Melbourne Opera, in recent years, has established a reputation for enabling keen opera goers (especially bel cantists) to experience rarely performed works. Remarkably or not, this new production marks the first Australian professional production of Gaetano Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, which was premièred in 1830. The opera was widely performed over the next three decades but then languished until 1957, when it was triumphantly revived by Maria Callas and Luchino Visconti, at La Scala. (Of this legendary performance we only have an imperfect live recording, but it is still thrilling to hear)

Melbourne Opera’s Anna Bolena is the second part of a traversal of the Tudor Queens trilogy. It follows a successful Maria Stuarda in 2015, and will be followed by Roberto Devereux in 2017.