Bertini's fantasy on Donizetti's 'Anna Bolena' adapts the tragic themes of the opera into a sophisticated, lighter piano work. It reflects the era's focus on melodic decoration and technical refinement.
At Henle 4 this is an intermediate piece that expects secure technique and real attention to phrasing. The main demands: a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment; ornaments that need to sound effortless, not squeezed in; and a left hand with real melodic or rhythmic responsibility of its own.
Beyond that, expect precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece, and chord voicing — bringing out one note inside a handful of others.
The main difficulty is achieving a seamless vocal quality in the right-hand melody while managing subtle internal voicing.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Fantaisie sur 'Anna Bolena' (Op.96) is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 6.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 4 — meaning you can already play level 3–4 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Fantaisie sur 'Anna Bolena' (Op.96) lasts about 7 minutes.
Fantaisie sur 'Anna Bolena' (Op.96) is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Fantaisie-valse by Henri Bertini, Episode d'un bal by Henri Bertini, Black Beauty by Duke Ellington — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.