Saint-Saëns' Henry VIII (Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series) [1 ed.] 9781433708091

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Henry VIII

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Henry VIII (Henri VIII) Opera in French in four acts

Music by Camille Saint-Saëns

Libretto by Léonce Détroyat and Armand Silvestre

Premiere: Paris Opéra, March 1883

Adapted from the Opera Journeys Lecture Series by Burton D. Fisher

Principal Characters in Henry VIII Brief Story Synopsis Story Narrative with Music Examples Commentary and Analysis

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Opera Journeys™ Mini Guide Series Published © Copywritten by Opera Journeys www.operajourneys.com

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Principal Characters in Henry VIII Henry VIII, King of England Baritone Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England Soprano Anne Boleyn, Catherine’s Lady in Waiting Mezzo-Soprano Don Gomez de Féria, Ambassador from Spain Tenor Count Surrey Tenor Duke Norfolk Bass Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury Bass Cardinal Campeggio, Papal Legate Bass Lady Clarence, Catherine’s Lady in Waiting Soprano Head of the Order of the Garter Tenor Four gentlemen, Ushers, Judges, Members of Parliament, Officers and Soldiers, Pages, Ladies in Waiting, English men and women

TIME: 1530 PLACE: England

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Brief Story Synopsis Henry VIII, King of England, has developed an all-consuming passion for Anne Boleyn, a Lady in Waiting to his wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon. Before becoming the Queen’s Lady in Waiting, Anne was passionately in love with Don Gomez di Feria, the Spanish Ambassador to England. Anne refuses to become Henry’s mistress; Henry promises to annul his marriage to Catherine and marry Anne. Henry assembles a synod, which determines that his marriage to Catherine is invalid because it violated the biblical proscription of marrying a brother’s widow. The Papal Legate excommunicates Henry for defying the Church; Henry proclaims himself Head of the Church of England, and declares its independence from Rome. Catherine is exiled to Kimbolton Castle. She possesses a letter that Anne wrote to Gomez before marrying Henry; the letter expresses her profound and eternal love of Gomez and would incriminate her if Henry should learn of its contents. Anne calls on Catherine at Kimbolton but is unsuccessful in persuading her former rival to give her the letter. Henry and Gomez arrive, but are also unsuccessfully in obtaining the letter from Catherine; the former Queen places the incriminating letter in the fire, and then dies with its secret. Nevertheless, Henry remains suspicious of Anne, threatening her with death by the axe if he should learn that she had once loved another.

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Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples Act I - Scene 1: In the throne-room of King Henry VIII’s palace The Duke of Norfolk, a courtier, converses with Don Gomez de Feria, the recently appointed Spanish Ambassador to England, his post benefitting from the intercession of his compatriot, Queen Catherine of Aragon. They reminisce nostalgically of happy days spent together in France at the court of King Francois. Gomez reveals that he is secretly in love with a divinely beautiful woman, whose charms and guileless grace have ignited his heart; he identifies her as Anne Boleyn, the sister of Marguerite (Mary Boleyn), who had been King Henry’s mistress. Gomez has learned that Anne reciprocates his love, confirming her fervent passion in a letter to Queen Catherine. Norfolk reveals that it is rumored that Henry has become enamored with Anne and plans to appoint her Lady in Waiting to the Queen so that she will remain nearby. A crowd emerges and announces that Buckingham, a former favorite of the King, has been condemned to death as a traitor by Henry. Norfolk and Don Gomez express their fears of Henry’s autocratic ferocity: the iron yoke of an ungodly and treacherous tyrant. Henry appears; his subjects praise him as judicious as well as unmerciful. Norfolk courteously introduces Don Gomez di Feria to Henry, and Henry formally welcomes him to the court, revealing that Catherine, his compatriot, had spoken favorably of him; she also indicated that his beautiful fiancée had written a letter to her that affirmed their profound love of one another. Henry compliments their love and announces he will soon present her to the court as the Queen’s new Lady in Waiting. All depart, leaving Henry alone with Surrey. Henry reveals his torment: he seeks a divorce from Catherine because she is unable to provide him a male heir, but the Vatican is hostile to his wishes.

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Surrey reminds Henry that a king commands; he represents power rather than the languorous sighs of an unrequited lover. In an impassioned soliloquy, Henry pours out his spurned soul, lamenting that when in love, emotions overpower reason and the heart is out of control. “Qui donc commande quand il aime”

Henry reveals his loneliness; he had successfully sought Marguerite’s love, but now she avoids him. Power and empire seem to be irreconcilable with the passions of love. Catherine appears and immediately implores Henry to pardon Buckingham. But Henry declares that her request is impossible to fulfill: the King’s justice is inexorable; Buckingham is a traitor and he feels no mercy for him. “De Buckingham Je sais le sort terrible”

Catherine defends Buckingham’s innocence, claiming thatthe evidence against him the result of calumny, or a rumor. She pleads for Henry’s mercy for Buckingham by invoking Christian forgiveness, but Henry remains intransigent to her wishes and advises her that her pleas are futile. Catherine reasons that Henry’s refusal to grant her wishes indicates that he no longer loves her, but Henry unhesitatingly confirms his profound love for her. Nevertheless, Henry sarcastically reminds Catherine that she has failed to provide him with a son and heir, suggesting that perhaps God has cursed their union because their marriage is illegitimate,

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contrary to the holy interdict against marrying one’s brother ’s widow. Catherine condemns his blasphemous accusation against the Church; after all, the infallible Pope himself blessed their marriage. Anne Boleyn enters, accompanied by a retinue of Ladies in Waiting. After bowing before the King and Queen, she expresses surprise upon seeing Gomez present; they are secretly in love with one another. Henry appoints Anne Lady in Waiting to the Queen, declaring the beautiful young woman a delectable gift from a friendly people with common ancestry. Anne bows courteously, and all acknowledge their approval of her. Catherine welcomes her new Lady in Waiting, who promises to do her best to serve the Queen. Henry further expresses his appreciation of Anne by naming her Marquise of Pembroke. “Pour honorer encore”

Henry has become overwhelmed by Anne’s beauty and has developed a consuming passion for her. He takes her aside and compliments her grace and charm, qualities that he reveals he profoundly admires in her; and he reminds her that he is King, the master and power over human destiny. In the distance, a somber funeral march confirms the imminent beheading of the treacherous Duke of Buckingham. Funeral March

“O spectacle d’horreur!”

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As the procession nears, Anne reveals that lately she has been distressed by horrible and dreadful dreams: premonitions in which she envisions axes, blood, and death. Anne becomes terrified and frightful and prays to God for protection.

Act II: Three years have passed. Anne Boleyn resides in apartments in the Royal Palace. Children play in the gardens before Anne’s apartments, their capriciousness indicating their innocence of the burdens and worries of court life and the responsibilities of adulthood. Don Gomez appears in the gardens, lamenting that Anne has avoided him during the three years of her tenure as Lady in Waiting. He has become confounded: she spurned him after she expressed such profound love for him. He is overcome by anxiety, yet his love for her remains profound, even though she betrayed their love. “Ô menonge d’un doux visage”

Maidens praise Anne, who compliments them in return. “C’est par vous, ô Damoiselles”

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Anne notices Gomez in the garden and approaches him. She reveals that a renewed sense of happiness has captured her soul. Gomez reminds her that they once vowed eternal love; Anne admits that the memories of that love remain, but she must now follow another calling of her heart. King Henry suddenly appears. After noticing Anne with Gomez, he sarcastically inquires if Gomez is paying homage to the fair Marquise. Gomez reveals that he had met Anne in France, many years ago. Henry sarcastically suggests that Gomez no doubt became intoxicated by Anne’s beauty and charm, but the Ambassador is silent about their love affair. Henry dismisses Gomez. Alone with Anne, he exuberantly expresses his passion for Anne. “De ton regard la douceur me pénètre!”

However, Anne defiantly advises him that seeking her love is a hopeless pursuit; she refuses to become his mistress. Anne’s rejection arouses Henry’s wrath. He accuses her of blasphemy: to refuse her King is the crime of defying his divinity. Henry condemns Anne for being ungrateful. He showered her with honors because of his love for her. But Anne claims that his graciousness was to cleanse his guilt in dishonoring her family after forcing her sister to become his mistress. Henry forbids her to speak of that affair, which has left him in anguish and terrible pain. Henry remains confounded by his inability to conquer Anne; she remains unwilling to consent to him. He wonders if power and empire are reconcilable with the passions of love. Anne has likewise become conflicted, touched by Henry’s passion for her. Suddenly, Henry promises to marry Anne: that she will become England’s new Queen. He declares that he has appealed to the Vatican to annul his

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marriage to Catherine, claiming that Rome’s approval of the marriage violated the holy laws of Leviticus, which forbid a man to marry his brother’s widow. He is presently awaiting the Papal Legate, who is to announce the decision of the Holy Father. Anne accuses him of dreaming, but he vows that his wish shall soon become a reality. Anne yields to the intoxicating thought of becoming Queen of England, expressing shock and incredulity at the sudden change in her fortunes. “Je cede au penser qui m’envivre!”

Anne vows her unbridled fidelity to Henry until death; both become enraptured as they celebrate their love. Henry has placed a scepter in her hands and a crown upon her head, a power over those who once defied her. Alone, Anne fantasizes about her new-found glory: yesterday she was a maid; today she has become a Queen. “Je vais donc enfin te connaitre”

Suddenly, Catherine appears before her, praying the God will intervene and thwart Anne’s ambitions. “Pauvre fille!”

A great abyss separates the two rivals, but both are undaunted in purpose. Catherine pointedly accuses Anne of consciously pursuing Henry,

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warning her of her wrath and its repercussions if she dares to seduce her husband. Anne reveals that she has done everything to avoid the King’s overtures, which Catherine condemns as hypocrisy: she did not flee from the titles, honor, and fortune he has bestowed upon her. Anne claims that she never solicited those favors. Catherine agrees: she asked for nothing, but she certainly became emboldened after receiving them. Catherine condemns Anne as a liar and schemer, an opportunist who feigned sweetness in order to receive favors from the King: a woman of shame, in the same mold as her sister Marguerite. Anne declares that her former respect for the Queen has now transformed into vengeance. She can rightly hold her head up high and has no reason to be ashamed of her actions. But Catherine remains relentless in her condemnation of Anne: a wretch who is scorned everywhere. She invokes God, advising Anne not to provoke the punishment of God’s justice; she prays that God will return her husband to her. Henry appears, expressing surprise that Catherine and Anne have been conversing together. Anne pleads to Henry to defend her from Catherine’s denunciations. Catherine reminds Henry that she has been exercising her rights as Queen of England. Henry caustically advises Catherine that she remains Queen of England until the law determines that she is no longer Queen and banished from his royal throne. He informs her that she shall learn of the fate that awaits her tomorrow. The Papal Legate intervenes. Catherine envisions the Legate as her rescuer, but Henry informs her that it is Parliament that will make the final determination of her royal destiny. The Legate cautions Henry not to act drastically: that he is not a higher authority than the Pope, God’s representative on earth. Defiantly, Henry invites Anne to join him and enjoy the pleasures of a divertissement. Both leave together, arousing Catherine’s wrath and rage. Ballet: Entrée des Clans; Marziale; Idylle Ecossaise; La Fète du Houblon; Danse de la Gipsy; Scherzetto; Gigue et Final.

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Act III: A day later. Henry and Anne have secretly married Henry has assembled a Synod, entrusting their insight and good judgment to determine the legitimacy of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. He proclaims that his marriage to his brother’s widow was contrary to his faith: that marriage to a brother’s widow is proscribed in holy Leviticus, even though the marriage received papal dispensation. Catherine is called to speak before the Synod. She appeals to the court as a foreigner: a woman lost if they annul her marriage. “Car je ne qu’une étrangère”

Catherine defends her religiosity: she has been righteousness and profound in her faith; a loyal and faithful wife to Henry, who never caused her husband’s soul to suspect jealousy. Catherine’s appeal to the Synod arouses their compassion and they express their sympathy for her dilemma. Catherine praises Henry as a just and merciful King, and then declares that it is not the crown that she wants, but her husband, whom she deeply loves. Gomez steps forward to defend Catherine. He threatens the tribunal, declaring that in the name of Spain, Queen Catherine’s homeland, the decision of this tribunal annulling Catherine’s marriage to Henry could provoke a war between countries that are presently friends and allies. Henry becomes offended by Gomez’s threat; others suggest that the Spanish Ambassador should be punished for insulting the sovereignty and grandeur of their King and threatening them. Henry advises the Ambassador that Synod’s verdict shall reflect the will of all their people. The Synod declares that the union of Henry and Catherine is null and contrary to law. Catherine protests, bursting out that their decision is a disgrace of justice.

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The Papal Legate suddenly appears before the Synod to deliver the long-awaited Papal decree; the decree declares that Henry VIII’s first marriage is legal according to the law, and all decisions to the contrary are negated. Henry becomes outraged and expresses his disgust and disapproval; he proclaims that the people of England will determine which law applies to his marriage. A crowd of English people quickly fill the room. Henry questions them, and they respond in kind: they dislike following the dictates of Rome; they believe that Rome has been unjust with their King; they will loyally follow Henry if he rebels against the Pope, creates a new church, and becomes head of that church. Henry VIII proclaims himself Head of the Church of England. He further proclaims that he takes as his wife, Lady Anne Boleyn, Marquise of Pembroke. The Papal Legate renounces Henry, excommunicating him in the name of God. The crowd erupts in approval of their King’s actions. Henceforth, Henry VIII represents two awesome powers: he is King of England, and Head of the Church of England. Henry is cheered: the King who has broken the shackles of the Roman Church. Act IV: Three years later Catherine of Aragon has been exiled to Kimbolt Castle, where she languishes and nears death. Anne has not been able to give birth to a male heir, but only a girl, destined to become the Elizabeth I. The King’s passion for Anne has transformed into jealousy and rancor; her thousand-day dream of glory and power is on the verge of expiring, and she lives in anguish and terror, fearful that Henry’s antipathy might become violent. Scene 1: Queen Anne’s apartments in the Royal Palace Norfolk and Surrey comment about how somber and unsociable the King has become since his marriage to Anne: bitter words seem to rise unhindered from his lips; and he no longer seeks the companionship of his good friends.

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Norfolk opines that Anne feels that the King has become tormented by a mysterious illness. They further speculate that perhaps he is hounded by doubts about the Queen’s fidelity. At the Court, Anne wears a smile, but in her chambers, she cries, overcome by fear that she will soon experience the fate of Catherine: banishment and exile. Gomez appears before Anne, causing Anne to become anxious and tense, fearing that Gomez has come to foment trouble for her. Gomez explains that he bears a message from Catherine for the King, and he was told that he would find him here. Anne excuses Norfolk and Surrey to be alone with Gomez. Gomez declares that he no longer seeks revenge for her betrayal of him: that love has died. Anne inquires about the letter he bears for the King from Catherine; Gomez assures her that it represents another plea to have her husband back. Anne inquires about the love letters she wrote to Gomez years ago, which expressed her profound love for him; he assures her that they can no longer reveal false vows and broken promises because he burned them. However, one of her letters survives, which Catherine possesses. Anne becomes alarmed and frightened, fearing that she would be doomed if Henry became aware of her former passion for the Spanish Ambassador. Henry arrives. He dismisses Anne, and then reveals to Gomez that he has kept his post in England because he needed him to unravel a small mystery: Was Henry was the only man Anne ever loved? Henry requests that Gomez read Catherine’s letter to him, an expression of her faithful and continuing love for him: “Oh, my King, though I have been abandoned by you, I do not wish to let this day pass. Oh, my King, without telling you that my thoughts still remain faithful to you, but in vain! My sad wishes and my prayers woefully rise unto the heavens. And I shall bless you until that last hour, which soon shall close my eyes.” Henry becomes surprisingly moved and comments about her sad destiny. Catherine’s words

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seem to have awakened an ardent desire for him to see her again. He requests that Gomez follow him to Kimbolt, suggesting that the secret he seeks may be in Catherine’s hands; Catherine’s passion for revenge against Anne might lead her to reveal the truth he seeks. Scene 2: Kimbolt Castle The exiled Queen Catherine is dying. She mourns her reversal of fortune. She reminisces about Spain, the homeland that she will never see again; her destiny has brought her to England, her glory has ended, and death is imminent. “Dans cette brumeuse Angleterre”

Catherine gifts some of her possessions to the maids: a ring and a cross. She saves her prayer book for Don Gomez, placing the fateful letter between its leaves. Only Gomez will read the letter in which Anne proclaimed her fervent and eternal love for him. Anne appears and immediately seeks Catherine’s forgiveness: a Christian’s forgiveness. She reveals that she has become stricken by remorse because of the misfortune she has caused Catherine, as well as her crime for scorning the man she truly loved for the glory of power. Anne requests the letter that expressed her impassioned love for Gomez, but Catherine is not deceived by Anne’s declaration remorse. She intuitively knows that the letter represents Anne’s fatal doom and refuses to give the letter to the wretched and heartless woman who stole her husband and destroyed her life. As she holds the fateful letter before Anne, Henry appears, followed by Don Gomez. Henry admits to Catherine that he had been merciless: that he made her a widow before her time;

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and that he was mad and cowardly to treat her the way he did. He abandoned a noble woman for a shameless creature, whose heart was poised for betrayal. He asks Catherine if the proof of that betrayal lies in the letter now in her hands. Catherine remains silent, her heart tortured by jealousy and pain. Henry claims that her silence attests to Anne’s innocence in betraying him. “Reine, votre silence”

Henry turns to Anne and requests her forgiveness for the slight precipitated by his jealousy. He asks her to swear that she never loved anyone but him; Anne affirms that she has never loved anyone but him. Henry confirms the immensity of their love; faith and love have been reborn in their hearts. Catherine invokes God for inspiration, while Henry proclaims that he never loved anyone but Anne. As Catherine senses her final breath, she places the letter into the fire, and then dies with the secret. “Anne, ma bien aimée”

Henry pronounces the ominous final verdict in his search for truth: he vows that if he should ever learn that Anne has deceived him, the axe will fall.

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Commentary and Analysis

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ngland’s dynastic struggles erupted into civil wars between 1455 and 1487: the Wars of the Roses in which the combatants were recognized by insignias of colored roses; the House of Lancaster recognized by a red rose, and the House of York by a white rose. The ultimate victor was Henry VII, defeating his rivals with the aid of French mercenaries. He became the first Tudor King (1487-1509). Henry was a wily, grasping, and extremely able sovereign, leaving his reign with the monarchy firmly established, financially solvent, and a major participant in European affairs. Henry VII and Elizabeth of York were loving parents, although they were constantly preoccupied with royal duties and rarely saw their children. Their first son was Arthur, Prince of Wales; their second son, Henry, was the Duke of York (1491-1547), destined to become the future Henry VIII. Father Henry loved entertainers and attracted a legion of acrobats, jesters, magicians and musicians to the court. Prince Henry had his own servants and minstrels, a fool named John Goose, and even a whipping boy, who was punished when Henry did something wrong. Henry enjoyed music and was extremely talented, playing the fife, harp, viola and drums at the age of 10. After he ascended the throne, music became unusually prominent at court: the numbers of royal musicians increased greatly, and the King amassed a vast collection of instruments. He enjoyed playing, singing, dancing and listening to fine performances. He composed many short compositions, of which some 34 survive. After Arthur’s premature death, the King feared for the safety of his only remaining male heir to the throne. Prince Henry became overprotected and was placed under the guarded supervision of specially appointed persons of the court. No one was permitted to speak to him and he never spoke in public unless it was to answer a question from his father. He spent most of his time alone in his room, its only entry, a private door from the King’s chamber.

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The stereotype of the mature Henry VIII is that of a fat tyrant, but in his teens, he was very tall, athletic and handsome, but he was forced to control his exuberant personality because he feared his father’s reproaches and temper. Nevertheless, he was admired for his intelligence as well as his amiable and courteous manners, always benign and complimenting in his interchanges and relations with others. Henry VIII acceded to the throne in 1509 after his father died of tuberculosis: he was 17 years-old and was crowned at Westminster Abbey with his new wife, Catherine of Aragon. During the first ten weeks of his reign, his grandmother, Lady Margaret, was regent until he came on age. Henry VIII ruled from 1509-1547. Unfortunately, he received little training for his role as King. As a result, many of his father ’s accomplishments were wasted by his son: he was an intelligent but cruel and self-indulgent Renaissance prince who fancied himself a warrior, his excuse for rarely indulging in the hard business of day-to-day governing; that incapability forced him to rely heavily on his counselors to run the inherent machinery of government. Ultimately, the day-today operation of the government was placed under the control of his chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, who used that position to gather inordinate power and exorbitant personal wealth. Nevertheless, Henry VIII’s legacy has been the saga of his mania that at least one of six wives would produce a male heir.

C

atherine of Aragon (1485-1536) was the youngest surviving child of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. When Catherine was three yearsold, her parents began seeking a political match for her, an extremely common practice for princesses of the day. She was betrothed to Arthur, the first son of Henry VII of England; Arthur was not even quite two years-old at the time. In 1501, the 16 year-old Catherine made the journey from Spain to England, a voyage that encountered several storms and lasted three months. Catherine then married Arthur, escorted by the groom’s younger brother, Henry. In less than six

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months Arthur was dead, the cause possibly the “sweating sickness,” a fatal, intense fever erupting from mysterious causes, although some historians have speculated that Arthur may have died from tuberculosis. Arthur’s marriage to Catherine was short, but extremely significant in the history of England. Catherine, now a widow, was certainly still young enough to remarry, and Henry VII selected Prince Henry to be her husband, a convincingly robust and healthy choice that would certainly assure him of retaining Catherine’s substantial dowry. Catherine was betrothed to Prince Henry, but at that time he was too young to marry. However, in 1505, when Prince Henry became old enough to wed, the political climate had changed and the King was not too keen on a Spanish alliance: Prince Henry was forced to repudiate the betrothal, and Catherine’s future was uncertain for the next four years. After Henry VII’s death, the new king immediately married Catherine; both were crowned in a joint coronation ceremony on June 24, 1509. Henry and Catherine remained married for over 20 years and were ostensibly extremely happy during this lengthy period. As the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Henry often turned to her for advice; and in 1513, she ruled as regent while Henry was campaigning in France.

S

hortly after their marriage, Catherine became pregnant; disappointingly, in January 1510, his first child was a stillborn daughter born prematurely. One year later, Prince Henry was born; there were great celebrations, but they were halted by the baby’s sudden death 52 days later. Catherine then had a miscarriage, followed by a short-lived son. In February 1516, she gave birth to a daughter, and Henry became a doting father to Catherine’s only surviving child, Princess Mary. There were probably two more pregnancies, the last recorded in 1518. In 1518, Henry was 27 years-old, still young, athletic, and handsome. He is known to have had a host of liaisons: Elizabeth (Bessie) Blount, a young maid of honor of Queen Catherine, to which a son was born in June 1519, baptized Henry and given the surname of Fitzroy (King’s son); Arabella Parker,

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the wife of a city merchant; and in 1525, Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn, a Lady in Waiting to Catherine that resulted in a son named Henry. When Henry became determined to divorce Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn, the child’s aunt, he was too embarrassed to recognize his bastard son by his fiancée’s younger sister. Henry’s amorous adventures aroused the Queen’s suspicions, but she realized that her husband was acting like many men of the time: Henry regarded it his prerogative to pursue other women, while at the same time expecting his wife to remain chaste. Catherine soon realized that in order to preserve her dignity and avoid destructive public rows and scandals, she would remain silent and not express her indignation and outrage at her husband’s extramarital affairs; she was perhaps grateful that he did not shame her by flaunting them. .

T

he English Reformation began as a constitutional crisis rather than a religious crisis: Henry’s motives for breaking with Rome were personal and dynastic, not a ploy to strengthen his control of the English church and clergy. Henry remained consumed to have a male heir, and his breach was necessary to free him from Rome’s proscriptions, and remarry a woman who would produce a male heir for him. In fact, Henry had always been a good Catholic, earlier attacking Luther in print, which inspired a grateful pope to confer on him the title of defensor fidei (defender of the faith). Catherine was 42 years-old, ostensibly no longer able to conceive and therefore unable to provide Henry’s that heir he so desperately longed for. Around 1530, Henry had developed an all-consuming love for the beautiful and charming Anne Boleyn, a Lady in Waiting to Queen Catherine: Perhaps she would conceive that elusive male heir for him? Henry now sought to end his marriage to Catherine and be free to marry another. A royal divorce granted by the pope was not unprecedented, and Henry’s request for one was not unusual. He began his petition for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine by arguing that the papal dispensation issued by the pope’s predecessor had violated

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Scripture: Leviticus forbids a man to marry his brother’s widow, and Catherine was the widow of Henry’s older brother. Although Leviticus also proscribed that if a man married his brother’s widow they shall be childless, Henry reasoned that a girl — their one child Mary — did not qualify as a child: only a male child qualified. The reconciliation of canon law and the exigencies of royal coupling had been a major subject of negotiation between throne and altar for centuries. Nevertheless, a royal divorce granted by the pope was not unprecedented, and Henry’s request for one was not unusual. In a long series of dialogues, both sides invoked scripture: Leviticus for those for the divorce, Deuteronomy for those who were against the divorce. When Catherine learned of Henry’s plan to annul their marriage, she realized that she was at a great disadvantage: a foreigner who would become the victim of the court’s impartiality. She decided to appeal directly to the Pope, certain that he would favor her position: the aunt of the powerful Charles V, a Holy Roman Emperor. Pope Clement VIII refused Henry’s request, which he largely based on political considerations: Charles V’s army Spain had recently sacked Rome (1527) and Clement feared a reprisal if he ruled in favor of Henry. Nevertheless, Charles had severely influenced Clement’s decision, urging the Pope to agree to a dispensation for remarriage only if Henry’s current marriage could be proved invalid. In 1528, Henry set up a legatine court up at Blackfriars, headed by Archbishop Thomas Wolsey, Henry’s minister, and Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio, the Papal Legate. The court was immediately adjourned without making a decision, the indication that there was no chance Rome would grant the divorce. The political and legal debate continued for six years. Catherine adamantly avowed that she and her first husband Arthur did not consummate their marriage: therefore, they were not truly husband and wife. Catherine was fighting to survive as Queen, but also to establish legal rights for her daughter Mary. Afterwards, Henry took by force what he failed to achieve by negotiation. Henry’s minister, Archbishop Thomas Wolsey was fired because he

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failed to succeed in annulling Henry’s marriage. Henry pressed Parliament to remain in session and create legislation that would liberate the English church from Rome; Parliament severed every conceivable judicial link with Rome and made the Archbishop of Canterbury’s court the highest and only legitimate ecclesiastical tribunal for English cases. Henry was recognized as head of the Church of England (1531): the Archbishop of Canterbury, later confirmed in an Act of Supremacy (1534). Like the German princes, Henry was now summus episcopus, lay bishop and head of his church and kingdom, and any doctrinal deviation would immediately be deemed heretical and treasonable.

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n 1533, Anne Boleyn became pregnant and it was imperative that Henry act quickly. Henry and Anne secretly married, even though the King’s marriage to Catherine had not been dissolved; in the King’s mind the marriage never existed, so he concluded that he was free to marry whomever he wanted. Shortly thereafter, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who had replaced Wolsey, officially proclaimed the marriage of Henry and Catherine invalid and it was promptly annulled, the first real defiance of papal authority. Shortly thereafter, Anne gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth; an Act of Succession was passed to confirm the child’s legitimacy. Catherine was forced to renounce the title of Queen. She would be known as the Princess Dowager of Wales, a title she refused to acknowledge to the very end of her life. She and her daughter Mary were separated and were forced to leave the Court. For the next three years, she lived in several dank and unhealthful castles and manors with just a few servants. Nevertheless, she accepted her fate and seldom complained of her treatment, spending a great deal of time at prayer. Catherine died at Kimbolton Castle in January 1536 and was buried at Peterborough Abbey, the ceremony reflecting her status as Princess Dowager, not that of a Queen of England. The Roman Catholic Church immediately excommunicated Henry. But by this time, Henry had become ambivalent: he was uncomfortable about being excommunicated but persuaded himself that

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he was not disobeying Christ’s vicar, but rather the puppet of the Hapsburg Emperor. He had rid himself of Rome in order to continue his dynasty; nevertheless, he continually flirted with the idea of making peace with the Pope.

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nne Boleyn played an extremely important role in English history, yet remarkably little is known about her earliest years. Historians speculate that she was born sometime between 1500 and 1509; she indeed died in 1533. Anne was a “fille d’honneur,” attending the court of the Archduchess Margaret at the age of 12 yearsold. Then she was transferred to the household of Mary Tudor, Henry VIII’s sister, who was married to Louis XII of France. Anne’s sister Mary Boleyn was already an attendant to the Queen of France. However, when Louis XII died, Mary returned to England with Mary Tudor, while Anne remained in France to attend Claude, the new French queen. Anne remained in France for the next 6 or 7 years, learning to speak French fluently, and developing a taste for French clothes, poetry and music. Because of her position, it is possible that she was present at the Field of Cloth of Gold, the famous meeting at Compiègne between Henry VIII and the French King Francis I. Anne Boleyn’s personal characteristics are the grist of legend. She was not a great beauty and far from one of the handsomest women in the world: it was said by some that she had three breasts. On her left hand, Anne had a sixth finger, which she hid in her dress folds; to many of those who did not approve of her, it was a mark of the devil. She was considered moderately pretty, of average height, the possessor of small breasts and a long, elegant neck. In fact, she was more likely the opposite of the stereotypical image of beauty of the times, which celebrated pale women with blonde hair and blue eyes; she had thick, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes which often appeared black, and olive-colored skin. Her large dark eyes have often been singled out in descriptions of her: they aroused fascination, and were clearly used to her advantage; Anne, reared amid the intrigues of the French court, had a reputation for being an outrageous flirt and had more than one man in love with her.

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Sometime in 1521, Anne returned to England to arrange details of her marriage to the heir of Ormonde. A year later she attended a masked ball at Queen Catherine’s court. After her marriage plans to Ormonde fell through, she immediately began an affair with Henry Percy, also a rich heir, but the romance was aborted by Cardinal Wolsey, Henry’s omnipotent chancellor, presumably because he had designs on Anne for himself, which could explain why Anne had developed such an impassioned hatred of him. During this time, Anne also had some sort of intimate relationship with the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt: a married man, at the time separated from his wife.

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t is not known exactly when and where Henry first noticed Anne, but their first encounter kindled his passion, and he immediately became bewitched by her beauty, her sparkling brown eyes, long dark hair, and vivacious personality. Henry sought to make Anne his mistress, as he had her sister Mary years before. But Anne insistently denied him sexual favors. Anne would only allow Henry to possess if she was his wife: the Queen of England. Eventually, Henry’s all-consuming desire and obsessive passion for Anne overcame him and the idea of marriage evolved. Initially, the court probably thought that Anne would become just another one of Henry’s mistresses: not kept around too long. Nevertheless, Henry had become possessed by her, his passion confirmed by love letters he wrote to her when she was away from court. Anne’s emergence sparked jealousy and envy among the court: for instance, Anne was given precedence over the Duchesses of Norfolk and Suffolk, the latter being the King’s own sister, Mary, in being lodged in comfortable apartments near those of the King during a Christmas sojourn at Greenwich. Henry was intractable in his indulgence of Anne, ceaselessly buying her clothes, jewelry, and anything that would amuse her. Anne’s opportunism and yearning for power were no doubt frustrated by the lack of progress in the prolonged legal debates involving Henry’s annulment, which provoked Anne’s exploding temper and sharp tongue, exposed at times in notoriously tepid arguments and outbursts between

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her and Henry before all the court. But Anne feared that Henry might return to Catherine if the marriage could not be annulled; that defeat would have absorbed precious time in which she could have pursued an advantageous marriage. Anne’s status continued to rise. In September 1532 she was created Marquess of Pembroke, a title she held in her own right. In October, she held a position of honor at meetings between Henry and the French King in Calais.

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nne’s coronation as Queen in June 1533 was a stunning and spectacular event, although the crowd was unimpressed and expressed its unfriendliness. She was brought by water from Greenwich to the Tower of London, the barges following her said to stretch for four miles down the Thames. Then she left the Tower in procession to Westminster Abbey where she was crowned and anointed Queen in a ceremony led by Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Shortly thereafter she gave birth to her only surviving child, Elizabeth. But the years of waiting had taken their toll on Anne: now in her thirties, moody and with an acerbic attitude, and petrified at the thought that Henry was falling out of love with her. She had friends at court, but also many enemies: she had brought about the downfall of Cardinal Woolsey, who died in 1530, and she also plotted against her formal rival, Catherine, and her daughter Mary. Anne now realized that it was imperative that she produce a son for Henry. By January of 1534, she was pregnant again, but the child was either miscarried or stillborn. The next year she was pregnant again, but again miscarried, the child reportedly a son. Anne rejoiced after Catherine died in January 1536. She was pregnant again, and if she gave birth to a healthy son she would be secure as Queen. By August, preparations were being made for the birth of Anne’s child, which was forecast as Henry’s longed-for male heir, the proclamation of the child’s birth already written with “prince” referencing the child. Names were being chosen, with Edward and Henry the preferred choices. Anne miscarried again, Anne blaming the miscarriage on her state of mind after hearing that

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Henry had fallen while jousting. Nevertheless, she obviously realized that her life was threatened because of her inability to produce a male heir for Henry, and she was well aware of Henry’s growing fascination with one of her ladies in waiting: Jane Seymour. In May Anne was arrested and charged with having affairs with five men, including her own brother George.

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s Henry’s attention became focused on Jane Seymour, Anne’s enemies took advantage ofher vulnerability and began plotting intrigues against her. Cromwell was determined to topple the Queen and planted the seeds of treachery; he persuaded the King to investigate the possibly that she had committed treason. In April 1536, Mark Smeaton, Anne’s musician and friend of several years was arrested and probably tortured into making revelations about the Queen’s improprieties. Afterwards, Sir Henry Norris was arrested and placed in the Tower of London, which was followed by the arrest of the Queen’s own brother, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford. Sir Francis Weston and William Brereton were arrested and charged with adultery with the Queen, both found guilty and sentenced to be hung, cut down while still living, and then disemboweled and quartered. In May, Queen Anne herself was arrested and charged with adultery, incest, and plotting to murder the King. She was then taken to the Tower by barge, the same path she had traveled to prepare for her coronation just three years earlier, and lodged in the same rooms she had used on that occasion. Immediately thereafter, Anne and her brother George were put on trial at the Great Hall of the Tower of London, the trial attended by some 2000 people. Anne conducted herself in a calm and dignified manner as she denied all of the charges against her. Her brother’s wife testified against him, no doubt avenging an earlier scandal resulting from his improprieties. Even though the evidence against them was scant, they were both found guilty, with the sentence being read by their uncle, Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk: they were to be either burnt at the stake (which was the punishment for incest) or beheaded, at the discretion of the King. On May 17, 1536 George Boleyn was executed on Tower Hill. The other four men condemned with the

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Queen had their sentences commuted to a simple beheading at the Tower. Anne became hysterical as she realized her horrible fate, her behavior swinging from great levity to convulsive sobs. She learned that an expert swordsman from Calais had been summoned, an executioner who would no doubt deliver a cleaner blow with a sharp sword than the traditional axe. It was then that she made the famous comment about her “little neck.” Shortly before Anne’s execution on charges of adultery, the Queen’s marriage to the King was dissolved and declared invalid: in effect, the declaration that she had never been married to the King would make the accusation of adultery incongruous, but reason and lapses of logic pervaded all of the charges against Anne. On the morning of May 19, 1536, Anne was afforded the dignity of a private execution. She wore a red petticoat under a loose, dark grey gown of damask that was trimmed in fur and covered by a mantle of ermine. Her long, dark hair was bound up under a simple white linen coif over which she wore her usual headdress. She made a short speech before kneeling at the block. Her ladies removed the headdress and tied a blindfold over her eyes. The sword itself had been hidden under the straw, and then the swordsman beheaded her with one swift stroke. Anne’s body and head were put into an arrow chest and buried in an unmarked grave in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, which adjoined the Tower Green. Her body was one that was identified in renovations of the chapel under the reign of Queen Victoria: Anne’s final resting place is marked in the marble floor. On May 30, 1536, eleven days after Anne Boleyn’s beheading, Henry VIII married Jane Seymour, his third wife. Jane remained quietly obedient to Henry. Once she fell on her knees in public in order to beg the King to change one of his policies: after Henry’s disapproval, she never indulged in political theatrics. In Oct 1537 Jane gave birth to a son, Edward; the child died and twelve days later Jane died. Henry grieved for her, but he also immediately began seeking a new wife, this time concentrating on a politically advantageous marriage.

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Cromwell’s rise to power was directly connected to the fall of Catholicism in England, and Henry wanted to keep England on the path of Protestantism. Therefore, he sought a Protestant ally; naturally, his gaze turned to the Protestant states of Germany, birthplace of the Lutheran revolution. Henry sent artists — namely, Hans Holbein the Younger — to France and Milan to paint portraits of potential brides. Among those candidates was Christina, duchess of Milam (niece of the Holy Roman Emperor), who famously remarked that she would be happy to marry Henry — if she had two heads! Henry also considered Marie de Guise, a widowed cousin of the French King; Marie, however, chose to marry Henry’s nephew, James V of Scotland, thus creating a French-Scottish alliance along Henry’s troublesome northern border. As the search for a wife slowly progressed, Henry became increasingly desperate. No doubt he was lonely, but he also realized that his court needed a Queen to be complete: a King was not meant to be a bachelor, as every European monarch knew. Finally, Cromwell found a Protestant ally with two available sisters. The Duke of Cleves was wealthy and owned lands that were strategically located, but he also had two unwed sisters: Anne and Amelia. Anne, the eldest, was chosen as a possible bride for Henry, and Holbein immediately went to Cleves to capture her portrait, which would become of paramount importance in the coming year. Holbein’s infamous portrait of Anne cannot fairly be judged by contemporary standard, which are certainly different than those of the sixteenth century. However, it is amusing to note that she was rumored to be the ugliest of Henry’s wives, but certainly the most attractive by twentieth-century standards. The royal women of Europe were understandably reluctant to marry Henry VIII. Two years had passed until Henry approved portrait and became betrothed to his fourth wife: Anne of Cleves. In 1539 a marriage treaty was signed and Anne set sail for England. When she arrived Henry was so eager to see her that he raced to where she was lodging and burst in upon her unannounced. Anne did not speak English and was unaware of the identity of the fat stranger; she remained busy watching something out the window and more or less ignored Henry. The King’s pride

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was wounded. He announced that he did not like her, found her ugly and downright repulsive, and refused to marry her. But Henry had made a treaty with Cleves that he could not abrogate. The wedding took place on January 6, 1540 in a private marriage ceremony at Greenwich, the groom protesting every step of the way. Poor Anne of Cleves, barely able to articulate in English, found herself on foreign soil and despised by her new husband. She was confused. To add to her humiliation, the union was not consummated, Henry openly expressing his disgust and distaste for the woman. They lay together for the entire length of their marriage but were never physically intimate. At first Anne had no idea that her husband was displeased with her, telling her ladies that he kisses her, takes her by the hand, and bids her ‘Good night’: not quite the accepted method of inducing pregnancy. After a few months had passed, the French alliance with England showed signs of cooling and Henry’s natural boldness had returned. He wanted his fourth marriage dissolved and ordered Cromwell to arrange an annulment. Anne eventually learned that Henry wished to be rid of her and was shrewd enough to realize that her life was in danger. To Henry’s amazement, she readily cooperated with his desire to have the marriage annulled. Relieved, he gave her money and property and treated her very well. Anne remained in England but never remarried. Henry referred to her as his sister and often invited her to court. She outlived Henry, certainly the most fortunate of his wives.

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ess than twenty days after his marriage to Anne of Cleves, Henry married his fifth wife: Catherine Howard. Henry saw her as perfect and unspoiled: “a rose without a thorn.” But Catherine harbored secrets: an affair several years earlier in which she had promised to marry, and another affair with her music teacher, a relationship she resumed after she became Queen. Eventually, her infidelity was discovered and she was arrested. Both men were executed, and Catherine was beheaded. Henry had become horrified and heartbroken, but he had not given up on matrimony — and of course, his hope for a male heir. The following year he married his sixth and final wife: Catherine Parr.

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Henry was now old and ill, and Catherine’s role was more as a nurse to him than as a wife. She helped him reconcile with Catherine of Aragon’s daughter Mary. But Catherine’s keen intellect and radical religious views placed her in danger, her arguments provoking his anger and ultimately her arrest. When Catherine learned of her fate, she took to her bed crying, which so distressed Henry that he cancelled the arrest warrant. Afterwards, Catherine was careful not to enter argue or dispute the King. Henry died on January 28, 1547. While his coffin was en route to Windsor for burial, it burst open during the night; in the morning dogs were found licking up the remains. This was regarded as a divine judgment for his desecration of the abbey.

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n 1880, M. Auguste Emmanuel Vaucorbeil, Director of the Paris Opéra, delivered a libretto to Saint-Saëns, which had originally been intended for Gounod: “La Cisma in Inglaterra” (“The Schism in England”), based on a play by the noted Spanish playwright, Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681). The subject represented ideal operatic material: Henry VIII’s dynastic and political ambitions interwoven with the rivalry of two Queens, and his eventual defiance of the Roman Catholic Church, annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and his marriage to Anne Boleyn and her eventual execution. By the latter part of the nineteenth century, the grand opera genre had fallen out of favor. Henry VIII is a historical drama, in which Saint-Saëns concentrates on the personal tragedy of Catherine of Aragon, the ascendance of Anne Boleyn, and the general cruelty of Henry, with the politics pretty much confined to the grand tableau of the Synod and Henry’s confrontation with the Papal Legate, that scene truly majestic in scope.

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aint-Saëns’ Henry VIII is a tightly constructed and compact score that demonstrates the composer’s skillful craftsmanship in utilizing vocal and orchestral resources. The opera approaches the ideal of music drama, its recitative and set pieces integrated and almost seamless, with leitmotifs serving to identify characters, conflicts, and ideas: motives associated with felony, cruelty, and duplicity, although they were not developed in the orchestra with the grandiosity of Wagner.

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As the conflicting tensions of the principal characters intensify dramatically, the mood becomes more emphatically somber, building in stages to the irony of its ominous final scene: the treacherous vows of fidelity of Henry and Anne. The baritone role of Henry VIII is multifaceted: there are moments of tenderness as well as expressions of raging defiance and menacing ferocity. At the beginning of the work, Henry’s character is bared: “To Henry VIII nothing is sacred, neither friendship, love nor his word – ill are playthings of his mad whims. He knows neither law nor justice.” When a smiling Henry hands the holy water to the Papal Legate, the orchestra reveals his inner thought: his hatred of the power of the Roman Catholic Church. Saint-Saëns’ portrays Henry as a man of intellectual depth rather than the conventional depiction of a brusque “King Hal.” In the great scene between Henry and Catherine, he plays with her as a cat with a mouse, veiling his desire to be rid of her under his religious scruples, but at the same time is unconscionable in his vile and cruel insinuations about their marriage.

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he score is particularly impressive in the confrontations between the rival queens. The two female roles are wonderfully contrasted: the mezzo-soprano role of Catherine of Aragon expresses deep religiosity, humiliation, and loyalty to Henry in spite of his treachery. She is portrayed as a noble woman who transcends the intrigues and suspicions that consume the other characters. The soprano role of Anne Boleyn contains music that is commensurate with the beauty and charm that intoxicated Henry, but it also conveys her cunning, intrigue and manipulation of Henry. The conclusion of Act I provides contrasts and ironies that emphasize the greatness of the operatic art form and its ability to articulate multiple ideas simultaneously: the solemn funeral march for the soon-to-be-beheaded Duke of Buckingham contrasts with Henry’s fascination with Anne, and her revelation of the imaginings of her macabre dreams: premonitions of her own doom by the axe. In historical fact, the Duke of Buckingham was Henry Stafford, who held various ceremonial roles at the royal court. He had wide connections within

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the nobility which made him a potentially powerful force in politics. Although he appeared to be highly favored by Henry, the King harbored both jealousy and suspicion of his wealth, his lands, and his royal descent; the real power in Henry’s court was not the great nobles but low-born men such as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Stafford was a royal with numerous connections to the aristocracy, some inherited and some acquired through marriage; he eventually became a leader of the disaffected nobles that Henry had excluded from high office. Buckingham, along with other nobles, had become disaffected with Henry’s omnipotent minister, Cardinal Wolsey, resenting the fact that he was not born of the aristocracy, and that they disagreed with his handling of peace negotiations with France. Wolsey’s supporters fabricated charges against Buckingham for treason: that he had pretensions to the throne, and that he had expressed his intention to kill Henry. Stafford was tried before a panel of 17 peers, the King already deciding that he was guilty. Buckingham was executed at Tower Hill on May 17, 1511. All of his lands and estates became forfeited to the Crown.

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esides Samson et Dalila, Henry VIII was SaintSaëns’ most successful opera. Although some of its elements challenge historical fact, its drama is operatically effective, certainly a bridge between the grand opera’s of Meyerbeer and the “French lyrique” genre first introduced by Gounod in Faust (1859), which overtook French opera during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The opera retains many of the conventions of grand opera, but notwithstanding its spectacle and effects, the essence of the opera remains the impassioned confrontations between Henry, Catherine, Anne, and Gomez: moments in which the sweep of the conflicts and tensions of this powerful historical drama become realized and intensified through the emotive power of Saint-Saëns’ brilliant musical inventions.