Anna Bolena

The first of the Donizetti "Tudor Queens" operas, telling the story of Anne Boleyn's disastrous marriage to Henry VIII. The Met has plans to produce the entire trilogy in future seasons; the remaining two works being Maria Stuarda (Mary, Queen of Scots) and Roberto Devereaux (an alleged secret lover to Queen Elizabeth I). In this, the first of the three, Anna Netrebko plays the doomed queen, Ildar Abdrazakov is her Henry VIII, and Stephen Costello is Lord Percy.