''Zarya svobody '' (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

''Заря свободы'', German ''Morgenröte der Freiheit'', English ''The Dawn of Freedom''), is an opera in four acts composed between 1873 and 1877 by

Ella Adayevskaya Ella Georgiyevna Adayevskaya (Ella Adaïewsky; ; 26 July 1926) was a Russian Germans, Russian-German composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. Adayevskaya wrote vocal music (including choir, choral works), chamber music, and two operas. She als ...

(the pseudonym adopted by the composer Elizaveta von Schultz).

Composition

The opera, which was listed by Adayevskaya as her Op. 8, has 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 ...

Richard Genée Franz Friedrich Richard Genée (7 February 1823 – 15 June 1895) was a Prussian-born Austrian libretto, librettist, playwright, and composer. Life Genée was born in Gdańsk, Danzig. He died in Baden bei Wien. Works He is most famous for the li ...

, translated into Russian by Adayevskaya herself. A manuscript

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

score bears the title, in German, ''Die Morgenröte der Freiheit''. The opera bears a dedication to Tsar Alexander II.Hüsken, 312

Synopsis

The opera takes place in

Little Russia Little Russia, also known as Lesser Russia, Malorussia, or Little Rus', is a geographical and historical term used to describe Ukraine. At the beginning of the 14th century, the patriarch of Constantinople accepted the distinction between wha ...

(present-day

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) in 1762. Olga and Pierre have loved each other since childhood, but he is a

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

and not of the legal social status to marry her. Olga is encouraged to marry the wicked Nyrkoff, and eventually agrees to do so if he will arrange Pierre's freedom. However, when Pierre learns of Olga's potential sacrifice for his sake, he commits suicide. The marriage is therefore forestalled and Olga retires to a convent, leaving Nyrkoff to his rancour. The opera ends with a prophetic chorus of peasants praising Alexander II's 1861 abolition of serfdom.Hüsken, 109

Performances

The work was not approved by the Russian censors of the period. No complete performances are documented. The overture and peasant's chorus from the opera were performed at the Théâtre des Italiens in Paris on 23 April 1877; the composer took part in this performance at the piano. On 23 March 1886, the overture and chorus, (the latter arranged for orchestra) were played at a concert at the University of Dorpat (now

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

). In the twentieth century the overture was played at a concert in

Saalfeld Saalfeld () is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geography The town is situated ...

on 5 May 1953.Hüsken, 313—4

References

;Notes ;Sources *Hüsken, Renate (2005). ''Ella Adaïewsky (1846-1926): Pianistin – Komponistin – Musikwissenschaftlerin''. Cologne: Dohr. {{ISBN, 3-936655-18-9. *Schultz-Adaïewsky E. Morgenröte der Freiheit. Volksoper in vier Akten. Klavierauszug. Nach dem Autograf bearbeitet und herausgegeben von Denis Lomtev. – Lage (Westf.): BMV Robert Burau, 2015. Operas 1877 operas Operas set in Ukraine Russian-language operas Operas by Ella Adayevskaya Operas set in the 18th century