Anna Bolena, Premiere at Opera House

TIRANA, June 2 – Anna Bolena, an opera in two acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, will be premiered at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Tirana starting from Sunday, May 6.
The tragic opera with libretti by Felice Romani will be directed by Italy’s Eleonora Paterniti. The orchestra of the Opera House will be conducted by Marco Berdondini. The opera will bring on stage some of the best Albanian soloists including Marjana Leka, Armando Likaj and Vikena Kamenica.
The opera, staged in cooperation with the Italian Institute of Culture, will also be performed on June 8, 11 and 13 at 19.00
Donizetti’s Anna Bolena is loosely based on a familiar episode from English history, the short-lived marriage of King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, the second of Henry’s six wives. The opera was first performed in 1830, in Milan, and was an instant hit, putting Donizetti on the map not just in Italy but in Paris and London as well. It stayed in the repertory for 50 years, then fell out of favor. The opera got a new lease on life at La Scala in 1957, thanks to a spectacular performance by Maria Callas in the title role. Since then, it has been heard more frequently, attracting such superstar sopranos.
The story takes place in 1536 in England.