''Dubrovsky'' (''russian: Дубровский'') is an opera in four acts (5 scenes), Op. 58, by

Eduard Nápravník Eduard Francevič Nápravník (Russian: Эдуа́рд Фра́нцевич Напра́вник; 24 August 1839 – 10 November 1916) was a Czech conductor and composer. Nápravník settled in Russia and is best known for his leading role in Rus ...

, to a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

libretto by

Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (russian: Моде́ст Ильи́ч Чайко́вский; –) was a Russian dramatist, opera librettist and translator. Early life Modest Ilyich was born in Alapayevsk, Verkhotursky Uyezd, Perm Governorate, the ...

after the novel of the same title (1832) by

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, ...

Creation and performance history

Eduard Nápravník, Russia's leading conductor, who handled the musical department at the Mariinsky Theater in St Petersburg, composed four of his own operas, some of them inspired 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 pop ...

whom Nápravník admired very much. For ''Dubrovsky'' he asked Modest Tchaikovsky to write a libretto after

, as Modest had done for his brother Pyotr (the best-known example of this is '' The Queen of Spades''). The opera was completed in 1894 and successfully staged on January 15 (OS January 3) 1895, 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 ...

, St Petersburg, conducted by the composer. A year later (December 26, 1895) it was staged at the Bolshoi Theatre in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. Around this time, opera became a large part of the repertoire of the Russian theatrical scene. Only in 1897 there were seven premieres of ''Dubrovsky'' in different Russian towns: in Yekaterinoslavl, Kiev,

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

, Odessa, Poltava, Saratov and

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...

. It was also performed abroad: in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

in (1896),

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

in (1897), and Plzeň and Brno in (1898). In the 20th century the opera was performed less frequently, but nevertheless it remained in the repertoire of many theatres. It continued to enjoy success in 20th century

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The main role of Vladimir Dubrovsky was performed by Nikolai Figner,

Leonid Sobinov Leonid Vitalyevich Sobinov (russian: Леони́д Вита́льевич Со́бинов, 7 June S 26 May1872 – 14 October 1934) was an Imperial Russian operatic tenor. His fame continued unabated into the Soviet era, and he was made a Peop ...

Sergei Lemeshev Sergei Yakovlevich Lemeshev (russian: Серге́й Я́ковлевич Ле́мешев; – 27 June 1977) was a Soviet and Russian opera singer and director. People's Artist of the USSR (1950). Biography Early life and career Lemeshev was ...

, and

Ivan Kozlovsky Ivan Semyonovich Kozlovsky (russian: Ива́н Семё́нович Козло́вский, uk, Іван Семенович Козловський; also referred to as Kozlovskiy or Kozlovskij; 21 December 1993) was a Soviet lyric tenor and on ...

, as well as various others. The vocal score was reprinted in

in 1972. An abridged version of the opera was broadcast on Soviet television in 1961, featuring

, Vera Kudryavtseva, Georgy Dudarev, Alexei Ivanov and the Moscow Academic Musical Theatre under the direction of Peter Slavinsky. On 23 November 2016 a concert version of the opera (albeit with some sizable cuts) was presented at The Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Roles

*Andrey Dubrovsky – 1st bass *Vladimir, his son – 1st

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing 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 low extreme for tenors is wide ...

*Cyril Petrovich Troekurov – 1st baritone *Masha, his daughter – 1st soprano *Prince Vereyskiy – 1st bass *District police officer – 2nd baritone *Assessor – 2nd bass *Deforzh, Frenchman – tutor – 2nd tenor *Shabashkin, clerk – 2nd tenor *Yegorovna – 1st mezzo-soprano *Arkhip – Dubrovsky’s serf – 2nd bass *Grishka – Dubrovsky’s serf – 2nd tenor *Anton – Dubrovsky’s serf – 2nd baritone *Tanya, Troekurov’s maid – 2nd soprano *The 1st lady – 2nd soprano *The 2nd lady – 2nd alto

Plot

Vladimir Dubrovsky is a young nobleman whose land is confiscated by greedy and powerful aristocrat Kiril Petrovitch Troekurov. Determined to get justice one way or another, Dubrovsky gathers together a band of serfs and goes on a rampage like another

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Along the way, Dubrovsky falls in love with Masha, Troekurov’s daughter, and foolishly lets his guard down, with tragic results. The libretto does not follow Pushkin's original closely. At the end of the opera, the police, who want Vladimir for arson, are close on his heels. He gets the opportunity to sing a long duet with Masha before being shot. Masha's father enters to find his now insane daughter with Dubrovsky's body. In the opera, Nápravník played down the social aspect underscoring the love story of Dubrovsky and the daughter of his sworn enemy. Overall, however, Nápravník stayed true to Pushkin's romantic style.

Sound and music samples

*At this link you can listen to the voice of

: Vladimir Dubrovsky's Recitative and Romance ''О дай мне забвенье'' - ''O dai mne zabvenye'' (''O give me oblivion'') from the opera ''Dubrovsky'' by

Eduard Napravnik Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the suc ...

. Recorded in 195
(mp3 file)
Also at

an

External links

1961 Soviet telefilm of abridged version, with subtitles
Text translated by Natalie Duddington, Progress Publishers
Musical tales
*https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2016/11/23/3_1900 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dubrovsky (Opera) Operas by Eduard Nápravník Operas based on works by Aleksandr Pushkin 1895 operas Operas Russian-language operas Operas based on novels