''The Portrait'' (Russian: Портрет, ''Portret'') is an opera in eight scenes composed by

Mieczysław Weinberg Mieczysław Weinberg (8 December 1919 – 26 February 1996) was a Polish-born Soviet composer and pianist. Names Much confusion has been caused by different renditions of the composer's names. In official Polish documents made before he mov ...

to a

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 ...

by based on

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

's short story '' The Portrait''. A penniless artist, Chartkov, finds a magical painting that offers him a dilemma – to struggle to make his own way in the world on the basis of his own talents, or to accept the assistance of the magic painting to guaranteed riches and fame. He chooses to become rich and famous, but soon comes to realise that he has made the wrong choice in this satire on artistic integrity and the art market. The opera was composed in 1980 and received its first performance on 20 May 1983 at the Janáček State Theatre in Brno. The first performance of the reduced version took place in 1992 in Moscow performed by the Moscow Chamber Opera. After years of obscurity, ''The Portrait'' saw a revival at the

Bregenzer Festspiele Bregenzer Festspiele (; Bregenz Festival) is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in Bregenz in Vorarlberg (Austria). It features a large floating stage which is situated on Lake Constance. History The Festival becam ...

in July 2010, in a production by

John Fulljames John Fulljames (born 1976) is an English opera director who was the director of the Royal Danish Opera from 2017 to 2022. He was Associate Director of Opera at the British Royal Opera from 2011 to 2017. A Cambridge University graduate in Physics, ...

that also appeared in Kaiserslautern in December of that year, with both runs sung in German. A second production, by

David Pountney Sir David Willoughby Pountney (born 10 September 1947) is a British-Polish theatre and opera director and librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works. He has directed over ...

, was toured by

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...

in February 2011 in English (the British premiere) and in Nancy by the

Opéra national de Lorraine The Opéra national de Lorraine is a French opera company and opera house, located in the city of Nancy, France in the province of Lorraine, Lorraine, France. Formerly named the ''Opéra de Nancy et de Lorraine'', the company received the statu ...

in April 2011, sung in Russian.

Roles

*Chartkov,'' a painter'' (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

)Roles and voice descriptions based on Sikorski Musikverlage (2 June 2010) *Nikita,'' Chartkov's valet'' (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

) *Journalist (baritone) *Lamplighter (tenor) *Chartkov's painting teacher (baritone) *Art store owner / Dignitary ( bass) *Landlord / Count (baritone) *District chief / General (bass) *Market woman / Lady-in-waiting (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

) *First merchant / First waiter / Turk (tenor) *Second merchant / Second waiter /Cavalryman of the Guards (tenor) *Third merchant (bass) *Distinguished lady (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

) *Lisa, ''her daughter'' (soprano) *Nobleman (tenor) Dancers and mute roles: girl from the painting of

Psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

, old man from Petromikhali's portrait, people at the market, visitors at the

vernissage A vernissage (from French, originally meaning " varnishing") is a preview of an art exhibition, which may be private, before the formal opening. If the vernissage is not open to the public, but only to invited guests, it is often called a ''pri ...

Notes and references

Sources

Symposium: In a Strange Land
2010 (accessed 28 June 2010) *''Darlington and Stockton Times''
"Wagner’s Ring cycle in view for Opera North audiences"
12 February 2010 (accessed 28 June 2010) * * Sikorski Musikverlage
Mieczysław Weinberg
2 June 2010 (accessed 28 June 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait, The Compositions by Mieczysław Weinberg Operas Russian-language operas 1983 operas Operas based on works by Nikolai Gogol