Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (; –) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western 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 ...

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

Early life

Modest Ilyich was born in

Alapayevsk Alapayevsk () is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Neyva and Alapaikha rivers. Population: 44,263 ( 2002 census); 50,060 ( 1989 census); 49,000 (1968). History Alapayevsk is one of the oldest centers of ...

, Verkhotursky Uyezd,

Perm Governorate Perm Governorate (), also known as the Governorate of Perm, was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR from 1781 to 1923. It was located on both slopes of the Ural Mountains, and its admi ...

, the younger brother of the composer

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

. He graduated from the Imperial School of Jurisprudence with a degree in law. In 1876, Modest became the tutor to a deaf-mute boy Nikolai ("Kolya") Hermanovich Konradi (1868–1922) and, using a special teaching method, helped him to talk, write, and read. In his still unpublished autobiography, broadly quoted by

Alexander Poznansky Alexander Poznansky (born 1950) is a Russian-American scholar of the life and works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Poznansky was born in 1950 at Vyborg. In 1968, he relocated to Leningrad. Poznansky emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United ...

, Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky mentions his and his brother's homosexuality.Poznansky, Alexander. ''Tchaikovsky Through Others' Eyes''. Indiana University Press, 1999, p. 8

Career

Modest chose to dedicate his entire life to literature and music. He wrote plays, translated

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

s by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

into Russian and wrote librettos for operas by his brother Pyotr, as well as for other composers such as Eduard Nápravník,

Arseny Koreshchenko Arseny Nikolayevich Koreshchenko (, 18 December 1870 – 6 January 1921) was a pianist and composer of classical music, including operas and ballets. He was from the Russian Empire. Biography Koreshchenko was born in Moscow in 1870. He enter ...

Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving family in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and ha ...

and

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

. Being the nearest friend of his brother, he became his first biographer, and also the founder of the Tchaikovsky Museum in

Klin KLIN (1400 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. It is licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, and is owned by NRG Media. The studios are in Broadcast House at 44th Street and East O Street ( U.S. Route 34). KLIN i ...

Plays

* ''Predrassudki'' (''Предрассудки – Prejudices'') * ''Simfoniya'' (''Симфония – Symphony'') * ''Den' v Peterburge'' (''День в Петербурге – A Day in St Petersburg'')

Opera libretti

: '' The Queen of Spades'' (''Пиковая дама - Pikovaya dama''), Op. 68, 1890. Premiered: ,

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

* Tchaikovsky: '' Iolanta'' (''Иоланта – Iolanta''), Op. 69, 1891, based on the Danish play ''Kong Renés Datter'' (''King René’s Daughter'') by Henrik Hertz, translated by Fyodor Miller and adapted by Vladimir Rafailovich Zotov. Premiered: 1892,

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

. * Eduard Nápravník: '' Dubrovsky'' (''Дубровский''). Premiered: , at the

. *

: ''Ledyanoy dom'' (''Ледяной дом''). Premiered: ,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. *

: ''Nal' i Damayanty'' (''Наль и Дамаянти''), after the epos ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''. Premiered: ,

. *

: '' Francesca da Rimini'' (''Франческа да Римини''), Op. 25, 1904, after the story of the heroine Francesca da Rimini from the fifth canto of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's epic poem '' Inferno'' (the first part of ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

''). Premiered: ,

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

References

Bibliography

Tchaikovsky, Modest: ''The Life And Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky'', University Press of the Pacific (2004)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tchaikovsky, Modest Ilyich 1850 births 1916 deaths People from Alapayevsk People from Verkhotursky Uyezd Dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire Russian opera librettists People from the Russian Empire of French descent Imperial School of Jurisprudence alumni Russian gay writers Russian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Russian twins Gay dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century LGBTQ people from the Russian Empire