Anne Boleyn – a chamber opera

Reviews

'[O]ne admired the sense of melancholy Mr. Beck evoked, and the gentle lyricism of his music."

- Tim Page,
The New York Times

Anne Boleyn, my first opera, is a short one-act based on the final moments of her life. A two-character piece, I conducted a concert version of it with chamber orchestra 27 January 1984 at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. The singers were Alexandra Homo (alto) and Steve Friedes (baritone). The orchestra included Marina Piccinini (flute); Susan Anderson (clarinet); Lois Steinberg (bassoon); David Bilger (trumpet); David Kaplan (trombone); Michael Osrowitz and Yves Gerard (percussion); Anne Marie Jackson (viola); Steve Mallardi (bass); and Deborah Jamini (piano).

Conducting a rehearsal of “Anne Boleyn” at Mannes, 1984

 

 

A staged version of Anne Boleyn was later produced 27-30 June 1985 by Golden Fleece, Ltd., the Composer’s Chamber Theatre at TOMI, the Terrace Theatre in New York City. I conducted these performances with the reduced orchestration of string trio and piano. The singers were Lucy Sorlucco/Teresa Schoendorf (Anne) and Robert Manzari/John Nelson (Kingston; Percy; Henry VIII). The production staff included Lou Rodgers (artistic & stage director); Jerome Shannon (musical director & piano); Jack Fogle (stage design); David Shepherd (lighting design) and Victoria Charkut (costume design). The other musicians were Wha-Rim Kim (violin); Ruth Kahn (viola); and Tomas Ulrich (cello).

 

When ordering a PDF of the score alone, you will receive a copy of the piano/vocal score.

When ordering a PDF of the score and parts, please indicate which version you would like:
string trio/piano or chamber orchestra.

Instrumentation:
mezzo, (or alto), baritone, 1011/0110/perc-2/pno/0101 or violin, viola, cello, piano
Date completed:
1983; 1985
Duration:
ca. 15:00
Author:
Libretto by the composer

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