''The Voyevoda'' (russian: Воево́да ),
Op. 3, is an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
in 3 acts and 4 scenes, by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
with 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 ...
written by
Alexander Ostrovsky
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 origina ...
and based on his play ''The Voyevoda (A Dream on the Volga)'' (russian
Воевода (Сон на Волге)italic=yes).
The opera was composed between March 1867 and July 1868, and it received its first performance on 11 February
S January 30/small> 1869 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 ...
in Moscow. It was a benefit for Alexandra Menshikova.
In the 1870s Tchaikovsky destroyed
Destroyed may refer to:
* ''Destroyed'' (Sloppy Seconds album), a 1989 album by Sloppy Seconds
* ''Destroyed'' (Moby album), a 2011 album by Moby
See also
* Destruction (disambiguation)
Destruction may refer to:
Concepts
* Destruktion, a ...
the manuscript full score of the opera, while recycling much of the first act in his ''The Oprichnik
''The Oprichnik'' or ''The Guardsman'' (russian: Опричник ) is an opera in 4 acts, 5 scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to his own libretto after the tragedy ''The Oprichniks'' ( rus, Опричники) by Ivan Lazhechnikov (1792–1869) ...
'' (1870–1872). The subject of ''The Voyevoda'' was thus left available to his former pupil Anton Arensky
Anton Stepanovich Arensky (russian: Анто́н Степа́нович Аре́нский; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music.
Biography
Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving ...
to compose as the opera ''Dream on the Volga
''Dream on the Volga'' (Russian: Сон на Волге) 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 ...
'' in 1888. Decades later, during the Soviet period, ''The Voyevoda'' was posthumously reconstructed from surviving orchestral and vocal parts and the composer's sketches.
Roles
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
Voyevoda (opera) Tchaikovsky Research
Synopsis
''Time'': The middle of the 17th century
''Place'': A large city on the
Volga River
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
: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
Tchaikovsky Research
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 ''
Potpourri
Potpourri ( ) is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials used to provide a gentle natural scent, commonly in residential settings. It is often placed in a decorative bowl.
The word "potpourri" comes into English from the French ...
on themes from the opera The Voyevoda'', for solo piano (1868).
Similarly named works
* In 1886, Tchaikovsky wrote
incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
for the
Domovoi
In the Slavic religious tradition, Domovoy (Russian: Домово́й, literally "he oneof the household"; also spelled ''Domovoi'', ''Domovoj'', and known as pl, Domowik or Serbian and ua, Домовик, translit=domovyk) is the household ...
scene from
Alexander Ostrovsky
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 origina ...
'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 Voyevoda'', Op. 78 (1891), is based on
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
's translation of
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...
's poem and thus is not related to the like-named opera in either the music or the underlying story.
*
Rimsky-Korsakov's opera ''
Pan Voyevoda'', 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 Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
and the
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Tosca ...
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 Records
Vox Records is a budget classical record label. The name is Latin for "voice."
Some Vox releases such as Peter Frankl's Debussy Piano Works and György Sándor's Complete Prokofiev Sonatas were reissued in premium vinyl boxsets by the audi ...
' complete recordings of Tchaikovsky's orchestral music, released on both LP and CD (with Dolby surround sound);
János Fürst
János Fürst (8 August 1935 – 3 January 2007) was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.
Biography
Fürst originally studied the violin at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in his native Budapest. After the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hun ...
conducted the
Bamberg Symphony
The Bamberg Symphony (German: Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie) is a German orchestra based in Bamberg. It is one of the most prestigious orchestras in Germany. The orchestra was formed in 1946 mainly from German musicians e ...
.
References
External links
*
Tchaikovsky Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voyevoda, The
Operas by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Russian-language operas
1869 operas
Operas
Operas set in Russia
Operas based on plays