.gif)
Rogneda (opera)
Encyclopedia
Rogneda is an opera in five acts, composed by Alexander Serov
during 1863–1865. The scenario, by the composer, was based on the novel Askold's
Grave (Аскольдова могила, 1833) by Mikhail Zagoskin
and the poem Rogneda (ca. 1825) by Kondraty Ryleyev. The actual Russian
libretto was created by Dmitry Averkiev in the same manner as with the composer's previous opera, Judith
, i.e., with the words written to fit the vocal lines after the music had been composed.
This opera forms a sequel of sorts to Alexey Verstovsky
's highly successful singspiel
, Askold's Grave
, which premiered in 1835, just the year before Glinka's
A Life for the Tsar
reached the stage. No less a patriotic opera than those two, Rogneda in its plot combines elements of the life of the title character with the Christianization of Russia, dated in 988 with the conversion of Vladimir I of Kiev
. With its huge cast and sprawling plot, the opera demands spectacle of a Meyerbeerian
order.
in Saint Petersburg
, conducted by Konstantin Lyadov, while the Moscow premiere took place during the following year at the Bolshoy Theatre in Moscow
conducted by Shramek.
The premiere of the opera proved to be a resounding hit, and the work remained extremely popular through the end of the Russian Empire
.
Time: The end of the 10th century
Place: In and around Kiev
Note: Acts I and V may contain more than one set of stage decor
, the people demand Rogneda's death. Izyaslav's further entreaties persuade Vladimir to forgive Rogneda, whereupon the wandering Christians appear and thank God for Vladimir's conversion.
Alexander Serov
Alexander Nikolayevich Serov – was a Russian composer and music critic. He and his wife Valentina were the parents of painter Valentin Serov...
during 1863–1865. The scenario, by the composer, was based on the novel Askold's
Askold and Dir
Askold and Dir are semi-legendary rulers of Kiev who, according to the Primary Chronicle, were two of Rurik's voivodes in 870s...
Grave (Аскольдова могила, 1833) by Mikhail Zagoskin
Mikhail Zagoskin
Mikhail Nikolayevich Zagoskin , , was a Russian writer. Author of social comedies, historical novels.Zagoskin was born in the village of Ramzay in Penza Oblast...
and the poem Rogneda (ca. 1825) by Kondraty Ryleyev. The actual 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...
libretto was created by Dmitry Averkiev in the same manner as with the composer's previous opera, Judith
Judith (Serov)
Judith , is an opera in five acts, composed by Alexander Serov during 1861-1863. Derived from renditions of the story of Judith from the Old Testament Apocrypha, the Russian libretto, though credited to the composer, has a complicated history . The premiere took place in 1863 in Saint Petersburg...
, i.e., with the words written to fit the vocal lines after the music had been composed.
This opera forms a sequel of sorts to Alexey Verstovsky
Alexey Verstovsky
Alexey Nikolayevich Verstovsky was a Russian composer, musical bureaucrat and rival of Mikhail Glinka.-Biography:...
's highly successful singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
, Askold's Grave
Askold's Grave
Askold’s Grave is an opera in 4 acts by Alexey Verstovsky to a libretto by Mikhail Zagoskin ....
, which premiered in 1835, just the year before Glinka's
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
A Life for the Tsar
A Life for the Tsar
A Life for the Tsar , as it is known in English, although its original name was Ivan Susanin is a "patriotic-heroic tragic opera" in four acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka. The original Russian libretto, based on historical events, was written by Nestor Kukolnik, Georgy Fyodorovich Rozen,...
reached the stage. No less a patriotic opera than those two, Rogneda in its plot combines elements of the life of the title character with the Christianization of Russia, dated in 988 with the conversion of Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
. With its huge cast and sprawling plot, the opera demands spectacle of a Meyerbeerian
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
order.
Performance history
The premiere performance took place on 27 October 1865 at the Mariinsky TheatreMariinsky Theatre
The 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...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, conducted by Konstantin Lyadov, while the Moscow premiere took place during the following year at the Bolshoy Theatre in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
conducted by Shramek.
The premiere of the opera proved to be a resounding hit, and the work remained extremely popular through the end of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
Roles
- (VladimirVladimir I of KievVladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
) Krasnoye Solnyshko [i.e., Bright Sun], prince of the capital Kiev: baritoneBaritoneBaritone 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... - Rogneda, one of his wives: mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA 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...
- Izyaslav, her 13-year-old son: contraltoContraltoContralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
- Dobrynya NikitichDobrynya NikitichDobrynya Nikitich is one of the most popular bogatyrs after Ilya Murometz from the Kievan Rus era. Many byliny center on Dobrynya completing tasks set him by the prince. Dobrynya is often portrayed as being close to the royal family, undertaking sensitive and diplomatic missions.As a courtier,...
, the prince's uncle: bassBass (voice type)A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... - Rual'd, a young Varangian, a Christian: tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
- Ingerd: tenor
- Drulav: bass
- Old Man Wanderer: bass
- Supreme Priest of PerunPerunIn Slavic mythology, Perun is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of thunder and lightning. His other attributes were the fire, mountains, the oak, iris, eagle, firmament , horses and carts, weapons and war...
: bass - The Prince's Jester, a merry skomorokhSkomorokhThe skomorokhs were medieval East Slavic harlequins, i.e. actors, who could also sing, dance, play musical instruments and compose most of the scores for their oral/musical and dramatic performances. The etymology of the word is not completely clear...
: tenor - Skul'da, a Varangian witch: mezzo-soprano
- Mal'frida, one of Rogneda's slaves: soprano
- Izyaslav's Nurse: soprano
- Master of Hounds: baritone
- 1st Hunter: tenor
- 2nd Hunter: bass
- BogatyrBogatyrThe bogatyr was a medieval heroic warrior of Kievan Rus' and the Novgorodian Republic, akin to a Western European knight errant.- Kievan Rus' :...
s; members of the prince's armed forces; city elders; guests at table; cupbearers; huntsmen; falconers; huntsmen in charge of hounds; hunters on horse and on foot; priests of Perun and immolators of sacrifices; wanderer-pilgrims; women at the feast; female slaves of Rogneda; skomorokhSkomorokhThe skomorokhs were medieval East Slavic harlequins, i.e. actors, who could also sing, dance, play musical instruments and compose most of the scores for their oral/musical and dramatic performances. The etymology of the word is not completely clear...
i; male and female dancers; warriors; captive Pechenegs, VarangiansVarangiansThe Varangians or Varyags , sometimes referred to as Variagians, were people from the Baltic region, most often associated with Vikings, who from the 9th to 11th centuries ventured eastwards and southwards along the rivers of Eastern Europe, through what is now Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.According...
; people.
Synopsis
Place: In and around Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
Note: Acts I and V may contain more than one set of stage decor
Act 1
Inside Skul'da's cave, the Supreme Priest of Perun, concerned about Prince Vladimir's failure to protect the native religion from encroaching Christianity, has decided that Rogneda -- upon Skul'da's influence -- must kill him. Rogneda enters, already prepared to avenge her father's death at Vladimir's hands. Skul'da's sorcery produces a knife with which Rogneda can perform the deed. The scene changes to a public rite of human sacrifice to the god Perun. When Rual'd, a Christian, prevents the priest from killing the first victim, he is at first threatened with death by the priests; but, after the Supreme Priest finds out that Rual'd, too, has a grievance with Vladimir, Rual'd is spared. (Vladimir kidnapped Rual'd's bride, Olava.)Act 2
At a banquet there is celebration with Vladimir, who has returned from his successful campaign. News arrives of a failed attempt by Rual'd to rescue Olava, and Vladimir commands that Rual'd be apprehended and killed. When Dobrynya Nikitich defends Rual'd's honorable devotion to his bride, Vladimir at first threatens Dobrynya with banishment, but the court jester manages to calm the situation.Act 3
In a forest, Rual'd comes upon some itinerant Christians. An Old Man dissuades him from taking revenge on the Prince -- who, by chance, comes on the scene with his retinue on a hunting expedition from Kiev. When Vladimir is attacked by a bear, Rual'd saves his life at the expense of his own. This sacrifice, as well as the words of the Old Man -- which mention a miracle of salvation during the coming night -- makes a deep impression on the Prince. Due to the late hour, Vladimir decides to stay with Rogneda, whose abode stands nearby.Act 4
In her tower, Rogneda is disconsolate until she hears that Vladimir is arriving. After he settles in, the Prince dismisses his retinue and falls asleep. Rogneda, knife in hand, approaches him, but Vladimir suddenly awakens (he has had a dream of danger) and stops her, threatening with execution the next day.Act 5
Back at Skul'da's cave, the Supreme Priest in distress consults the sorceress again. Skul'da shows him a vision in which Vladimir commands the people to drown the idol of Perun into the river. Meanwhile, in Rogneda's tower, Izyaslav (Vladimir and Rogneda's young son) intercedes for his mother, causing the Prince to leave his wife's fate in the hands of the people. Called to a vecheVeche
Veche was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries.In Novgorod, where the veche acquired the greatest prominence, the veche was broadly similar to the Norse thing or the Swiss Landsgemeinde.-Etymology:...
, the people demand Rogneda's death. Izyaslav's further entreaties persuade Vladimir to forgive Rogneda, whereupon the wandering Christians appear and thank God for Vladimir's conversion.