makes an imposing presence onstage and has a commanding voice to go with it. The mezzo Tamara Mumford is fine in the pants role of Smeaton, and David Crawford gives a credible turn as Rochefort, the Queen's brother.
As Percy, the tenor Stephen Costello sings pleasantly enough in the normal vocal range but his upper register is forced and very thin so that one holds one' breath when he reaches for high notes. The Met Orchestra, under the baton of Marco Armiliato, plays magnificently and the Met Chorus is in top form.