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Voyevoda (opera)
Encyclopedia
The Voyevoda Op.
3, is an opera
in 3 acts and 4 scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
with a libretto
written by Alexander Ostrovsky and based on his play The Voyevoda (A Dream on the Volga) .
The opera was composed between March 1867 and July 1868, and it received its first performance on 11 February [OS January 30] 1869 at the Bolshoi Theatre
in Moscow
. It was a benefit for Alexandra Menshikova.
In the 1870s Tchaikovsky destroyed the manuscript full score of the opera, while recycling much of the first act in his The Oprichnik (1870–1872). The subject of The Voyevoda was thus left available to his former pupil Anton Arensky
to compose as the opera Dream on the Volga
in 1888. During the Soviet period The Voyevoda was posthumously reconstructed from surviving orchestral and vocal parts and the composer's sketches.
Source: www.tchaikovsky-research.net
Place: A large city on the Volga River
Source: www.tchaikovsky-research.net
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
3, 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...
in 3 acts and 4 scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
with a 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...
written by Alexander Ostrovsky and based on his play The Voyevoda (A Dream on the Volga) .
The opera was composed between March 1867 and July 1868, and it received its first performance on 11 February [OS January 30] 1869 at the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The 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...
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...
. It was a benefit for Alexandra Menshikova.
In the 1870s Tchaikovsky destroyed the manuscript full score of the opera, while recycling much of the first act in his The Oprichnik (1870–1872). The subject of The Voyevoda was thus left available to his former pupil Anton Arensky
Anton Arensky
Anton Stepanovich Arensky -Biography:Arensky was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine...
to compose as the opera Dream on the Volga
Dream on the Volga
Dream on the Volga is an opera in four acts composed by Anton Arensky. The libretto was adapted by Arensky from Alexander Ostrovsky's melodrama Voyevoda. The opera premiered on January 2, 1891 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow with Arensky conducting.-Background:Dream on the Volga was Arensky's...
in 1888. During the Soviet period The Voyevoda was posthumously reconstructed from surviving orchestral and vocal parts and the composer's sketches.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast 11 February [OS 30 January] 1869 Conductor: Eduard Merten) |
|---|---|---|
| Nechay Shalïgin, the voyevoda | bass | Finokki |
| Vlas Dyuzhoy, a wealthy merchant | bass | Radonezhsky |
| Marya Vlasyevna, his wife | 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... |
Alexandra Menshikova |
| Praskovya Vlasyevna, his older daughter | soprano | Kronenberg |
| Nastasya | soprano | Annenskaya |
| Stepan Bastryukov, son of a wealthy nobleman' | tenor Tenor The 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... |
Rapport |
| Roman Dubrovin | 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... |
Demidov |
| Olena, his wife | 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... |
Ivanova |
| Rezvïy, Bastryukov's servant | bass | Bozhanovsky |
| Jester | tenor | Lavrov |
| Nedviga, a nurse | mezzo-soprano | Rozanova |
| New voyevoda | bass | Korin |
| Chorus, silent roles: Noblemen, merchants, servants, maidens, people | ||
Instrumentation
- Strings: Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, and Double Basses
- Woodwinds: Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Cor Anglais, 2 Clarinets (B-flat & A), 2 Bassoons
- Brass: 4 Horns (all in F), 2 Trumpets (B-flat), 3 Trombones, Tuba
- Percussion: Timpani, Triangle, Cymbals, Bass Drum
- Other: Harp
Source: www.tchaikovsky-research.net
Synopsis
Time: The middle of the 17th centuryPlace: A large city on the Volga River
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
- Overture
Act 1
- No.1 Chorus of Maidens & Scena
- No.2 Mariya's Ballad & Duet
- No.3 Scena
- No.4 Bastryukov's Aria
- No.5 Scena & Duet
- No.6 Scena
- No.7 Scena
- No.8 Quartet & Scena
- No.9 Finale
Act 2
- No.10 Introduction
- No.11 Chorus of Servants
- No.12 Bastryukov's Aria
- No.13 Scena & Dubrovin's Aria
- No.14 Entr'acte & Dances of the Chambermaids
- No.15 Scena & Mariya's Song
- No.16 Scena
- No.17 Duet
- No.18 Scena
- No.19 Scena & Khorovod
Act 3
- No.20 Entr'acte
- No.21 Scena & Dubrovin's Aria
- No.22 Scena
- No.23 Quartet
- No.24 Scena
- No.25 Duet
- No.26 Scena & Quartet
- No.27 Scena
- No.28 Quintet
- No.29 Scena & Chorus
- No.30 Scena
- No.31 Closing Scena
Source: www.tchaikovsky-research.net
Derived works
- The Entr'acte and Dances of the Chambermaids from Act 2 were based on the Characteristic Dances for orchestra (1865), and were also arranged for piano duet by Tchaikovsky.
- Under the pseudonym "Cramer", Tchaikovsky composed a PotpourriPotpourri (music)Potpourri or Pot-Pourri is a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF..., the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia. It is often used in light, easy-going and popular types of music....
on themes from the opera The Voyevoda, for solo piano (1868).
Similarly named works
- In 1886, Tchaikovsky wrote incidental musicIncidental musicIncidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
for the DomovoiDomovoiA domovoi or domovoy is a house spirit in Slavic folklore. The plural form in Russian can be transliterated domoviye or domovye ....
scene from Alexander Ostrovsky's A Dream on the Volga. This is the same play that formed the basis of the opera, but the incidental music is otherwise unconnected to the opera. - Tchaikovsky's symphonic ballad in A minor, entitled The VoyevodaThe Voyevoda (symphonic ballad)The Voyevoda, Op. 78, is a "symphonic ballad" for orchestra, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1891. It is based on Alexander Pushkin's translation of Adam Mickiewicz's poem of that name....
, Op. 78 (1891), is based on Alexander Pushkin's translation of Adam MickiewiczAdam MickiewiczAdam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
's poem and thus is not related to the like-named opera in either the music or the underlying story. - Rimsky-Korsakov'sNikolai Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
opera Pan VoyevodaPan VoyevodaPan Voyevoda , is an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It is based on a libretto by Ilya Tyumenev. The work was completed in 1903, was first performed in October 1904, and has proved to be one of Rimsky-Korsakov's least-successful works...
, set in Poland, likewise is not related to Ostrovsky's play.
Recordings
- A complete recording of the opera has been issued on the Aquarius CD label, with Vladimir Kozhukhar conducting soloists with the Academic Grand Chorus of Central Television and All-Union Radio and the State Symphonic Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of culture.
- The lively, sometimes dramatic, overture has occasionally been performed and recorded. It is one of the few works of Tchaikovsky to be performed by Arturo ToscaniniArturo ToscaniniArturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
and the NBC Symphony OrchestraNBC Symphony OrchestraThe NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
in a broadcast performance that was preserved on transcription discs. The overture, as well as the entr'acte and dances, was also included in Vox RecordsVox RecordsVOX Records is a budget classical record label. The name is Latin for "voice."-History:Vox was founded in 1945, starting out with 78-rpm discs, specializing in licensed pressings of classical recordings made in Europe. It was one of the last major recording companies to adopt stereo recording,...
' complete recordings of Tchaikovsky's orchestral music, released on both LP and CD (with Dolby surround sound); Janos FürstJános FürstJános Fürst was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.János Fürst originally studied the violin at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in his native Budapest. After the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, he continued studies at the conservatory in Brussels. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris...
conducted the Bamberg Symphony OrchestraBamberg Symphony OrchestraThe Bamberg Symphony is a German orchestra based in Bamberg and well known for its artistic excellence and frequent international touring...
.