Betrothal in a Monastery (Prokofiev)
Encyclopedia
Betrothal in a Monastery (original Russian
title Обручение в монастыре) is an opera
by Sergei Prokofiev
, his sixth with an opus number. The libretto
, in Russian
, was by the composer and Mira Mendelson (his companion in later life), after Richard Brinsley Sheridan
's ballad opera
libretto for Thomas Linley the younger
's The Duenna
.
Prokofiev began the work in 1940, and it was in rehearsal that year, but World War II
halted production of the opera. The first performance did not occur until 3 November 1946 at the Kirov Theatre with Boris Khaikin
conducting.
Commentators have noted that, given the context of its creation in the 1940s in the Soviet Union, this opera lacks any particular political or social comment, except perhaps for a scene involving drunken monks.
and in 2006 at Glyndebourne
and was performed at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Spain
in 2008.
Louisa finds her friend Clara hiding in a monastery from the ardour of her lover Ferdinand (Louisa's brother). Disguising herself now as Clara, she takes Mendoza to the house of Don Jerome to meet 'Louisa' (the Duenna in disguise); they agree to elope.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
title Обручение в монастыре) is an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, his sixth with an opus number. The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
, in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, was by the composer and Mira Mendelson (his companion in later life), after Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
's ballad opera
Ballad opera
The term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century and later. There are many types of ballad opera...
libretto for Thomas Linley the younger
Thomas Linley the younger
Thomas Linley the younger was the eldest son of the composer Thomas Linley the elder and his wife Mary Johnson. He was one of the most precocious composers and performers that have been known in England, and became known as the "English Mozart".-Early life:Linley's abilities were apparent from a...
's The Duenna
The Duenna
The Duenna is a three-act comic opera, mostly composed by Thomas Linley the elder and his son, Thomas Linley the younger, to an English-language libretto by Richard Brinsley Sheridan...
.
Prokofiev began the work in 1940, and it was in rehearsal that year, but World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
halted production of the opera. The first performance did not occur until 3 November 1946 at the Kirov Theatre with Boris Khaikin
Boris Khaikin
Boris Emmanuilovich Khaykin was a Russian Jewish conductor who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1972.Khaykin was born in Minsk, then part of the Russian Empire . He studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Nikolai Malko and Konstantin Saradzhev...
conducting.
Commentators have noted that, given the context of its creation in the 1940s in the Soviet Union, this opera lacks any particular political or social comment, except perhaps for a scene involving drunken monks.
Performance history
In recent years, the opera has been performed in 1989 at the Wexford FestivalWexford Festival Opera
The Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.-Festival origins under Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966:...
and in 2006 at Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
and was performed at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 2008.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast 3 November 1946, Leningrad (Conductor: Boris Khaikin) |
|---|---|---|
| Don Jerome | tenor | |
| Don Ferdinand, son of Don Jerome | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
|
| Louisa, daughter of Don Jerome | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
|
| The Duenna | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
|
| Don Antonio | tenor | |
| Clara d'Almanza | mezzo-soprano | |
| Mendoza, a fish merchant | bass | |
| Don Carlos, friend of Mendoza | baritone | |
| Padre Augustin | bass | |
| Father Elustaf | tenor | |
| Father Chartreuse | bass | |
| Father Benedictine | bass | |
| Lauretta | soprano | |
| Rosina | soprano | |
| Lopez | tenor | |
| Pablo | ||
| Pedro | ||
| Miguel | ||
| Three Maskers | ||
| Two Lay Brothers | ||
Act 1
Don Jerome intends his daughter Louisa to marry the wealthy fish merchant Mendoza. However, she loves instead Antonio, who is poor, though noble in spirit. Furthermore, Don Ferdinand, son of Don Jerome and prone to fits of jealousy, wants to marry Clara d'Almanza, who is a virtual prisoner of her stepmother.Act 2
Louisa's Duenna suggests that she and Louisa exhange clothes - the Duenna will then marry Mendoza and Louisa can elope with Antonio.Louisa finds her friend Clara hiding in a monastery from the ardour of her lover Ferdinand (Louisa's brother). Disguising herself now as Clara, she takes Mendoza to the house of Don Jerome to meet 'Louisa' (the Duenna in disguise); they agree to elope.
Act 3
Mendoza and Don Carlos unintentionally help Louisa elope with Antonio. Don Jerome is tricked into composing a letter that gives his permission for Louisa to marry Antonio. In a fit of jealousy, Don Ferdinand chases after Louisa and Antonio, after he mistakes Louisa for Clara.Act 4
The act opens with a drinking song for the monks in the monastery where the marriages are to be performed. The monks then switch to a hymn that extols fasting and abstinence, to a tune that is a slower variant of the earlier drinking song. Finally, Louisa and Antonio are united, as are Don Ferdinand and Clara. In addition, Mendoza ends up marrying Louisa's duenna.Recordings
Recordings include:- Kirov Orchestra and Kirov Opera. With Evgeny Akimov, Marianna Tarassova, Anna Netrebko, Alexandr Gergalov, Nikolai Gassiev, Larissa Diadkova, Sergey Aleksashkin, Yury Shkliar. Chorus cond. Valery GergievValery GergievValery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
(PhilipsPhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
, 1998) - Orchestra and chorus of the Bolshoi TheatreBolshoi TheatreThe Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
cond. Alexander LazarevAlexander LazarevAlexander Lazarev is a Russian conductor. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and later at the Moscow Conservatory with Leo Ginsbourg. In 1971, he was the first prize winner in a national conducting competition in the USSR...
, (BMG Classics, 1990)
Summer Night
Summer Night (Op. 123) is an orchestral suite with music drawn from Betrothal in a Monastery.Movements
The suite, lasting around 20 minutes, consists of five movements:- Introduction: Moderato, ma con brio
- Serenade: Adagio
- Minuet
- Dreams (Nocturne): Andante tranquillo
- Dance: Allegretto
Recordings
Recent recordings include:- London Philharmonic OrchestraLondon Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
conductor Vladimir JurowskiVladimir JurowskiVladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski is a Russian conductor. He is the son of conductor Mikhail Jurowski.Jurowski began his musical studies at the Moscow Conservatory...
(Glyndebourne CD Label, 2008) - Russian National OrchestraRussian National OrchestraThe Russian National Orchestra premiered in Moscow in 1990.It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican and in Israel....
conductor Mikhail PletnevMikhail PletnevMikhail Vasilievich Pletnev is a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer.-Life and career:Pletnev was born into a very musical family in Arkhangelsk, then part of the Soviet Union; his father played and taught the bayan, and his mother the piano...
(Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
, 1994) - St. Petersburg Philharmonic OrchestraSt. Petersburg Philharmonic OrchestraThe Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1882 and is Russia's oldest symphony orchestra.It was initially known as the "Imperial Music Choir" and performed privately for the court of Alexander III of Russia. By the 1900s it had started to give public performances at the...
conductor Vladimir AshkenazyVladimir AshkenazyVladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
(Exton, 2002)
External links
- Betrothal in a Monastery at prokofiev.org
- Summer Night at prokofiev.org
- Synopsis from the Mariinsky TheatreMariinsky TheatreThe Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
.