Try Me, Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII

Try Me, Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII is a song cycle by Libby Larsen based on text taken from the final words and writings of the six wives of Henry VIII. The cycle was commissioned by the Marilyn Horne Foundation and premiered at the Juilliard Theatre in New York City on January 19, 2001, with the soprano Meagan Miller and the pianist Brian Zeger. The text for each movement is taken from the last words and writings of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard. A recording is available on Love Lies Bleeding: Songs by Libby Larsen.

Sources

• Try Me, Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII on the official web site of Libby Larsen
• A Performer’s Guide to Libby Larsen’s Try Me, Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII by Angela R. Day B.S., M.M.