About the work
Henry VIII is a four-act grand opera by Camille Saint-Saëns, with a libretto by Léonce Détroyat and Armand Silvestre based on Pedro Calderón de la Barca's play La cisma de Inglaterra (1627) and, in outline, on Shakespeare's play of the same name. It premiered on 5 March 1883 at the Paris Opéra's Palais Garnier, with Jean Lassalle in the title role.
Plot
The opera follows Henry VIII's break with Catherine of Aragon in favour of Anne Boleyn and the resulting split from Rome, setting private passion against reasons of state.
Cultural significance
Henry VIII was a triumph at its premiere and remained, alongside Samson et Dalila, Saint-Saëns's most performed stage work during his lifetime, though it largely disappeared from the repertoire after his death; the score uses recurring motifs and draws on Renaissance-era sounds.