''Elfiyskaya Rukopis'' (Эльфийская Рукопись, Elven Manuscript, 2004) is a

metal opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

and

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

band

Epidemia Epidemia (, sometimes referred to as 'Epi' by fans) is a Russian power metal band famous for doing the Elven Manuscript metal opera in 2004. It was formed by guitarist Yuri "Juron" Melisov in 1993, with the first songs made in 1995. Histor ...

. Vocalists from

Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

, ,

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

Black Obelisk The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III is a black limestone Neo-Assyrian sculpture with many scenes in bas-relief and inscriptions. It comes from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), in northern Iraq, and commemorates the deeds of King Shalmaneser III (reigne ...

and participated in the opera. The album was produced by Vladimir Holstinin (

's guitarist), who also played the lute at track 4.

Opera Scenario

The scenario of the opera is an

epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...

story, written by Yuri Melisov, lead guitarist of Epidemia. Some parts of the story are influenced by ''

Dragonlance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving i ...

'' and ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

''. Desmond the half-elf grew up in the elven kingdom of Enia, hidden from the whole world by a magic barrier, and learned the magic from the king's wizard, Irdis. He fell in love with the princess Alatiel and was exiled by the elven king. Desmond continued his studies in the magic school of the human lands, and participated in some adventurers' campaigns. There, he saved Thorwald the knight, who became his best friend. At this time, Enia was attacked by the dark forces from the otherworld, led by Deimos. The otherworld, where Deimos ruled, was doomed because of its dying sun. Using the El-Gilet sphere, Deimos wished to teleport his whole army to Enia and conquer this new world. Deimos demanded Alatiel become his wife, which would let him be the legal king of the elven lands. He threatened that princess would otherwise be sacrificed in the sphere ritual, which required elven blood, but the brave maiden refused his offer. Irdis the wizard was hurt while fighting the invaders but escaped through the portal to Desmond and asked him to save his homeland. Desmond agreed, hoping this deed would clear his name, and asked Thorwald to join him in his campaign. On their way, they met the inn's Tavern Master, who was instructed by Irdis and showed them the secret undermountain tunnel to Enia. While walking through the tunnel, Desmond felt the presence of ancient magic and found the Scepter of The First Kings of Enia. They used this magic device to defeat the Dragon sent by Deimos. Followed by the remainder of elven knights, they stormed up into the king's palace, where Deimos was trying to complete the ritual. During the fight, Thorwald destroyed the sphere with the rod. Deimos escaped through the window and fled away on his dragon. Desmond married Alatiel, though Irdis served as the regent and the real ruler until Desmond and Alatiel's children grew up, because the half-elf exile could not be crowned as the king.

Track listing

All tracks by Yuri 'Juron' Melisov except tracks 3, 4 by Melisov/ Pavel 'Bush' Bushuyev, track 5 by Melisov/Ilya Kniazev and track 9 by Roman Valeriev. Track 12 is not a part of the opera but the bonus track on Elven Manuscript CD.

Starring

*Desmond the half-elf –

Max Samosvat Maxim Vyacheslavovich Samosvat (; born 15 June 1981, in Moscow), is a Russian rock musician and producer. He was the vocalist of Mechanical Poet (2003–2006) and Epidemia (2000–2010). Biography His first band was Orcrist, which included f ...

(

) *Thorwald the knight – Andrey Lobashov () *Irdis the elven wizard –

Arthur Berkut Artur Vyacheslavovich Mikheev (, born 24 May 1962), better known under his stage name Arthur Berkut (Russian: Артур Беркут), is a Russian singer. Throughout his career, he has participated in numerous bands, with the most notable bein ...

(

) *Deimos the dark lord – (

) *Sky the blue dragon – () *Alatiel the elven princess – Anastasia Chebotareva *Tavern Master – (

)

Sequels

Epidemia released Elven Manuscript 2: the Tale for All Times in 2007. Epidemia's ex-drummer Andrey Laptev has tried to record his

apocryphal Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

sequel to the opera, entitled 'The Battle of Gods,' though he was not allowed to use the copyrighted name, logo and characters. Epidemia released

Treasure Of Enia Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

in 2014 as sequel to Elven Manuscript 2: the Tale for All Times.

References

External links

Epidemia official website
{{Authority control Epidemia albums 2000s concept albums Rock operas 2004 albums