''Cephalus and Prokris'' (russian: Цефал и Прокрис – ''Tsefal i Prokris''), is an
opera seria
''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...
in three acts by the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
composer
Francesco Araja
Francesco Domenico Araja (or Araia, Russian: Арайя) (June 25, 1709 in Naples, Kingdom of Sicily – between 1762 and 1770 in Bologna, States of the Church) was an Italian composer who spent 25 years in Russia and wrote at least 14 opera ...
. Dating to 1755, it was the first opera written in the
Russian language
Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...
.
Araja composed the opera to a Russian libretto by
Alexander Sumarokov
Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Сумаро́ков; , Moscow – , Moscow) was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonos ...
after the
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
of
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
.
Performance history
It was staged at
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in a wing of
Zimniy Dvorets
The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...
on March 7,
S February 27 1755 with effective sets by
Giuseppe Valeriani
Giuseppe Valeriani (Russian: Джузеппе Валериани; c. 1708, Rome 1761/62, Saint Petersburg) was an Italian-born Russian artist who primarily painted murals and stage scenery.
Biography
He and his brother Domenico initially stu ...
. It was the first opera performed with Russian singers. The main roles were performed by
Elisaveta Belogradskaya (
Prokris
In Greek mythology, Procris ( grc, Πρόκρις, ''gen''.: Πρόκριδος) was an Athenian princess as the third daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens and his wife, Praxithea, daughter of Phrasimus and Diogeneia. Homer mentions her in t ...
) and
Gavrilo Martsenkovich
Gavrilo Martsenkovich () known as "Gavrilushka" was a Russian opera actor and singer in the 18th century.
He was a member of the group called the "pevchie" (the singers) of Count Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky. He played the main role (Cephalus ...
known as "Gavrilushka" (
Cephalus Cephalus (; Ancient Greek: Κέφαλος ''Kephalos'' means "head") is a name used both for the hero-figure in Greek mythology and carried as a theophoric name by historical persons.
''Mythological''
* Cephalus, son of Hermes and Herse.
* Cephalu ...
). The other actors were "pevchie" (the singers) of Count
Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky
Count (later Prince) Andrey Kirillovich Razumovskyrussian: Андре́й Кири́ллович Разумо́вский, , german: Andreas von Rasumofsky (2 November 1752 – 23 September 1836) was a Russian Imperial diplomat who spent man ...
:
Stefan Evstafiev (
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
),
Stefan Rzhevsky
Stefan may refer to:
* Stefan (given name)
* Stefan (surname)
* Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname
* Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname
* Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer
* Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...
(
Erechtheus
Erechtheus (; grc, Ἐρεχθεύς) in Greek mythology was the name of an archaic king of Athens, the founder of the ''polis'' and, in his role as god, attached to Poseidon, as "Poseidon Erechtheus". The mythic Erechtheus and the historical Ere ...
, the King of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
),
Nikolay Ktitarev (
Minos
In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...
, the King of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
),
Ivan Tatishchev (Tester, the nobleman of
Minos
In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...
and magician). This opera had a great success, and the composer received a luxurious sable coat valued at 500 rubles as a gift from Empress
Elizaveta Petrovna
Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...
. This opera was re-staged at the
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
on June 14, 2001.
Plot
The story of Cephalus and Prokris, who were ready to destroy their matrimonial vows and later happily forgive each other, thus far random tragic finale does not separate them (hunting Cephalus mistakenly pierces his wife with the spear) was transformed by Sumarokov into something quite different. His libretto is the story of devoted love and the tragic fate of two heroes. Being separated, they severely suffer and do not search for compromises. Cephalus, stolen directly from the wedding ceremony in the temple, rejects the love of the powerful goddess Aurora. But meanwhile Prokris, suffering from jealousy, is moving towards her inevitably death: Cephalus, aimed supposedly at the beast, mortally wounds his own wife.
Bibliography
*''Цефал и Прокрис''. СПб., – Tsefal i Pokris,
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, 1755
*''Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона'' - Brokgaus & Efron: ''Encyclopaedic Dictionary'', (1890—1907)
*Штелин Я. ''Музыка и балет в России XVIII века''. // Музыкальное наследство. Вып. 1. М., 1935
*Старикова Л. М. ''Новые документы о деятельности итальянской труппы в России в 30-е годы XVIII века <...>'' // ПКНО. 1988. М., 1989
*Сумароков А.П. ''Избранные произведения''. Л., 1957
*Сумароков А. П. ''Полное собрание сочинений'' <...>.Ч. IX. СПб., 1787
*Штелин Я. ''Музыка и балет в России XVIII века''
External links
in Russianin Russian
Russian-language operas
Operas by Francesco Araja
Operas
1755 operas
Operas based on classical mythology