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The Gadfly (opera)
''The Gadfly'' (russian: Овод) is a 1958 Russian-language opera by the Soviet composer of Italian descent Antonio Spadavecchia based on the novel ''The Gadfly''. An earlier opera based on the book, also called ''The Gadfly'', had been composed by Mikhail Zhukov (conductor), Mikhail Zhukov in 1928. It is set in Italy in 1834–48, one of the few Russian revolutionary operas to take a plot overseas, another being Kirill Molchanov's 1960 opera ''Del Corno Street'' following Vasco Pratolini's anti-fascist story set in Mussolini's Italy.Anglo-Soviet journal – Volumes 23 – 25 – Page 43 Society for Cultural Relations with the USSR (Great Britain) – 1962 "A special edition of The Gadfly appeared in 150,000 copies (in Russian), and an edition in English in October, 1964 ... was with her parents when they came to the novelist's flat in 1955, and the composer Spadavecchia, author of the opera." References Russian-language operas 1958 operas Operas based on novels Operas Op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Spadavecchia
Antonio Emmanuelovich Spadavecchia (russian: Антонио Эммануилович Спадавеккиа; born in Odessa on 3 June 1907 – died in Moscow on 7 February 1988) was a Soviet composer of Italian descent. He was awarded National Artist of the RSFSR in 1977. Composer: 1970s; 1960s; 1950s; 1940s; ... Soviet Union (original title) Chyornaya chayka (1962) Ispytatelnyy srok (1960) He was promoted in cultural exchanges with other socialist countries after the Second World War, and his opera, ''The Gadfly (opera), The Gadfly'', was the second Russian opera after ''Eugene Onegin (opera), Eugene Onegin'' to be performed at the Hanoi Opera in the 1960s. Recordings * Daniil Shtoda (tenor) recorded an aria from ''The Gadfly'' in ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gadfly
''The Gadfly'' is a novel by Irish-born British writer Ethel Voynich, published in 1897 (United States, June; Great Britain, September of the same year), set in 1840s Italy under the dominance of Austria, a time of tumultuous revolt and uprisings. The story centres on the life of the protagonist, Arthur Burton. A thread of a tragic relationship between Arthur and his love, Gemma, simultaneously runs through the story. It is a tale of faith, disillusionment, revolution, romance, and heroism. Themes The book, set during the Italian ''Risorgimento'', is primarily concerned with the culture of revolution and revolutionaries. Arthur, the eponymous Gadfly, embodies the tragic Romantic hero, who comes of age and returns from abandonment to discover his true state in the world and fight against the injustices of the current one. The landscape of Italy, in particular the Alps, is a pervading focus of the book, with its often lush descriptions of scenery conveying the thoughts and mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikhail Zhukov (conductor)
Mikhail Nikolayevich Zhukov (; 14 January 1901, Moscow – 8 November 1960, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian conductor and composer. Zhukov graduated 1918 from the National Choral Academy in Moscow. In 1919-22 he was first concert master, then 1922-32 conductor at the Stanislavski Opera Studio. From 1932-35 conductor at the Leningrad Opera) and then again 1935-38 conductor at the Stanislavsky Opera Studio, and having obtained a diploma in the first all-Soviet conductor's competition in Moscow in 1938, 1939-41 chief conductor there. From 1944-46 he was conductor of Moscow Theatre of Operetta. From 1946-1949 he was conductor of the Latvian Opera and Ballet in Riga with Leonid Vigners. Then from 1951 till his death conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre. Zhukov is particularly noted for his association with Sergei Prokofiev, having conducted the premiere (1940) and first recording (1960) of '' Semyon Kotko''. Awards * Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1941) * Order of the Red Banner of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Kasyanov
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Kasyanov (; 17 August 1891 – 13 February 1982) was a Soviet and Russian composer, conductor, pianist and professor. He received the Order of Lenin in 1967, Order of the October Revolution in 1981, and People's Artist of the USSR in 1971. Works * ''Iola'' «Иола» (1923), * ''Stepan Razin'', «Степан Разин» (1939) on the Cossack Stepan Razin revised 1953, 3rd revision 1977 given at the Bolshoi * ''Partizantka'' «Партизанка» (1941) * ''Foma Gordeyev'' «Фома Гордеев» (1946) revised 1966 Kromlyovsky Theatre * ''In the Far North'' «На дальнем Севере» (1947), * ''Yermak'' «Ермак» (1957) on the Cossack Yermak Timofeyevich Yermak Timofeyevich ( rus, Ерма́к Тимофе́евич, p=jɪˈrmak tʲɪmɐˈfʲejɪvʲɪtɕ; born between 1532 and 1542 – August 5 or 6, 1585) was a Cossack ataman and is today a hero in Russian folklore and myths. During the reign ...Soviet music - Page 122 L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stepan Razin
Stepan Timofeyevich Razin (russian: Степа́н Тимофе́евич Ра́зин, ; 1630 – ), known as Stenka Razin ( ), was a Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and tsarist bureaucracy in southern Russia in 1670–1671. Early life Razin's father, Timofey Razya, supposedly came from a suburb of Voronezh, a city near Russia's steppe frontier, called the Wild Fields. Razin's uncle and grandmother still lived in the village of ''New Usman or ''Usman' Sobakina'', outside of Voronezh, until 1667. The identity of Razin's mother is debated. In one document, Razin was referred to as a ''tuma Cossack'' which means "half-blood", leading to a hypothesis that his mother was a captured "Turkish" (''turchanka'') or Crimean Tatar woman. However, this term was also used by "upper Cossacks" as a derogatory nickname towards all "lower Cossacks" regardless of origin Another hypothesis draws on information about Razin's godmother Matrena Govorukha. According to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yermak
Yermak Timofeyevich ( rus, Ерма́к Тимофе́евич, p=jɪˈrmak tʲɪmɐˈfʲejɪvʲɪtɕ; born between 1532 and 1542 – August 5 or 6, 1585) was a Cossacks, Cossack ataman and is today a hero in Russian folklore and myths. During the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, Yermak started the Russian conquest of Siberia. Russians' fur trade, fur-trade interests fueled their desire to expand east into Siberia. The Tatar Khanate of Kazan was established by Ulugh Muhammad as the best entryway into Siberia. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible's modernized army toppled the khanate.Lincoln, p. 30 After the takeover of Kazan, the tsar looked to the powerful and affluent Stroganov merchant family to spearhead the eastward expansion. In the late 1570s, the Stroganovs recruited Cossack fighters to invade Asia on behalf of the tsar.Lincoln, p. 40 These Cossacks elected Yermak as the leader of their armed forces, and in 1582 Yermak set out with an army of 840 to attack the Khanate of Sibir.Li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirill Molchanov
Kirill Vladimirovich Molchanov (russian: Кирилл Владимирович Молчанов; 7 September 1922 – 14 March 1982) was a Russian and Soviet composer. He was appointed director of the Bolshoi, at the time political disfavour had fallen on the lead soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. His works are in the Social Realist romantic tradition and were not warmly received when performed abroad.World affairs report 1975 "The Bolshoi Opera performed "The Dawns Are Quiet Here," by Kiril Molchanov at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House (NYT, 7/14). It is a piece of socialist realism about the heroism of women in an anti-aircraft company during World War II. It was panned by Harold C. Schonberg, who suggested the only reason it was performed was because Molchanov is director general of the Bolshoi Opera." Works Operas Taken from: * ''The Stone Flower'' (Каменный цветок) inspired by Pavel Bazhov's story of the same name, Moscow, 1950 * ''Dawn'' (Заря) on th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vladimir Rubin
Vladimir Ilich Rubin (russian: Владимир Ильич Ру́бин; 5 August 1924 – 27 October 2019) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He was born in Moscow, and was a People's Artist of Russia (1995). Works * Opera – ''Three Fat Men''Soviet music – Page 122 Liudmila Viktorovna Poliakova 1961 "It includes such operas as Alexander Kasyanov's Stepan Razin, and Yermak, Antonio Spadavecchia Antonio Emmanuelovich Spadavecchia (russian: Антонио Эммануилович Спадавеккиа; born in Odessa on 3 June 1907 – died in Moscow on 7 February 1988) was a Soviet composer of Italian descent. He was awarded National Arti ...'s The Mistress of the Inn, Ordeal and The Gadfly, Kirill Molchanov's The Dawn, Del Corno Street, Vladimir Rubin's Three Fat Men, Grigory References Russian male composers 1924 births 2019 deaths Composers from Moscow People's Artists of Russia Moscow Conservatory alumni Soviet film score composers Russian film score composer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Story Of A Real Man
''The Story of a Real Man'' (russian: Повесть о настоящем человеке, translit=Povest' o nastoyashchem cheloveke, link=no) is an opera in four acts by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, his opus 117. It was written from 1947 to 1948, and was his last opera. The libretto, by the composer and his wife Mira Mendelson, is based on the eponymous novel by Boris Polevoy; this in turn was based on the story of pilot Aleksey Maresyev. The opera received its premiere on 3 December 1948 at the Kirov Theatre, Leningrad. The audience was made up of Soviet cultural officials who gave the work a poor reception. This was a great disappointment to the composer who had intended the opera to rehabilitate his reputation with the Communist authorities after he had been accused of "formalism" earlier in the year. As a result, performances of ''The Story of a Real Man'' were forbidden to the general public until after Prokofiev's death. It received its public premiere on 7 Oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kabalevsky
Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (russian: Дми́трий Бори́сович Кабале́вский ; 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during his lifetime. He was a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music; many of his piano works were performed by Vladimir Horowitz. He is best known in Western Europe for his Second Symphony, the "Comedians' Galop" from '' The Comedians'' Suite, Op. 26 and his Third Piano Concerto. Life Kabalevsky was born in Saint Petersburg in 1904, but moved to Moscow at a young age. His father was a mathematician and encouraged him to study mathematics, but he showed a fascination for the arts from a young age. He studied at the Academic Music College in Moscow and graduated in 1922. He then continued his studies with Vasily Selivanov. In 1925, he then went on to study at the Mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan Dzerzhinsky
Ivan Ivanovich Dzerzhinsky (9 April 1909 – 18 January 1978) was a Soviet and Russian composer. The work for which he best known, his opera ''Quiet Flows the Don'' (''Tikhiy Don''), was more successful for its political potential than for any musical distinction.McAllister, ''New Grove'', 5:797. Personal life and career Born in Tambov, Dzerzhinsky had an extended formal background in music. He studied piano with Boleslav Yavorsky at the First Music Tekhnikum in Moscow between 1925 and 1929. Afterwards he spent 1930–31 at the Gnesin School as a composition student of Mikhail Gnessin. Two years at the Leningrad Central Music Tekhnikum followed. There he studied composition first with Gavriil Popov, then with Pyotr Ryazanov. He then proceeded to the Leningrad Conservatory for two years of study with Boris Asafyev. From 1936 Dzerzhinsky held important administrative positions in the Union of Soviet Composers as well as in party politics. In 1948 he was appointed to the central ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasco Pratolini
Vasco Pratolini (19 October 1913 – 12 January 1991) was an Italian writer of the 20th century. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times. Biography Born in Florence, Pratolini worked at various jobs before entering the literary world thanks to his acquaintance with Elio Vittorini. In 1938 he founded, together with Alfonso Gatto, the magazine ''Campo di Marte''. His work is based on firm political principles and much of it is rooted in the ordinary life and sentiments of ordinary, modest working-class people in Florence. During World War II he fought with the Italian partisans against the German occupation. After the war he also worked in the cinema, collaborating as screenwriter to films such as Luchino Visconti's '' Rocco e i suoi fratelli '', Roberto Rossellini's ''Paisà'' and Nanni Loy's '' Le quattro giornate di Napoli''. In 1954 and 1961 Valerio Zurlini turned two of his novels, ''Le ragazze di San Frediano'' and ''Cronaca familiare'', into films. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
