''The Enchantress'' (or ''The Sorceress'', rus, Чародейка, Charodéyka ) is an opera in four acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky based on the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Ippolit Shpazhinsky Ippolit Vasilievich Shpazhinsky ( rus, Ипполит Васильевич Шпажинский) () was a Russian playwright and poet. He is best known for his play ''The Enchantress'' (''Чародейка''), which Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky adapte ...

, using his drama with the same title. The opera was composed between September 1885 and May 1887 in Maidanovo (a village in the Klin district of Moscow) and was first performed in Saint Petersburg in 1887.

Composition history

's play ''The Enchantress'' was first produced in 1884 at the

Maly Theatre The Maly Theatre, or Mali Theatre, may refer to one of several different theatres: * The Maly Theatre (Moscow), also known as The State Academic Maly Theatre of Russia, in Moscow (founded in 1756 and given its own building in 1824) * The Maly Theat ...

in Moscow, and soon it had seen more performances than any other play being staged in Moscow or Saint Petersburg. The actresses Maria Yermolova and Maria Savina were prominent in the title role of Nastasya ("Kuma").Bolshoi Press Office, 26 June 2012, Bolshoi to return "forgotten" Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, The Enchantress
/ref> Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky admired ''The Enchantress'' and one scene in particular. He pointed it out to his brother the composer, who proceeded to write a duet based on that scene. Pyotr saw the play himself in January 1885, after which he wrote to Shpazhinsky, asking him to convert the drama to an opera libretto. Shpazhinsky agreed, and the two men met that month to discuss the project,Tchaikovsky Research
/ref> but the librettist's work was delayed by his divorce proceedings. When the libretto was finally completed in August, it was far too long and Tchaikovsky had to radically cut it. Even so, this opera was still the longest work he wrote.

Performance history

The world premiere was given on 1 November 1887

S 20 October S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg conducted by the composer and with stage direction by Osip Palechek (Josef Paleček), set designs by Mikhail Bocharov; and costume designs by E. Ponomaryov. After one season it was dropped from the repertoire. The sets and costumes were sent to Moscow where the opera received a single performance on 2 February 1890 S There was a second production at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

on 25 January 1916 S but this remained in the repertoire only until the end of the year. A third production at the Bolshoi in 1958 received 49 performances and remained in the repertoire until 1965. The British premiere was given by New Sussex Opera in May 1996 as part of the Brighton Festival. The latest production at the Bolshoi was premiered in 2012 A new production of ''Charodeyka'' directed by

Christof Loy Christof Loy (born 5 December 1962) is a German stage director especially for opera, whose work received several awards. A freelance director, he has staged operas from Baroque to premieres of new works at major European opera houses and festivals. ...

opened the 2014/2015 season of Theater an der Wien on 14 September 2014 with

Mikhail Tatarnikov Mikhail Tatarnikov is a Russian conductor who is known for his production of '' The Enchantress'' at the Theater an der Wien as well as '' The Gambler'' at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. He was principal conductor and music director of the Mikhailovsk ...

conducting the ORF

Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien'', or RSO Wien) is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Unlike most other Austrian orchestras, the RSO Wien has a sub ...

. The French premiere was given in March 2019 at the

Opera de Lyon Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a ...

conducted by Daniele Rustioni with

Elena Guseva Elena Guseva is a Russian operatic soprano who has performed at major opera houses in Europe. Besides standard repertoire such as Verdi's Aida and Puccini's La bohème, Mimi, she has focused on roles by Russian composers, such as Tchaikovsky's P ...

in the title role.Didier Van Moere. Odeur de soufre. '' Diapason'', No.679 May 2019, p67.

Roles

Instrumentation

Source
Tchaikovsky Research
*''Strings'': Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses *''Woodwinds'': Piccolo, 3 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Cor Anglais, 2 Clarinets (B-flat, C, A), 2 Bassoons *''Brass'': 4 Horns (F), 2 Cornets (B-flat), 2 Trumpets (B-flat), 3 Trombones, Tuba *''Percussion'': Timpani, Triangle, Tambourine, Military Drum, Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tam-tam *''Other'': Harp *''On/Offstage'': 4 Horns (off)

Synopsis

''Time'': The last quarter of the 15th century ''Place'': Nizhny Novgorod and its vicinity The action takes place at the last quarter of the 15th century at a tavern and brothel near Nizhny Novgorod. Nastasya (Kuma), the charming owner of the inn, has made herself an enemy in rejecting the devious Mamïrov, the right-hand man of the local governor Nikita Danilovich Kurlyatev. He spreads the gossip that Nastasya is an enchantress, and every man whom she meets falls for her. Yuriy, Nikita's son, begins to frequent the inn, as does his father, who falls madly in love with Nastasya (without any success), who threatens her that he will reach his goal by whatever means. Mamïrov confronts Nikita's wife, Yevpraksiya, with the truth, while her son – not yet personally involved with Nastasya – swears to avenge his mother. While confronting Nastasya he learns that it is he whom she loves. They both plan to flee during the night not knowing that, by now, Mamïrov has worked out an elaborate plot to wreak his revenge on Nastasya as well as on Nikita and his family with devastating effect. The city of Nizhny Novgorod, seen beyond the Oka River. :Introduction

Act 1

:Folk Scene (No. 1) :Folk Scena (No. 2) :Chorus of Guests & Scene (No. 3) :Scene (No. 4) :Kuma's Arioso (No. 4a) :Folk Chorus & Scene (No. 5) :Scene (No. 6) :Decimet (No. 7a) :Scene & Chorus (No. 7b) :Dance of the Tumblers (No. 7c)

Act 2

:Entr'acte :Scene & Princess's Arioso (No. 8) :Scene & Duet (No. 9) :Scene (No. 10) :Scene (No. 11) :Prince's Arioso (No. 11a) :Scene: Prince with the Princess (No. 12) :Folk Scene (No. 13) :Finale (No. 14)

Act 3

:Scene & Duet (No. 15) :Scene (No. 16) :Scene (No. 17) :Duet (No. 17a)

Act 4

:Entr'acte :Scene with Chorus (No. 18) :Scene & Duet (No. 19) :Scene (No. 20) :Kuma's Arioso (No. 20a) :Scene & Duet (No. 21) :Scene & Quartet (No. 22) :Finale (No. 23)

Versions by other hands

In the Soviet Union, the opera was staged again with a new version of the libretto by

Sergey Gorodetsky Sergey Mitrofanovich Gorodetsky (; – June 8, 1967) was a poet who lived in the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union. He was one of the founders (together with Nikolay Gumilev) of "Guild of Poets" (). He was born in Saint Petersburg, and d ...

after

on 22 March 1941 in Leningrad (St Petersburg).

Recordings

* 1954, Natalya Sokolova (Nastasya), Mikhail Kiselyov (Prince Kurlyatev), Vera Borisenko (Princess Yevpraksiya), Georgiy Nelepp (Prince Yuriy), Aleksey Korolyov (Mamïrov), Anna Matyushina (Nenila), Mikhail Skazin (Ivan Zhuran), Anatoly Tikhonov (Foka), Vera Gradova (Polya), Sergey Sladkopevtsev (Balakin), Leonid Khachaturov (Potap), Aleksey Usmanov (Lukash), Gennady Troitsky (Kichiga), Pavel Pontryagin (Payisy), Pavel Korobkov (Kudma), Moscow Philharmonia State Orchestra, Radio USSR chorus, Samuil Samosud (conductor) * 1978, Rimma Glushkova (Natasya, the enchantress), Oleg Klenov (Prince Kurlyatev), Lyudmila Simonova (Princess Yevpraksiya), Lev Kuznetsov (Prince Yuriy), Yevgeny Vladimirov (Mamirov), Nina Derbina (Nenila), Boris Dobrin (Ivan Zhuran), Pyotr Gluboky (Foka), Galina Molodtsova (Polya), Vladimir Makhov (Balakin), Sergei Strukachev (Potap), Lev Eliseyev (Lukash),

Vladimir Matorin Vladimir Anatolyevich Matorin (russian: Влади́мир Анато́льевич Мато́рин; May 2, 1948) is a famous Russian opera singer. He is considered one of the greatest contemporary bass singer in Russia. Biography Vladimir was ...

(Kichiga), Andrei Sokolov (Payisy), Viktor Ribinsky (Kudma), Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus,

Gennady Provatorov Gennady Provatorov (Проваторов, Геннадий Пантелеймонович) (Moscow, 11 March 1929 - Minsk 4 May 2010) was a Soviet and Belarusian conductor.Isaak Glikman ''Story of a friendship: the letters of Dmitri Shostakovich to ...

(conductor) * VHS 1984 (DVD 2010), Larissa Zyryanova (Nastasya, the enchantress),Vladimir Stepanov (Prince Kurlyatev), Lyudmila Korzhakova (Princess Yevpraksiya), Vadim Valyuta (Prince Yuriy), Alexander Pravilov (Mamirov), A. Perfilova (Nenila), E. Sedov (Ivan Zhuran), Dimitri Sukhanov (Foka), L. Lebedovskaya (Polya), N. Bogutsky (Payisy), A. Burlatsky (Balakin), M. Sanotsky (Potap), Mikhail Larin (Lukash), A. Perfilov (Kichiga) Nizhegorodsky State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet,

Pavel Reznikov Pavel (Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pa ...

References

External links

*
Tchaikovsky Research

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Enchantress, The Russian-language operas Operas by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Operas 1887 operas Operas based on plays Operas set in Russia