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Russian Private Opera
The Private Opera (), also known as: *The Russian Private Opera (); *Moscow Private Russian Opera, (); *Mamontov's Private Russian Opera in Moscow (); *Korotkov's Theatre (, 1885-1888); *Vinter's Theatre (, 1896-1899); *Private Opera Society (, 1899-1904); and *Solodovnikov Theatre (, from 1895; later used by Zimin opera, Moscow Operetta, and Helikon Opera) was a private operatic enterprise, a company established in 1885 by Russian industrialist and philanthropist Savva Mamontov, who staged the operas, conducted the orchestra, trained the actors, taught them singing and paid all the expenses. The company At first the company was organised in Abramtsevo Colony, Abramtsevo Estate located north of Moscow. Later years In Moscow the opera was located in the house at the Bolshaya Dmitrovskaya street, known as "Solodovnikov Theatre", built in 1894–1895 by Russiant merchant and music lover Gavrila Solodovnikov (1826–1901). Later the house was burned down and the Private Op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Stone Guest (Dargomyzhsky)
''The Stone Guest'' (''Каменный гость'' in Cyrillic, ''Kamennyj gost' '' in transliteration) is an opera in three acts by Alexander Dargomyzhsky from a libretto taken almost verbatim from Alexander Pushkin's 1830 play of the same name which had been written in blank verse and which forms part of his collection ''Little Tragedies''. It was first performed at the Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg, 16 February 1872 (Old Style). According to the composer's wishes, the last few lines of tableau 1 were composed by César Cui, and the whole was orchestrated by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Many years later, Rimsky-Korsakov revised his own orchestration of the opera, rewrote a few of Dargomyzhsky's own original passages, and added an orchestral prelude. This version, completed in 1903 and first performed in 1907 at the Bolshoi Theatre, is now considered the standard version. Performance History The Austrian premiere of the opera was given in 1928 at the Salzburg Festival, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judith (Serov)
''Judith'' ( – stress on second syllable) is an opera in five acts, composed by Alexander Serov during 1861–1863. Derived from renditions of the story of Judith from the Old Testament Apocrypha, the Russian libretto, though credited to the composer, has a complicated history. The premiere took place in 1863 in Saint Petersburg. This stage debut, supplemented with his next opera '' Rogneda'', made Serov the most important Russian opera composer of the 1860s. Composition history The Italian play ''Giuditta'' by Paolo Giacometti, produced in Saint Petersburg in 1860, first inspired the Serov to work on the project as a vehicle for the Italian opera troupe in Saint Petersburg. Using Serov's scenario, Ivan Antonovich Giustiniani wrote a libretto in Italian. When an Italian production of the proposed opera proved legally impossible, the Italian libretto was translated into Russian by Konstantin Zvantsov and Dmitry Lobanov, and some verses were added by the poet Apollon Mayko ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Noblewoman Vera Sheloga
''The Noblewoman Vera Sheloga'' ( rus, Боярыня Вера Шелога, italic=yes, Boyarïnya Vera Sheloga ) is an 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 ... in one act by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the libretto, which he based on the first act of the play ''The Maid of Pskov'' by Lev Mey, Lev Alexandrovich Mey. The opera was composed in 1898, based on the prologue composed by Rimsky-Korsakov for the second version of his The Maid of Pskov, setting of the play as an opera. The first and third versions of the opera ''The Maid of Pskov'' omit the action and material of the prologue. The work was first performed in Moscow in 1898. It was later used as a prologue to ''The Maid of Pskov'' in a 1901 performance. Performance history The premiere p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mozart And Salieri (opera)
''Mozart and Salieri'' ( ) is a one-act opera in two scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, written in 1897 to a Russian libretto taken almost verbatim from Alexander Pushkin's 1830 verse drama of the same name. The story follows the apocryphal legend that Antonio Salieri poisoned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart out of jealousy over the latter's music. Rimsky-Korsakov incorporated quotations from Mozart's '' Requiem'' and ''Don Giovanni'' into the score. Richard Taruskin has placed this opera in the historical context of the development of the realistic tradition in Russian opera. Performance history The first performance took place at the Solodovnikov Theater in Moscow, presented by the Moscow Private Russian Opera, Moscow on 7 December 1898 ( O.S. 25 November). The conductor was Iosif Truffi and scenic designer was Mikhail Vrubel. Feodor Chaliapin, who originated the role of Salieri, claimed to have often sung the piece as a monodrama, as the role of Mozart goes no higher than g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boris Godunov (opera)
''Boris Godunov'' ( ) is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the List of Russian rulers, Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar (1598 to 1605) during the Time of Troubles, and his nemesis (mythology), nemesis, the False Dmitriy I, False Dmitriy (reigned 1605 to 1606). The Russian-language libretto was written by the composer, and is based on the 1825 drama ''Boris Godunov (play), Boris Godunov'' by Alexander Pushkin, Aleksandr Pushkin, and, in the Revised Version of 1872, on Nikolay Karamzin's ''History of the Russian State''. Among major operas, ''Boris Godunov'' shares with Giuseppe Verdi's ''Don Carlos'' (1867) the distinction of having an extremely complex creative history, as well as a great wealth of alternative material. The composer created two versions—the Original Version of 1869, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a uniquely Russian musical identity, often in deliberate defiance of the established conventions of Western music. Many of List of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky, Mussorgsky's works were inspired by Russian history, Russian folklore, and other national themes. Such works include the opera ''Boris Godunov (opera), Boris Godunov'', the orchestral tone poem ''Night on Bald Mountain'' and the piano suite ''Pictures at an Exhibition''. For many years, Mussorgsky's works were mainly known in versions revised or completed by other composers. Many of his most important compositions have posthumously come into their own in their original forms, and some of the original scores are now also available. Name The spelling and pronunciation of the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khovanshchina
''Khovanshchina'' ( rus, Хованщина, , xɐˈvanʲɕːɪnə, Ru-Khovanshchina_version.ogg, sometimes rendered ''The Khovansky Affair'') is an opera (subtitled a 'national music drama') in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was written between 1872 and 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The composer wrote the libretto based on historical sources. The opera was almost finished in piano score when the composer died in 1881, but the orchestration was almost entirely lacking. Like Mussorgsky's earlier ''Boris Godunov (opera), Boris Godunov'', ''Khovanshchina'' deals with an episode in Russian history, first brought to the composer's attention by his friend the critic Vladimir Stasov. It concerns the rebellion of Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky (Tararui), Prince Ivan Khovansky, the Old Believers, and the Muscovite Streltsy against the regent Sofia Alekseyevna of Russia, Sofia Alekseyevna and the two young Tsars Peter I of Russia, Peter the Great and Ivan V of Russia, Ivan V, who w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sadko (opera)
''Sadko'' ( , the name of the main character) is an 1898 opera in seven scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by the composer, with assistance from Vladimir Belsky, Vladimir Stasov, and others. Rimsky-Korsakov was first inspired by the bylina of Sadko in 1867, when he completed a tone poem on the subject, his Op. 5. After finishing his second revision of this work in 1891, he decided to turn it into a dramatic work. The music is highly evocative, and Rimsky-Korsakov's famed powers of orchestration are abundantly evident throughout the score. According to the Soviet critic Boris Asafyev, writing in 1922, ''Sadko'' constitutes the summit of Rimsky-Korsakov's craft. From the opus 5 tone poem the composer quoted its most memorable passages, including the opening theme of the swelling sea, and other themes as leitmotivesAbraham, pp. 96–97. – he himself set out to "utilize for this opera the material of my symphonic poem, and, in any event, to make use of i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ranks among the great 19th-century keyboard virtuosos. He became most famous for his series of historical recitals, seven enormous, consecutive concerts covering the history of piano music. Rubinstein played this series throughout Russia and Eastern Europe and in the United States when he toured there. Although best remembered as a pianist and educator (most notably as the composition teacher of Tchaikovsky), Rubinstein was also a prolific composer; he wrote 20 operas, the best known of which is '' The Demon''. He composed many other works, including five piano concertos, six symphonies and many solo piano works along with a substantial output of works for chamber ensemble. In 1865 Rubinstein married Vera de Tschikouanov, a maid of honor a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Demon (opera)
''Demon'' () is an opera in three acts (six scenes) by Russian composer Anton Rubinstein. The work was composed in 1871. The libretto was by Pavel Viskovatov, based on the poem of the same name by Mikhail Lermontov. Background Lermontov's poem was banned as sacrilegious until 1860. Its popularity and its lurid story made it an excellent candidate for an opera libretto, and Rubinstein himself worked out the scenario from which Viskovatov produced the final text. The opera was premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, on , conducted by Eduard Nápravník. The stage design was by Mikhayil Bocharov, Matvey Shishkov, and Lagorio. The Moscow premiere was in 1879 at the Bolshoi Theatre, conducted by Enrico Bevignani. The opera was published by V. Bessel and Co., St. Petersburg, in 1876. A further edition was in 1968 by Muzgiz, Moscow. Critical reception Rubinstein invited several musicians of the group known as '' The Five'', including César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Borodin
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (12 November 183327 February 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as " The Five", a group dedicated to producing a "uniquely Russian" kind of classical music. Abraham, Gerald. ''Borodin: the Composer and his Music''. London, 1927. Borodin is known best for his symphonies, his two string quartets, the symphonic poem '' In the Steppes of Central Asia'' and his opera '' Prince Igor''. A doctor and chemist by profession and training, Borodin made important early contributions to organic chemistry. Although he is presently known better as a composer, he regarded medicine and science as his primary occupations, only practising music and composition in his spare time or when he was ill. As a chemist, Borodin is known best for his work concerning organic synthesis, including being among the first chemists to demonstrate nucleophilic substitution, as w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
