''Shchors'' (; also known as ''Commander'' is an opera in five acts by the Ukrainian composer

Borys Lyatoshynsky Borys Mykolaiovych Lyatoshynsky, also known as Boris Nikolayevich Lyatoshinsky, (3 January 189515 April 1968) was a List of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian composer, conductor, and teacher. A leading member of the new generation of 20th century ...

. It was written in 19371938 to a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by and

Maksym Rylsky Maksym Tadeyovych Rylsky (); in Kyiv – 24 July 1964 in Kyiv) was a Ukrainian poet, translator, academician, and doctor of philological sciences. Biography Rylsky was born in Kyiv in 1895 to Tadei Rozeslavovych Rylsky and Melania Fedoriv ...

. The main hero,

Mykola Shchors Mykola Oleksandrovych Shchors (; – 30 August 1919) was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Russian Communist Party and a participant in the Russian Civil War, serving as Red Army commander. In 1918–1919 he fought against th ...

, was a military figure originally from

Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast (), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna (), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr. Its population is approximately H ...

. The opera was first staged at the

Kyiv Opera House Kyiv Opera House, officially the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko (), is an opera house in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is the home of the National Opera of Ukraine. The building is located at the junction ...

on 1 September 1938.

History

The Ukrainian composer

composed ''Shchors'' from 1937 as his second opera, after '' The Golden Ring''. The

was written by and

. Lyatoshynsky chose Ukrainian themes for both operas. The main hero is

, a military figure originally from the Ukrainian city of

Snovsk Snovsk ( ) is a city in Koriukivka Raion, Chernihiv Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. Population: It hosts the administration of Snovsk urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population was 12,315 in 2001. Name Historically, the ...

, who took an active part in the

Ukrainian–Soviet War The Ukrainian–Soviet War () is the term commonly used in post-Soviet Ukraine for the events taking place between 1917 and 1921, nowadays regarded essentially as a war between the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Bolsheviks (Russian SFSR a ...

on the side of the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, and who died in battle against the troops of the

Ukrainian Galician Army The Ukrainian Galician Army ( UGA; ), was the combined military of the West Ukrainian People's Republic during and after the Polish-Ukrainian War. It was called the "Galician army" initially. Dissatisfied with the alliance of Ukraine and Polan ...

. The opera was first staged at the

on 1 September 1938, conducted by Vladimir Dranishnikov, and remained in the repertoire of the house.

Synopsis

''Shchors'' consists of five acts. ;Act 1: The villagers meet Shchors. Shchors sings an aria in which he assures the audience that "the wise Lenin is leading us to the goal" and calls on the peasants to join the armed forces. ;Act 2: In a dilapidated manor house, where a hospital for the sick is located, Ukrainian military soldier Zapara tells a

paramedic A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...

about the need to stop the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

aggressors. Zapara leaves, and Shchors appears in his place with associates—they discuss supply problems, Shchors expresses concern about the large number of sick people. ; Act 3: Hryts, a

soldier, agitates the peasants to join

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

's side. Suddenly, a German officer appears and, with the help of soldiers, detains Hryts. Soon, a detachment of Red Army soldiers arrives and forces the German and Ukrainian soldiers to retreat. ; Act 4: Shchors' henchman Liya complains that Petliura is ready to "sell the people to the interventionists" and glorifies the name of Lenin. Soon, Shchors appears, who glorifies not only Lenin, but also

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, and calls to prepare an attack on Kyiv. ;Act 5: The focus is on Shchors and his henchmen fighting against Ukrainian troops. In this battle, Shchors dies with the words "Forward, gods, our victory." Lenin...", after which the choir mournfully sings "The Cossack is carried and the horse is led." In the second picture, the corpse of the commander is sent by truck to the sounds of a Bogun song.

References

External links

Information about (and an excerpt from) a 1939 record of the opera
from Russian Records {{authority control 1938 operas Operas Ukrainian-language operas Operas set in Ukraine Operas set in the 20th century Compositions by Borys Lyatoshynsky Operas based on real people