Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (russian: Моде́ст Ильи́ч Чайко́вский; –) was a Russian

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

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 libr ...

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 ...

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 ''transl ...

Early life

Modest Ilyich was born in

Alapayevsk Alapayevsk (russian: Алапа́евск) 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 ...

Verkhotursky Uyezd Verkhotursky uyezd (russian: Верхотурский уезд) was an administrative division (an uyezd) of Perm Governorate in the Russian Empire, which existed in 1781–1923. Its seat was in the town of Verkhoturye and its area was {{conver ...

Perm Governorate Perm Governorate (russian: link=no, Пермская губерния) was an administrative unit of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union from 1781 to 1923. It was also known as the ''government of Perm''. It was located on both slopes of t ...

, the younger brother of the composer

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 ...

. He graduated from the

Imperial School of Jurisprudence The Imperial School of Jurisprudence (Russian: Императорское училище правоведения) was, along with the Page Corps, a school for boys in Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. The school for would-be ...

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. Born in 1950 at Vyborg. In 1968 he relocated to Leningrad. Poznansky emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1977, w ...

, 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 poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's inventio ...

s by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 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 nation ...

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

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 ...

and

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

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

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 ( 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 ...

* Tchaikovsky: ''

Iolanta ''Iolanta'', Op. 69, (russian: Иоланта, links=no ) is a lyric opera in one act by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It was the last opera he composed. The libretto was written by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, and is based on the Danish play ...

'' (''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 ( 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 ...

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

. * Arseny Koreshchenko: ''Ledyanoy dom'' (''Ледяной дом''). Premiered: ,

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 million ...

. *

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

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

''. Premiered: ,

. *

: ''

Francesca da Rimini Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was a medieval noblewoman of Ravenna, who was murdered by her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother, Paolo Malatesta. She was a co ...

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

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

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

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

''). Premiered: ,

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 ...

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 Russian dramatists and playwrights Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian opera librettists Russian people of French descent Imperial School of Jurisprudence alumni LGBT writers from Russia Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Russian twins Gay writers 19th-century writers from the Russian Empire 19th-century dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian writers 20th-century dramatists and playwrights