''Sonya's Story'' 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 ...

by the British composer Neal Thornton 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 ...

based on the original Russian text of

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

's 1899 play ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

''. The libretto reproduces passages from ''Uncle Vanya'' in English translation with additional spoken text by Neal Thornton. ''Sonya's Story'' premiered on 7 August 2010 at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the north bank of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having opened in May 1976, th ...

in London to celebrate Chekhov's 150th birthday. The production, part of the Tête à Tête festival was directed by Sally Burgess and designed by

Charles Phu Charles Phu (Traditional Chinese: 符傳禎; Russian: Чарльз Фу), is a London-based architectural designer and opera set designer. Countries and regions in which his design works are located include Europe, Russia, USA, China, India, Taiw ...

. Duchen, Jessica (24 August 2010)
"Review: ''Sonya's Story'', Riverside Studios, London"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' The work was positively received,

Jessica Duchen Jessica Duchen is a British music writer, novelist, playwright and opera librettist. Life Born in London, Duchen studied music at Cambridge University. She was a classical music correspondent for ''The Independent'' for 12 years. She has written on ...

of ''

'' noticing "no compromise on standards".

Roles

References

External links

Official website of ''Sonya's Story''
(archived 14 August 2010) * Burgess, Sally (30 July 2010)
"Sally's story: from singing actress to Chekhovian opera director"
''

'' {{Authority control Operas 2010 operas Operas based on plays Operas set in Russia Operas based on works by Anton Chekhov