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Vladimir Ivanovich Belsky (russian: Владимир Иванович Бельский; 28 February 1946) was a Russian poet and opera
librettist 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. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
, known for his collaborations with the composer
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
(1844-1908).


Biography

Belsky was born in
Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. T ...
,
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(modern
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
) in 1866. Nothing seems to be known of his family or early life. He studied at
Saint Petersburg Imperial University Saint Petersburg Imperial University (russian: Санкт-Петербургский Императорский университет) was a Russian higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg, one of the twelve Imperial universities ...
, where he was awarded degrees in law (1889), physics and mathematics (1893), and political economy and statistics (1897). In 1894, he and Rimsky-Korsakov became acquainted. They collaborated on four operas, all on fantastic or fairytale subjects: ''
Sadko Sadko (russian: Садко) is the principal character in a Russian medieval epic '' bylina''. He was an adventurer, merchant, and '' gusli'' musician from Novgorod. Textual notes "Sadko" is a version of the tale translated by Arthur Ransome ...
'' (1898; in part), ''
The Tale of Tsar Saltan The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan ( rus, «Сказка о царе Салтане, о сыне его славном и могучем богаты ...
'' (1900), ''
The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya ''The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya'' ( rus, Сказание о невидимом граде Китеже и деве Февронии, italic=yes, Skazániye o nevídimom gráde Kítezhe i déve Fevrónii ) is ...
'' (1907) and ''
The Golden Cockerel ''The Golden Cockerel'' ( rus, Золотой петушок, Zolotoy petushok ) is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his last opera he completed before his death in 1908. ...
'' (1909), and on several unrealised projects. Subsequently, he disappeared from public view. According to one account, he emigrated to Germany in the early 1920s, and lived there for the rest of his life. According to another, he emigrated in 1921 to
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
(then in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
), where he wrote, among other things, several memoirs and articles on Rimsky-Korsakov. All his papers were destroyed during the bombing of Belgrade in World War II. In 1946, he died in
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, Germany, in what was then the
American Zone of Occupation Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...
following World War II. He admired and was influenced by
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, ...
, one of Russia's
national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbo ...
s. Rimsky-Korsakov described him as intelligent, educated and learned, a great connoisseur and lover of Russian antiquity and ancient Russian literature, epics and songs, and a humble, shy and honest man. He is said to have known fourteen languages.


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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belsky, Vladimir 1866 births 1946 deaths People from Trakai Saint Petersburg State University alumni Russian opera librettists Russian emigrants to Germany