Since Shakespeare’s times the English crown has been an emblem of all things royal and kingly. And no monarchy has been more closely associated with tales of bloodshed, passion, infamy, renunciation and lust for power. Few composers have rendered the pull exerted by the »Royals« on stage as effectively as Gaetano Donizetti in his »Tudor Trilogy«. With the first part, ANNA BOLENA, the 33-year-old Donizetti emerged from the shadow of Rossini and used the art of bel canto to coin a new school of period opera. In this work of unadorned clarity he narrates the tragic destiny of the hapless second wife of Henry VIII, fated to die on the scaffold. And in his portrayal of the title character in particular he manages to harness masterful singing proficiency in the service of a High Romantic expressivity.