The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006–…): Season 6, Episode 1 - Donizetti: Anna Bolena - full transcript

Has the King arrived?

Silence! Not yet.

And the Queen?

Her heart grieves, but she hides it.

So sad her heart...

...but she hides it.

Her star is already fading.

Henry's inconstant heart burns with another love.

Her star is already fading.

Henry's fickle heart burns with a new love.

The King pursues another.



Perhaps some greater sorrow
awaits this miserable woman.

A greater grief, a greater shame.
Something worse to bear.

Unfortunate woman!

Oh, heavens!

Some greater sorrow!

More urgently than usual,
she has asked for me.

She...why? This trembling!

This doubt that wakens in me.

This doubt that troubles me!

In the presence of my victim,
my heart loses courage.

Make me deaf to remorse.
Let compassion disappear.

May my love for the Queen be extinguished.

Let my heart be empty and cold.

I have never seen the Court so silent and sad.



Even you, Jane, once so happy,
cannot summon a smile to your lips.

Who could be at ease when
she sees the Queen so troubled?

Troubled!

Yes, it's true, but I cannot say why.

A mysterious foreboding steals
my peace more every day.

Poor woman!

I tremble at her words.

Where is Smeaton?

My Queen!

Approach.

Sing a song to cheer the Court
until the King arrives.

I must calm myself.

Take your places, ladies.

Love, inspire me!

When your spirit sighs with grief...

...never pretend to smile.

False joy brings no relief...

...if sadness stays awhile.

When clouds at dawn are strewn,
the sun throws off her veil.

The melancholy moon...

...glimmers, though she is pale.

You spy her in a glade.
What is she thinking of?

This grave and graceful maid...

...sighs over her first love.

I sigh with her as well...

...and hope to be that love.

There with her I would dwell.

Her bright passion-

Stop. Oh, stop!

Oh, heavens!

She is disturbed, distressed.

Smeaton, how your song has shaken my heart!

The ashes of my first love still smolder.

If I had not opened
my heart to another love...

...I would not be so miserable now.

No, not so wretched as this...

...here in my hallow splendor.

No, not so wretched as this,
here in my empty splendor.

A few hours of night remain, I believe.

Daybreak is near.

My lords, I dismiss you.

We wait here in vain for the King to arrive.

Let us go, Mistress Seymour.

What troubles you?

If you could only read my thoughts!

No one can see into my sad heart.

Cruel fate condemns me to sigh alone.

If you are ever tempted
by the grandeur of a royal throne...

...only remember my anguish
and do not deceive yourself.

Never let yourself be deceived.

May sleep bring her peace.

Never let yourself be deceived.

Oh, how her words pierced my heart!

Could I have betrayed my own feelings?

Could she have seen my sin on my face?

But no, she tenderly embraced me.

Yet it was a serpent she held to her breast.

If only I could draw back from this abyss.

If only I could change the course of time.

Ah! My fate is fixed by Heaven...

...like the Day of Judgment.

It is the King.

Are you trembling?

Yes...trembling.

Where is the Queen?

Resting.

I cannot.

And you think I can?

This must be our last secret meeting.

The last, Sire. I beg you.

It will be, yes.

From now on we must see
each other in daylight.

Heaven and earth must know I love you.

Never! I must hide my shame in darkness.

Henry's love is to be gloried in.

It was such for Anne
in the eyes of all England.

Only after marriage.

Is this how Seymour loves me?

And is this how the King loves me?

Ungrateful woman, what is it you want?

Love and reputation.

Reputation!
Yes, you shall have that.

One like no other in the world.

You shall have it. You shall have it.

All of my light...

...all of it will shine on you.

Jane Seymour will have no rival,
as the sun has no rival.

No more rival than the sun has!

No more rival than the sun has!

My reputation lies at the foot of the altar.

Anywhere else lies shame.

My reputation lies at the altar...

...and that altar is forbidden me.

Heaven knows that. The King knows that.

If I am truly dear to the King...

...he will hold my honor dearer still.

That altar is forbidden,
as both Heaven and the King know.

That altar is forbidden me.

Who will protect my honor?

Yes, I understand you.

Oh, heavens! Sire!

I understand.

And yet you feel only scorn.

Scorn and sorrow.

Sire!

You love the King, not me.
You want the throne, not me.

Oh, I understand.

No, Sire!

I understand too well.

Anne, too, offered me her love...

...longing for the English throne.

She, too, wanted the crown...

...worn by proud Catherine of Aragon.

Finally Anne had it.
But it was not to be hers for long.

To her ruin, it tempted another woman's heart.

Not I! I did not offer the heart
that led to her undoing.

The King stole my heart.
It was the King's doing.

I will be unhappier than Anne Boleyn.
I will have more to weep over.

A painful repudiation...
but no husband to offend.

She, too, offered me her love,
longing for the English throne.

I never offered you my heart....

The crown was not to be Anne's for long.

I will end with nothing, not even a husband.

-I'll end with nothing.
-It was never hers.

You leave me?

I must.

Stay.

I cannot.

I command you.

The altar awaits you.

You shall have a husband, a scepter, a throne.

Heavens! And Anne?

I hate her.

The day of reckoning has come.

For what crime?

The blackest.

She gave me a heart
she had already given to another.

She deceived me before we wed,
and betrayed me after we wed.

-And her vows?
-The King can dissolve them.

By what means?

I alone know.

But how?

I alone know.

I dare not ask what you mean.

My heavy heart will not permit it.

A royal husband may cost me
even more remorse.

Do not trouble your heart.
Let your King be your comfort.

Let him see you happier now.

For pity's sake, a royal husband
may cost me even more remorse.

Who do I see?

Percy, you here in England?

By order of the King,
friend, I am summoned home.

I intend to present myself to him
before the hunt today.

After a long exile, it should be sweet
to breathe the air of home...

...but to me it is bitter.

Dear Percy! Grief has not changed you.

I still recognized you.

My grief is not in my face.

It is in the depths of my heart.

I have not yet dared to ask about your sister.

She is Queen. That is her only joy.

Is the rumor true?

Is she unhappy?
Has the King changed?

Does love ever remain happy?

Well said.

Her love exists without hope, as mine does.

Speak softly.

What should I fear?

Ever since the day I lost her,
I have been a desperate exile.

The day I crossed the sea
was the day of my death.

All light was dark to me,
all men were strangers.

Every land I came to only seemed a new tomb.

Every land I came to only seemed a new tomb.

The hunt is gathering.

Keep silent. They may hear you.

The pages and the grooms!

The hounds are ready!
The horses are saddled!

More eager than ever
the King rides to the hunt!

Here! Quickly!
Bring the pages and grooms!

More eager than before
the King pursues his prey.

Is Anne with him? Is she?

Stay calm, Richard!

In those happy days
when love first smiled on me...

...I felt my heart pound
at the thought of seeing her again.

Give me back just one
of those precious moments.

Then you can take my life
because I will die of pleasure.

Take my life.
I will have my heart's desire.

Be silent.
Come, someone might hear you.

I will die of pleasure!

I'll die of pleasure!

Risen so early?

Stronger than the desire for rest
is my desire to see you.

It has been many days now
since I beheld My Lord.

Grave concerns have weighed on my heart.

Yet my mind did not turn from you.

Not for a moment have I averted
my watchful gaze from you.

You here, Percy!

Could it be? Richard!

Approach.

I fear this.

You have come promptly....

If, Sire, I had hesitated
to make known my grateful spirit...

...what might seem a mistake to others
would have been a crime in my eyes.

The hand that banished me and
now gives me back my home, I kiss....

Not Henry's hand.

I have been assured of your innocence
for a long time now...

...by one who grew up with you
and knows the purity of your soul.

Anne!

(Let my heart not betray me!)

You, Your Majesty!
Is it true you thought of me?

The whole kingdom believed
your innocence and defended you.

I too believed you innocent,
because you seemed so to her.

Believe me, all the kingdom stood by you!

Ah! My Queen!

Oh, God! Rise! Rise!

Oh, God!

He is lost!

Hervey!

My Lord.

I felt his tears upon my hand.

Their warmth has spread to my heart.

I depend on you to see
that my plan does not go awry.

Act as my spy. Report to me
their every step, their every word.

My sovereign does well to trust me.

She thought of me when I was gone.

She could not bear my exile.

My heart forgets its sufferings.
I feel reborn and can hope.

The King seems so gentle today...

...but a smile hides his wrath.

I felt his tears upon my hand.

Their warmth spread to my heart.

I feel reborn! I can hope again.

You are back in your homeland
and fully pardoned.

I trust you will remain among
the faithful of my Court.

Sire, I am destined for a sad, obscure life.
I would not know how-

No, no. I wish it.

Rochefort, I entrust him to you.

Let us leave for the hunt.

Anne, farewell.

I can bear no more.

To the hunt!

Where can I turn?

The confusion in your heart shows on your face.

Let us be off.

This day has dawned for us with happy omens.

May it now be gloriously crowned
with the happiest outcome.

May this day's end not be a stormy one for me.

May we escape this storm.

Friendly fate will guide the prey into my snare.

The place is deserted.

Her maids are at their duties elsewhere.

If I'm found in the Queen's
private chamber, it will not matter.

They know Anne sometimes
invites me here to sing for her.

This portrait of her, which I stole...

...must be returned before my daring is discovered.

A kiss, one last kiss...oh, beloved face.

Farewell to the loveliness that held my heart.

A heart that seemed one with hers.

Farewell!

Ah! It was as if by some spell
you responded to my longing.

As if my tears awoke your sighs.

Then my heart grew bold,
filled with hope and desire.

I can reveal my love to her image,
but dare not speak to her.

Then my heart grew bold,
filled with hope and desire.

I can reveal my love to her image,
but dare not speak to her.

I dare not speak to her.

I hear a sound.

Someone is coming.
I have stayed too long.

Stop. You go too far.
You insist too much, brother.

Listen to him, just for a moment.
You risk no danger, I assure you.

You risk more if your harshness
drives his grief beyond reason.

Alas! I was the cause of his return!

Well then, bring him to me.
Let no disloyal eyes see us.

Trust me.

(I cannot escape!)

I was weak.
I should have refused to see him again.

Reason is useless.

My heart is too weak.

He is here!

I am trembling!

Anne!

Richard!

We must be brief, and cautious.

Have you come to accuse me of betraying you?

You can see what it has cost me.

I was ambitious. I wanted a crown.

I got a crown of thorns.

When I see you unhappy,
my anger vanishes.

Grief has left its mark on me.

I forgive you for it.

Near you, I can forget
all the sorrows of the past.

At last on shore,
the drowning sailor forgets the waves.

You calm the storms in me.

You are the light that guides me.

Poor man! It is a false light!

Don't you know that I am married?
That I am the Queen?

Do not say that!
I do not want to hear it!

You are my Anne, my only Anne!

Am I not your Richard?

He who first taught you to love?

And the King hates you.

He hates me!

It's true.

He may hate you, but I love you.

I still love you,
as I loved you in your humble state.

I loved you then...

...and I love you still!

With me you can forget the cruelty
of an ungrateful husband.

Do not put your cruel lord
above a lover who adores you.

A man who adores you,
not the King you married.

I love you still!

Listen to the man who loves you,
not to the King.

Do not put your wicked lord
above a lover who adores you.

You know nothing of my duties.

They are sacred and horrifying.

Seated beside me on the throne
are suspicion and terror.

Ah! If you truly love me,
never speak to me of it.

No, never, Richard....

If you truly love me,
never speak to me of it.

If you truly love me,
never speak to me of it.

Cruel woman!

Let the dawn not find you still in England.

It will find me dead and buried...
or still with you!

Flee!

Buried!

Take pity on my terror,
on the horrors you see me endure.

Listen to my prayers, look at my tears.

Let both land and sea separate us.

Find a happy heart elsewhere...

...for whom love would be no crime.

I would fall dead at your feet,
if you but asked me.

Let me stay.
Allow me just to be near you.

By your side, suffering and pain
will turn to happiness.

-I beg you, find another heart.
-Let me be near you.

-Find a heart you may love.
-Near you, suffering will end.

There is no more to be said.

I shall go, but first tell me,
will I see you again?

Promise me! Swear!

No, never.

Never? Never?

Then this is my answer to your vow.

What are you doing?

Pitiless man!

Stop!

Merciful Heaven!

Keep away!

Stop! Stop!

I am ruined. Ruined!

Someone is coming!

Sister....

She has fainted.

The King!

What is this, I see?

Weapons drawn?

Unsheathed swords in my palace!

Guards!

Fate is my enemy!

What has happened?

What shall I say?

Fate is my enemy!

Everyone silent, everyone stricken!

What mystery, what misdeed has occurred here?

I can read it in your faces.

I read that my shame is now complete.

My whole realm is witness.

This woman has betrayed the King.

Sire! It is not true!

I swear it at your feet.

How dare you!

Already a traitor yourself, my boy?

Kill me if I am lying.

I stand unarmed before you.

-Such a clever boy!
-Yes, I offer you my breast.

What is this portrait?

Oh, heavens!

I can hardly believe my eyes.

Here is the true proof
of Anne's dark betrayal.

Anne! What anguish!

He knows!

Anne!

I'm terrified!

Where am I?

Here is your treachery!

Where am I?

Ah, My Lord!

I see the suspicion in your eyes.

I beg Your Majesty not to condemn me.

Let my heart regain its composure.

Proof of your vile behavior is here in my hand.

Weeping is useless. Leave my sight.

It would be better for you if you died now.

Do not condemn me, my King.

Here in my hand is the proof.

Ah, fate! I am filled with rage!

To die now would be better.

Oh, do not condemn me!

It would be better for you if you died now!

Let them all be thrown into separate prisons.

All?

-Yes.
-But Sire-

Stand aside!

-Just one word....
-Back!

Sire!

Away!

Her death is certain.

A word! Just one word!

Only the judges, not I,
will hear your evidence.

Judges? For Anne!

My fate is sealed
if my accuser can condemn me.

I can only yield to the power
of a tyrannical law.

My fate is sealed.
There is no hope of escape.

No strength, no skill can help me now.

Whoever shares my throne
can have no stain on her honor.

Do not condemn me! Hear me!

Please, listen!

Ah! My fate is sealed
if my accuser can condemn me.

I can only yield to the power
of a tyrannical law.

But after my death I will be absolved,
my honor restored.

After my death my name will be cleared.

Her fate is sealed!

Oh, where have they gone, the adoring crowds...

...that thronged around her in happier days?

Even Seymour keeps her distance.

Her closest friend will not visit.

But, poor woman, we will always...

...always be with you.

Whether you triumph or meet your end.

Fate has left you few friends,
but they have tender hearts.

Ah, yes!

Here she is.

Distraught and pale, a ghost of herself.

Majesty, take heart! Trust in Heaven.

Tears will end, but virtue cannot perish.

Fate has left you few friends,
but they have tender hearts.

Tears may end but virtue never.

Virtue lives forever.

Oh faithful friends, you alone
console me in my misfortune.

My hope lies in Heaven, only there.

On earth nothing will save me from ruin.

What news, Hervey?

Your Majesty!

It grieves me to bring word
from the Council of Peers.

Well?

Speak.

These ladies are summoned there.

Please, dear friends,
be witnesses to my innocence.

A doleful day!

Go now.

God, who sees into my heart...

...I turn to Thee, O God.

If I have deserved this shame,
Thou be my judge, O God.

The poor woman is weeping.

How could I bear her glance?

The anguish of Catherine of Aragon
cannot go unavenged.

God's own harsh judgment has
prepared a punishment for me.

But it is too terrible!

Oh, my Queen!

Seymour! You have come back!

You have not forgotten me?

What do I see? Why so pale?

You are trembling!

Do you bring some fresh misfortune?

Terrible, indeed....

If only I could bring you joy.
Ah, no! Listen to me.

There are such plots against you.
You are lost.

At all costs the King would break
the bonds that tie you to him.

You cannot save your title,
but you can save your life!

How? Explain yourself.

I am afraid to say this...

...but I must.

If you confess your guilt,
the King will divorce you and spare your life.

What are you saying?

The fate that pursues you leaves you no choice.

How can you advise me so?

You, my Seymour.

For pity's sake....

That I buy my life with such shame?

You, Seymour, advise that?

Do you wish both shame and death?

My Queen! Oh, heavens!
You must!

The King advises it,
as does the wretched woman...

...whom Henry's love
has now destined for the throne.

Oh! And who is that woman?

Do you know her? Speak.

Does she dare advise me to act like a coward?

Would she make her Queen a coward?
Tell me! Who is she?

An unhappy woman....

That is what she has made me.

May the vengeance of God himself...

...come to punish her.

Oh, listen to me!

May her heart be broken, like mine.

May her crown be of thorns,
the crown she covets.

For pity's sake, hear me!

On her royal bed, may dread
and suspicion lie beside her.

May my threatening ghost rise
between her and her guilty husband.

And may the King deny her the mercy of the axe.

May the cruel King deny her
the axe he grants to me.

Yes, may our cruel King deny her.

Ah! A horrid punishment! Stop!

For pity's sake, stop!

-No! My threatening ghost....
-I beg you, stop!

You! What do I hear?

Yes, the traitor is at your feet.

My rival!

But tortured by remorse and woe.

Begone!

No, forgive me!

You! My rival! Oh, God!

You? You?

Seymour? My rival?

Forgive me!

My own heart punishes me.

Naive, misled, unhappy...I was seduced.

I love Henry. I blush to say it.

Oh! This love is a torture!

I sigh and weep, but tears
cannot extinguish my love.

I weep, but tears will not drown my love.

No, tears cannot extinguish my love.

Arise.

The only guilty one is he
who lit this flame in you.

Go, poor woman, and take with you
Anne Boleyn's pardon.

In a blind fury I called down
dreadful punishments on you.

Now I ask for God's mercy on you.

And pray it will be granted to me.

I beg God's mercy for you.

May my love and pity remain with you now.

May my love and pity remain.

Your forgiveness is worse
than the anger I feared.

To punish me for my sin,
you leave me a throne...

...where a just God waits for me
and will deny His forgiveness.

Your embrace is the first
of the tortures I can expect.

Unhappy woman!
You are not the guilty one.

A merciless God waits for me.

I beg God to forgive you.

He will never forgive me.

May He be merciful to me as well.

Well? Which of the accused
has been brought before the judges?

Smeaton.

Has the young man revealed his crime?

His testimony is still unknown.

He remains within.

Heaven keep his weak and inexperienced heart...

...from being seduced by hope or fear.

He must never forget his accuser is the King.

His accuser is the King himself.

Look!

Here is Hervey.

Bring in Anne and Percy.

What has happened?

Smeaton has confessed.

Has the boy denounced Anne?

Hervey, speak!

Has he accused Anne?

He has spoken of a crime that makes one shudder.

She is lost, the miserable woman!
Her offense is appalling.

She is lost, the miserable woman!

It is shameful.

The King himself has accused her!

Withdraw! The King is coming.

Sire, you have left the Council?

My presence there would be inappropriate now.

The first blow has fallen.
The man who struck it must not be seen.

Oh! How easily Smeaton was trapped!

Let the blind young fool be returned to his cell.

Until I have my revenge,
let him think he has saved Anne's life.

She is approaching.

And Percy, led by his guards.

I must leave.

Stop, Henry.

Stay and hear me.

The Council will hear you.

I throw myself at your feet.

Kill me, Sire, but do not expose me
to the shame of a trial.

See that my royal name is respected.

Have you respected that royal name?

The King's wife, yet you lowered yourself to a Percy.

And you lowered yourself
to become Percy's rival...

...when you stole his beloved.

Criminal! How dare you!

I speak the truth. Listen.

I shall soon stand before a Court
more holy and feared...

...more to be dreaded than yours.

So I swear she did you no wrong.

She turned me away and was offended
by my audacity. I swear.

She found a lowly page-boy
to be worthier of her love.

He has confessed to it,
and names a hundred witnesses.

Stop! Stop this!

At this evil accusation,
I reclaim my dignity.

I accuse you, Sire, of forcing Smeaton to lie.

-Yes, you have....
-Brazen woman!

I defy you, defy all your power!

You can kill me, but not dishonor me.

My crime is to have taken a throne...

...when I might have had
a heart as noble as Percy's.

I believed I would be happy,
married to a king.

My life's joy!

No, you never felt or encouraged
a base affection. That I know.

Certain of that, I embrace my fate.

But you shall live!

What do I hear?

Both of you traitors shall die!

Who can save you now?

Traitors!

Justice can!

Justice?

It is gagged in Henry's Court.

It fell silent when, on the English throne...

...the true Queen yielded her place to you.

But justice will find its voice again.

And you should listen to it, Majesty.

If it gives the right to avenge
a dishonored marriage bed...

...let it be mine!
It is written in Heaven.

We are man and wife!

You, married!

What are you saying?

You dare say that!

I reclaim my rights.
Let her be given back to me!

You are the wife of this man?

His wife?

Can you deny it?

Well?

Alas!

From your earliest years
you were mine, and you know it.

You left me, but I still loved you,
even though you were unfaithful to me.

The man who stole you is taking
both your honor and your life.

I have come to claim you,
to give you back your honor and life.

I stand before you.
Here are honor and life!

Ah! What a generous heart.

This shows your goodness!

They will never succeed.

Perish the day I left you for that cruel man!

I betrayed your faith, and
a just Heaven will punish me.

Here is honor. Here is life!

-My honor and life!
-Let me restore your honor and life!

Your cunning will be punished!

-I betrayed your faith.
-The King stole you from me.

Your torture will be more than you can bear.

-Just Heaven has punished me.
-He stole your honor and life.

I have come to give you back your life.

Your punishment will be more cruel
than you can imagine.

Punishment!

Life and honor!

How unjust!

Guards, take them to the Council.

Do you still insist?

Let the Council hear us.

Guilty couple!

Another woman, worthier of my love,
will ascend to the English throne.

Your name will be hated by all,
disgraced and rejected.

Hated and disgraced!

Your name will be hated by all,
disgraced and rejected.

May that woman never learn
how fatal the King's gift is.

May England never learn
how Anne has cruelly suffered.

May England never know...

...how unjustly Anne has been treated.

Percy's wife before Henry's!

The wife of Percy!

No, never.

It is a lie to help her escape the law...

...that condemns her as unfaithful.

And if it is true,
a harsher law ensnares her.

And her daughter will be ruined too.

Sire.

Come, Jane, you are Queen now.

Oh, Sire, my remorse forces me
to approach you.

Remorse?

Bitter, desperate, horrible.

I have seen Anne and heard her.

Her tears rend my heart.

Show pity to her, and to me.

I will not be the cause of her death.

I cannot.

Let my King accept my final farewell.

I am more than your King.

I am your lover,
to whom you vowed your love.

At the altar I will soon swear more sacred vows.

I wish I had never made the promise
that has become my downfall.

To atone, Sire,
I shall go to some remote refuge...

...where no living creature will see me.

Where none but Heaven will hear my sighs.

Are you mad?
Where has this idea come from, woman?

Do you hope, by leaving, to save Anne?

Now I loathe her even more because
she has caused you distress.

Because she has poisoned our love.

But it still lives.
It is devouring my heart.

I have put passion before virtue.

For the bitter pangs and tears it has cost me...

...I ask you, hear my prayer!

Do not let Anne perish because of me.

Before Heaven and mankind,
do not make me even more guilty.

Hear my prayer!

I am guilty enough.

Oh, I am already racked with guilt.

Fool! You know nothing! Restrain yourself!

The Council has ended.

Oh, hear me!

Be silent!

For my tears, I beg you, hear me!

The lords have unanimously
dissolved the royal marriage.

Anne, the adulteress, is condemned to death.

Her accomplices are likewise condemned.

Supreme judge, the sentence is submitted to you.

The only hope for these wretched souls
lies in the King's clemency.

Merciful kings on earth are
reflections of Heaven above.

The King has Heaven's power.

I shall consider it.

Yield!

Fool! You do not know....

My tears beg you to spare Anne.

Merciful kings on earth are
reflections of Heaven above.

Justice, justice...

...is the first duty of a king.

Remember the eyes of Heaven
and earth are all watching you.

Every heart has its failings,
so that we might show mercy to others.

May Henry be kind,
even if the King must be cruel.

Remember the eyes of Heaven and earth
are all watching you.

Every heart has its failings,
so that we may show mercy to others.

May Henry be kind, even if the King must be cruel.

I beg you! Have mercy on her!

Are you condemned as well,
though you committed no crime?

It is a crime to be Anne's brother.

What abyss have I dragged you to?

I deserve to fall into it.
I was driven by blind ambition.

I urged Anne to aspire to the throne.

O friend! Your anguish adds to mine.

If only I could still hope you will be spared!

That hope would make
my own death less sad and bitter.

Let us part like brave men.

I am ready to die.

You must live, I implore you!
Your life is not bound to sorrow.

You must not die!

Find a country that would give refuge
to an innocent man.

Seek a shore where it is not forbidden...

...to pray for the likes of us.

Oh, someone must remain...

...remain on earth to weep for us.

Oh, live for our sakes.

Live to weep for us.

Stay alive to weep for our fate.

Ah, Percy! I am as strong
and determined as you.

I am determined to die with you.

Do you hear me?

I choose death!

Death!

Your loyalty gives me strength.

I feared only that you would suffer.

I dreaded only your pain.

We both can scorn
the final hour that approaches.

We leave behind neither fear nor desire.

Here on earth, we leave no fear, no desire.

No more fear, no more desire.

No more fear, no more desire.

Who can watch her without weeping...

...in such distress and grief...

...and not feel one's heart break?

Now as silent and motionless as a stone...

...now pacing anxiously back and forth.

So sad, so pale, her face now in shadow...

...the next moment breaking into a smile.

Her expression changes constantly.

So many feelings surge in her breast.

Who can watch her without weeping...

...in such distress and grief...

...and not feel one's heart break?

It breaks one's heart.

Our hearts are breaking.

I hear you weeping.

Why these tears?

This is my wedding day.

The King is waiting for me.

The altar is adorned with flowers.

Quickly, give me my white veil.

Fix the wreath of roses to my hair.

Let Percy know nothing of this.
The King insists.

O sorrowful memory!

Oh, who is grieving?

Who spoke of Percy?

I do not want to see him.

I must hide from him.

It is useless.

He is coming.

He is accusing me, rebuking me.

Forgive me!

Such despair!

Take me away from all this misery.

Do not let me die here, forsaken.

Percy, smiling? What joy!

Take me back
to the dear castle where I was born...

...to the green trees, to the river...

...that murmurs with our sighs.

Ah! There let me forget all this pain.

Give me back just one day of my youth...

...just one day of our love.

Take me back to my true home.

Give me back a day of our love.

Just one day of our love.

What is that sad sound?

What's this?

Hervey!

The guards!

Go, fetch the prisoners from their cells.

Oh! You have awakened me from a dream!

At such a moment!

What have you made me see?

My brother!

And you, Percy!

You die because of me!

I alone brought about your ruin.

Curse me!

Smeaton!

Traitor!

Yes, a traitor.
Let me take that name to my grave.

I let myself be tempted by the King.

I accused you, believing I was saving your life.

I was driven to lie by a mad desire.

By a hope I had hidden in my heart for a year.

Curse me!

Smeaton, come.

Rise! What are you doing?

Why not tune your lute?

Who has cut its strings?

Anne!

What are you saying?

Her delirium has returned.

The broken strings sound...

...like the gasp of a dying heart.

It is my heart,
whispering its last prayer to Heaven.

Listen, all of you.

Such a cruel martyrdom...

...madness!

Heaven, release me from my long suffering.

Let my last breaths be filled with hope.

From my long suffering, free me!

Let my last heartbeats be hopeful.

O Heaven, give me hope!

Sounds of rejoicing?

Tell me.

Where am I? Tell me.

Well?

The crowd is joyously acclaiming
their new Queen.

Be silent. Stop!

Stop!

Anne's blood is all they need
to complete the crime.

And it will be shed.

Heaven, spare her heart this blow!

She cannot endure it.

Wicked couple!

I will not call for revenge at this terrible moment.

Let me descend to death with pardon on my lips.

May it win for me some mercy in the eyes of God.

Some small mercy.

Dear God, spare her wounded heart!

Silence! Stop!

She can bear no more.

To complete their crime...

...they need only my blood.

And they shall have it.

Wicked couple!

I will not call for revenge at this terrible moment.

Let me go to my grave with forgiveness on my lips.

May it win for me some mercy in the eyes of God.

Dear God, spare her wounded heart!

She can bear no more.