Rape at the Opera, Staging Sexual Violence

Author

Cormier; Margaret

Year

2024

Publisher

University of Michigan Press

Language

English

Pages

ISBN

978-0-47290-363-4

Link

Last Update

15-Jul-2026

Keywords

Music ; Gender Studies

Description

In May 2018, I was in the audience of director Stephen Lawless’s production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at the Canadian Opera Company. Originally staged at the Met, Lawless’s production was simple and effective, and it highlighted the stunning performance of Sondra Radvanovsky as the titular queen. The action takes place while Anna (Anne Boleyn) is married to Enrico (Henry VIII) but preoccupied with the memory of her first love, Riccardo (Henry Percy). In the third scene of Act 1, Riccardo finds Anna in her chambers and tells her he still loves her. Anna tells him to leave and asks that...