''The Electrification of the Soviet Union'' 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 ...

in two acts by

Nigel Osborne Nigel Osborne (born 23 June 1948) is a British composer, teacher and aid worker. He served as Reid Professor of Music at the University of Edinburgh and has also taught at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. Known for his e ...

. The

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 ...

was written by Craig Raine and based on ''The Last Summer'' and ''Spectorsky'', two semi-autobiographical works by

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...

who appears as a narrator in the opera.Evans, Rian
"Electrification of the Soviet Union"
''The Guardian'', 15 July 2002 It was commissioned for Glyndebourne by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and premiered by the Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 1987 in a production directed by

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he teaches ...

. In 2002, it was given a new chamber production by Music Theatre Wales and toured the UK, including performances at the Cheltenham International Festival and the Buxton Festival.

References

Operas by Nigel Osborne Operas 1987 operas English-language operas {{English-opera-stub