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Zhenitba (opera)
Encyclopedia
Zhenitba is an unfinished opera
begun in 1868 by Modest Mussorgsky
to his own libretto
based on Nikolai Gogol
's comedy
Marriage. This 1842 play is a satire of courtship and cowardice, which centres around a young woman, Agafya, who is wooed by four bachelors, each with his own idiosyncrasies.
The idea to set Gogol's Marriage to music came from the advice and influence of Alexander Dargomyzhsky
, who began to compose his own experimental opera, The Stone Guest
, to Alexander Pushkin's tragedy just two years earlier (in 1866). Dargomyzhsky declared that the text would be set "just as it stands, so that the inner truth of the text should not be distorted", and in a manner that abolished the 'unrealistic' division between aria
and recitative
in favour of a continuous mode of syllabic but lyrically heightened declamation somewhere between the two.
In 1868, Mussorgsky rapidly set the first eleven scenes of Zhenitba, with his priority being to render into music the natural accents and patterns of the play's naturalistic and deliberately humdrum dialogue. Mussorgsky's aim was to create individual musical signatures for each character using the natural rhythms of the text. The composer noted:
The first act was completed in 1868 in a vocal score
and the composer noted:
The score is inscribed with the following details: "The work began on Tuesday, June 11, 1868 in Petrograd (St. Petersburg
), and was finished on Tuesday, July 8, 1868 in the village Shilovo, Tula Oblast
."
The Marriage was one of Mussorgsky's first musical masterpieces. It was an experiment in Russian opera, using grotesque and satirical musical language. One citic commented:
Note: Aleksandra Purgold (later Molas) is the sister of Nadezhda Purgold (later Rimskaya-Korsakova)
, Sigizmund Blumenfeld is the brother of conductor Felix Blumenfeld
, Sonya Rimskaya-Korsakova is the daughter of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, and Gury Stravinsky is the brother of composer Igor Stravinsky
.
The idle bachelor Podkolyosin attempts to find a wife: "Well, when one considers carefully, one sees that marriage can be very useful." He currently leads a chaotic life, with his poor servant, Stepan, constantly at his beck and call.
A marriage broker, Fyokla Ivanovna, arrives to give Podkolyosin details of a girl she has chosen for him. However, he is more interested in her dowry: "And what kind of dowry will I receive? Let's start from the beginning and discuss the dowry ...” He also worries that she is not sufficiently highly bred for him: "I don’t suppose she is the daughter of an Officer?... So, is this really the best bargain?"
Fyokla suggests that he can't afford be fussy with his poor looks and greying hair! Unexpectedly Kochkaryov, Podkolyosin's best friend, turns up and is angry to see the marriage broker. He complains that she has married him off to a troublesome, bossy woman. He sends her away, and decides to take over the match-making duties himself. He paints an idealistic and hassle-free picture of married life for his friend: "There will be a bird in its cage and some embroidery. Just imagine yourself in your chair, quiet and serene and at your side a little caressing woman, all round and pretty. Her hand will stroke you ... like this ..."
A reluctant Podkolyosin resists Kochkaryov's demands that he at least visit the girl: "Leave it for now ... come on, we'll go tomorrow." And Kochkaryov answers: "You're an idiot and coward! You are even worse ... you're a sissy and an ass!" And Kochkaryov literally shoves Podkolesin out of the door of his apartment. Here the 1st act ends.
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...
begun in 1868 by Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
to his own 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...
based on Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
's comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
Marriage. This 1842 play is a satire of courtship and cowardice, which centres around a young woman, Agafya, who is wooed by four bachelors, each with his own idiosyncrasies.
Composition history
Alexander Dargomyzhsky
Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky was a 19th century Russian composer. He bridged the gap in Russian opera composition between Mikhail Glinka and the later generation of The Five and Tchaikovsky....
, who began to compose his own experimental opera, The Stone Guest
The Stone Guest
The Stone Guest is a poetic drama by Alexander Pushkin based on the Spanish legend of Don Juan. The Stone Guest was written in 1830 as part of his four short plays known as The Little Tragedies...
, to Alexander Pushkin's tragedy just two years earlier (in 1866). Dargomyzhsky declared that the text would be set "just as it stands, so that the inner truth of the text should not be distorted", and in a manner that abolished the 'unrealistic' division between aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
and recitative
Recitative
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
in favour of a continuous mode of syllabic but lyrically heightened declamation somewhere between the two.
- "I would very much like my characters on the stage to speak like living people, and in such a manner that the character and force of the intonation, supported by the orchestra and forming the background for their speech, would gain its object, that is, my music must be the artistic reproduction of human speech in all its subtle nuances." (Mussorgsky).
The first act was completed in 1868 in a vocal score
Vocal score
A vocal score or piano-vocal score is a music score of an opera, or a vocal or choral composition with orchestra such as an oratorio or cantata, in which the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment is reduced and adapted for keyboard...
and the composer noted:
- "I have completed the first act. It rained without stopping for three days running and I worked without stopping in keeping with the weather. The Marriage gave me not a minute of calm – so I wrote it." (Mussorgsky, Summer 1868)
The score is inscribed with the following details: "The work began on Tuesday, June 11, 1868 in Petrograd (St. 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...
), and was finished on Tuesday, July 8, 1868 in the village Shilovo, Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast is a federal subject of Russia with its present borders formed on September 26, 1937. Its administrative center is the city of Tula. The oblast has an area of and a population of 1,553,874...
."
The Marriage was one of Mussorgsky's first musical masterpieces. It was an experiment in Russian opera, using grotesque and satirical musical language. One citic commented:
- "With all its jolting contrasts and exaggerations, when the composer, in the best Russian-Petersburg tradition, mocks his characters but at the same time "weeps" over them." (Solomon VolkovSolomon VolkovSolomon Moiseyevich Volkov is a Russian journalist and musicologist. He is best known for Testimony, which was published in 1979 following his emigration from the Soviet Union in 1976...
)
Performance history
Notable early performances included:- 1868, at the home of César CuiCésar CuiCésar Antonovich Cui was a Russian of French and Lithuanian descent. His profession was as an army officer and a teacher of fortifications; his avocational life has particular significance in the history of music, in that he was a composer and music critic; in this sideline he is known as a...
; Nadezhda PurgoldNadezhda Rimskaya-KorsakovaNadezhda Nikolayevna Rimskaya-Korsakova , 1848May 24, 1919) was a Russian pianist and composer as well as the wife of composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. She was also the mother of Russian musicologist Andrey Rimsky-Korsakov.-Early years:...
, the future wife of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, played the piano part. Podkolyosin was sung by the composer, a baritone; Kochkaryov by tenor Alexander DargomyzhskyAlexander DargomyzhskyAlexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky was a 19th century Russian composer. He bridged the gap in Russian opera composition between Mikhail Glinka and the later generation of The Five and Tchaikovsky....
; Fyokla Ivanovna by mezzo-soprano Aleksandra Purgold; and Stepan by bass Konstantin Velyaminov. - 1906, at the home of Nikolai Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai 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...
; Nadezhda Rimskaya-KorsakovaNadezhda Rimskaya-KorsakovaNadezhda Nikolayevna Rimskaya-Korsakova , 1848May 24, 1919) was a Russian pianist and composer as well as the wife of composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. She was also the mother of Russian musicologist Andrey Rimsky-Korsakov.-Early years:...
again played the piano part. The main roles were performed by Sigizmund Blumenfeld (Podkolyosin), A. P. Sandulenko (Kochkaryov), Sonya Rimskaya-Korsakova (Fyokla Ivanovna), and Gury Stravinsky as Stepan. - 1908, St. PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint 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...
, stage performance with piano accompaniment
Note: Aleksandra Purgold (later Molas) is the sister of Nadezhda Purgold (later Rimskaya-Korsakova)
Nadezhda Rimskaya-Korsakova
Nadezhda Nikolayevna Rimskaya-Korsakova , 1848May 24, 1919) was a Russian pianist and composer as well as the wife of composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. She was also the mother of Russian musicologist Andrey Rimsky-Korsakov.-Early years:...
, Sigizmund Blumenfeld is the brother of conductor Felix Blumenfeld
Felix Blumenfeld
Felix Mikhailovich Blumenfeld was a Russian composer, conductor, pianist and teacher.He was born in Kovalevka, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire , the son of Austrian Mikhail Frantsevich Blumenfeld and the Polish Marie Szymanowska, and studied composition at the St...
, Sonya Rimskaya-Korsakova is the daughter of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, and Gury Stravinsky is the brother of composer Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
.
Publication history
- 1908, vocal scoreVocal scoreA vocal score or piano-vocal score is a music score of an opera, or a vocal or choral composition with orchestra such as an oratorio or cantata, in which the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment is reduced and adapted for keyboard...
edition by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, V. Bessel and Co.V. Bessel and Co.V. Bessel and Co. was a musical firm founded in 1869 in St Petersburg by Vasily Vasil’yevich Bessel . His brother N. V. Bessel was a co-owner of the firm....
, St. Petersburg - 1933, vocal score, original composer's version, Muzgiz together with Universal EditionUniversal EditionUniversal Edition is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, and originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market...
, Moscow, in the second issue of Volume IV of the Complete Works by Mussorgsky
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast (Conductor: – ) |
|---|---|---|
| Podkolyosin, a councillor | 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... |
|
| Kochkaryov, his friend | 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... |
|
| Fyokla Ivanovna, a matchmaker | 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... |
|
| Stepan, Podkolyosin's valet | bass | |
Versions
- Rimsky-Korsakov: The first full production in Nikolai Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai 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...
's revision took place in Petrograd 1917. - Gauk: The opera was also orchestrated by the Russian conductor Aleksandr GaukAleksandr GaukAleksandr Vassilievich Gauk was a Russian/Soviet conductor and composer.Aleksandr Gauk was born in Odessa in 1893. He recalled his first experience as hearing army bands and his mother singing and accompanying herself at the piano...
and staged in 1917. - d'Harcourt: French opera conductor and composer Eugène d'Harcourt created his orchestration in 1930.
- Duhamel: Antoine DuhamelAntoine DuhamelAntoine Duhamel , is a French composer, orchestra conductor and music teacher.Born in Valmondois in the Val-d'Oise département of France, Antoine Duhamel came from a cinematic family and studied music at the Sorbonne. He wrote the score for his first film in 1960, going on to work with many of...
's version is dated 1954. - Ippolitov-Ivanov: In 1931 Mikhail Ippolitov-IvanovMikhail Ippolitov-IvanovMikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov was a Russian composer, conductor and teacher.- Biography :...
added three acts (acts 2-4) to this opera and orchestrated a complete score. This version was given in 1931 at the Radioteatr, MoscowMoscowMoscow 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...
. - Tcherepnin: Another complete version by Alexander TcherepninAlexander TcherepninAlexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin was a Russian-born composer and pianist. His father, Nikolai Tcherepnin and his son, Ivan Tcherepnin were also composers, as are two of his grandsons, Sergei and Stefan. His son Serge was involved in the roots of electronic music and instruments...
(German: Die HeiratGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) was premiered on September 14, 1937, EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Here are the details:
- WoO Die Heirat (The Marriage), in 2 scenes after a comedy by Nikolai GogolNikolai GogolNikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
(65')- Music: First scene by Modest MussorgskyModest MussorgskyModest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
(1863) (30') - Second scene by Alexander Tcherepnin (1934–1935) (35')
- The entire work was orchestrated by Alexander TcherepninAlexander TcherepninAlexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin was a Russian-born composer and pianist. His father, Nikolai Tcherepnin and his son, Ivan Tcherepnin were also composers, as are two of his grandsons, Sergei and Stefan. His son Serge was involved in the roots of electronic music and instruments...
. - Text in Russian and German. (German translation by Heinrich Burkard)
- Music: First scene by Modest Mussorgsky
- Orchestration: 2222 / 4221 / percussion / harp / strings
- Publisher: Universal Edition
- Rozhdestvensky: Gennady RozhdestvenskyGennady RozhdestvenskyGennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky is a Russian conductor.-Biography:Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. His parents were the noted conductor and pedagogue Nikolai Anosov and soprano Natalya Rozhdestvenskaya...
orchestrated the opera in 1982. - Nagovitsyn: Vyacheslav NagovitsynVyacheslav NagovitsinVyacheslav Lavrent'yevich Nagovitsin is a Russian composer born in Magnitogorsk . He was a student of Dmitri Shostakovich at the Leningrad Conservatory that he graduated in 1966 . In 1963-1964 he worked in Ulan-Ude Opera and Ballet Theater...
orchestrated the first act in 1991. European première on August 1991,[Edinburg],[Scotland],and December 10, 2005, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Details: Tugan SokhievTugan SokhievTugan Taymourazovitch Sokhiev is an Ossetian conductor.Sokhiev began piano studies at age 7. He began to conduct at age 17, inspired by Anatoly Briskin, the conductor of the North Ossetia State Philharmonic Orchestra. He subsequently attended the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and was a pupil of...
(conductor) with the PhilharmoniaPhilharmoniaThe Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
and soloists of the Mariinsky Opera.
Synopsis
A marriage broker, Fyokla Ivanovna, arrives to give Podkolyosin details of a girl she has chosen for him. However, he is more interested in her dowry: "And what kind of dowry will I receive? Let's start from the beginning and discuss the dowry ...” He also worries that she is not sufficiently highly bred for him: "I don’t suppose she is the daughter of an Officer?... So, is this really the best bargain?"
Fyokla suggests that he can't afford be fussy with his poor looks and greying hair! Unexpectedly Kochkaryov, Podkolyosin's best friend, turns up and is angry to see the marriage broker. He complains that she has married him off to a troublesome, bossy woman. He sends her away, and decides to take over the match-making duties himself. He paints an idealistic and hassle-free picture of married life for his friend: "There will be a bird in its cage and some embroidery. Just imagine yourself in your chair, quiet and serene and at your side a little caressing woman, all round and pretty. Her hand will stroke you ... like this ..."
A reluctant Podkolyosin resists Kochkaryov's demands that he at least visit the girl: "Leave it for now ... come on, we'll go tomorrow." And Kochkaryov answers: "You're an idiot and coward! You are even worse ... you're a sissy and an ass!" And Kochkaryov literally shoves Podkolesin out of the door of his apartment. Here the 1st act ends.
Recordings
- 1982, Gennady Rozhdestvensky (conductor), USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Khrulev (Podkolyosin), Aleksandr Podbolotor (Kochkaryov), Ludmilla Kolmakova (Fyokla Ivanovna), Vladimir Ribasenko (Stepan)