''Moses'' is an 1892 sacred

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 eight scenes by

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 ran ...

. The German libretto was written by Salomon Hermann Mosenthal who had earlier supplied Rubinstein with the libretto for his most successful opera '' Die Maccabäer'' (1875), and is best known as author of the libretto ''

Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor ''Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor'', or ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'', is an 1849 opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto by Salomon Hermann Mosenthal based on Shakespeare's play. Published as a comical-fantastical work in thre ...

'' by

Otto Nicolai Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai (9 June 1810 – 11 May 1849) was a German composer, conductor, and one of the founders of the Vienna Philharmonic. Nicolai is best known for his operatic version of Shakespeare's comedy ''The Merry Wives of Wi ...

. The opera was scheduled to be premiered in

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, but had to be cancelled after two rehearsals at the Neues Deutsches Theater (25 and 27 June). In the next three years the work received

concert performance A concert performance or concert version is a performance of a musical theater or opera in concert form, typically without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly pres ...

s in Riga (20 February 1894) through the influence of the founder of the Bach Society there, as well as

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and

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. There is no firm evidence that the entire opera was ever performed on the stage in its entirety. The opera was revived 15 October 2017 in Warsaw, in what may have been the first complete performance.

Tableaux

The action follows the story of Moses from being taken from the river Nile by Pharaoh's daughter, named as Asnath by Mosenthal, through to the eighth tableau on the hills of Jordan after the incident of the golden calf where a chorus of night spirits and celestials comment on the events.Taylor op.cit. "The eight tableaux follow the traditional biblical events" .. "A place set with vines; a laughing landscape. A chorus of night spirits and celestials interprets the events" p223

Recording

*''Moses'' - Stanisław Kuflyuk (Moses), Torsten Kerl (Pharaoh), Evelina Dobraceva (Asnath), Małgorzata Walewska (Johebet). Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus,

Warsaw Philharmonic The Warsaw Philharmonic (full Polish name: ''Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie'', "National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw"), as it is legally set up, is a Polish orchestra based in Warsaw. Founded in 1901, its home is the Warsaw ...

and Choir, Artos Children’s Choir, cond.

Michail Jurowski Michail Vladimirovich Jurowski (; 25 December 1945 – 19 March 2022) was a Russian conductor who worked internationally, based in Germany for most of his career. He was particularly interested in the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, in concerts an ...

Warner 2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moses Operas 1893 operas German-language operas Operas by Anton Rubinstein Operas based on the Bible