''Raphael'' (full title: ''Raphael: Musical Scenes from the Renaissance'';

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 ...

: Рафаэль: Музыкальные сцены из эпохи Возрождения;

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Raffaello''), Op. 37, is an

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 libre ...

in one act by

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 ...

. The libretto, by A. A. Kryukov, is based on the life of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

artist

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

. The text was written in Russian and immediately translated into Italian by L. Egidi. The opera was composed in 1894 for the First Congress of Russian Artists and dedicated to the Moscow Society of Lovers of the Arts. It premiered in Italian at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

on 6 May (

old calendar Old Calendarists (Greek: ''palaioimerologitai'' or ''palaioimerologites''), also known as Old Feasters (''palaioeortologitai''), Genuine Orthodox Christians or True Orthodox Christians (GOC; ), are traditionalist groups of Eastern Orthodox Chri ...

: 26 April), with set-design by

Leonid Pasternak Leonid Osipovich Pasternak (born ''Yitzhok-Leib'', or ''Isaak Iosifovich, Pasternak''; russian: Леони́д О́сипович Пастерна́к, 3 April 1862 ( N.S.) – 31 May 1945) was a Russian post-impressionist painter. He was the f ...

; Yevgeniya Mravina took the role of

Fornarina Margarita Luti (also Margherita Luti or ''La Fornarina'', "the baker's daughter") was the mistress and model of Raphael. The story of their love has become "the archetypal artist–model relationship of Western tradition", yet little is known o ...

, Raphael's model and mistress. Arensky chose a work on non-Russian subject matter and distanced himself from the nationalistic tendencies of his teacher

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

. ''Raphael'' was less well-received than its predecessor, Arensky's first opera ''

Dream on the Volga ''Dream on the Volga'' ( Russian: Сон на Волге) is an opera in four acts composed by Anton Arensky. The libretto was adapted by Arensky from Alexander Ostrovsky's melodrama ''Voyevoda''. The opera premiered on January 2, 1891 at the ...

''. The only fragment remaining popular till now is the ''Folk Singer's Song off-stage'' that is usual in the repertoire of Russian tenors. In 2018 its English translation (“My heart is trembling with passion and pleasure”) was published (see the link below).

Structure

:Introduction (Overture) :I. Chorus of Apprentices :II. Arioso of Raphael :III. Duet of Raphael and Fornarina (includes ''Chorus of Romans'' and ''Folk Singer's Song off-stage'') :IV. Aria of the Cardinal :V. Trio :VI. Finale

Recordings

There is a recording with the

Philharmonia of Russia The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, ...

conducted by

Constantine Orbelian Constantine Garrievich Orbelian, Jr. ( hy, Կոնստանտին Օրբելյան, russian: Константин Гарриевич Орбелян, born San Francisco, 27 August 1956) is an American conductor and pianist of Armenian and Russian de ...

on the

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island ar ...

label, featuring

Marina Domashenko Marina Domashenko () is a Russian operatic mezzo-soprano. Domashenko was born into a musical family in the Siberian town Kemerovo. She graduated with honours from the Kemerovo School of Music where she studied piano and conducting, and from the ...

in the title role (mezzo-soprano);

Tatiana Pavlovskaya Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Variations * be, Тацця́на, Tatsiana * bg, Татяна, Tatyana * germa ...

(soprano); Alexander Vinogradov as Cardinal Bibbiena (bass); and

Vsevolod Grivnov Vsevolod or Wsewolod (russian: Все́волод ; uk, Все́волод ) is a Slavic male first name. Its etymology is from Slavic roots 'vse' (all) and 'volodeti' (to rule) and means 'lord-of-everything/everybody', (similar to another princ ...

as an off-stage folk singer (tenor).

References

External links

* Th
full original score of the opera (in Italian and Russian, for piano)
from the

Russian State Library The Russian State Library (russian: Российская государственная библиотека, Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest librar ...

.
Vocal score
(

Petrucci Music Library The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki software ...

)
L.C. The English lyrics of the ''Folk Singer's Song off-stage'' from “Raphael”.
{{Authority control Operas by Anton Arensky 1894 operas Russian-language operas Italian-language operas Operas Raphael Operas set in Russia One-act operas

Structure

Recordings

See also

References

External links