Dead Souls (Opera)
| Opera dates | |
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| Title: | dead Souls |
| Original title: |
Мёртвые души (Myortvye duschi) |
Pyotr Boklevsky: Tschitschikow. |
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| Shape: | Opera scenes in three acts |
| Original language: | Russian |
| Music: | Rodion Shchedrin |
| Libretto : | Rodion Shchedrin |
| Literary source: | Nikolai Gogol : The Dead Souls |
| Premiere: | June 7th 1977 |
| Place of premiere: | Bolshoi Theater , Moscow |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ¼ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Russia, first half of the 19th century |
| people | |
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Dead Souls (Russian: Мёртвые души , Mjortwyje duschi ) is an opera (original name: " Opera Scenes") in three acts by Rodion Shchedrin (music) with its own libretto based on Nikolai Gogol's novel Die Toten Seelen . The premiere took place June 7, 1977 in the Moscow Theater Bolshoi instead
action
The opera is about the business trip of the former college councilor Tschitschikows through the Russian countryside. His idea is to take advantage of a peculiarity of the Russian serf system . At that time the peasants were practically the property of their respective landlords and were included in appropriate lists. After their death, however, they were only removed from the lists with a long delay. Tschitschikov's plan consists in buying these dead souls, the “dead souls”, from their owners and making financial gains through a tax trick. The opera begins with a banquet in the procurator's house. On his journey he gets to know the character of the most diverse landowners one after the other, the optimistic Manilow, the whining Korobotschka, the boastful and deceitful Nosdrjow, the pessimistic Sobakevich and the greedy Pljuschkin. His business attracts attention. At first he was thought to be an enterprising millionaire, but then wild rumors emerged that quickly took on a life of their own. Chichikov is cut. Ultimately, all he has left is to flee to another part of the country.
first act
Scene 1: "Introduction". Two female voices and the choir sing about the melting white snow on the field in the style of Russian folk music (“The snow in the pure field is not white”).
Scene 2: "Lunch at the prosecutor's". In the province, the metropolitan visitor Chichikov is honored at a banquet by landowners and government officials ("Vivat! Pawel Ivanovich") and is downright fattened.
Scene 3: "Weg" (quintet). Tschitschikow drives his coachman Selifan through the rural areas of Russia to the Manilov estate. Tschitschikow thinks about his plans without paying attention to the area or the surrounding farmers (“Oh, you don't cry”).
Scene 4: "Manilow". The landowner Manilow and his wife give Chichikov a warm welcome (portrait Arioso with solo flute: “Oh, Pavel Ivanovich, what luck you are!”). Manilow believes in an ideal world and the honesty of the people. When Chichikov suggests that he buy his dead souls, he is initially irritated. But Chichikov can reassure him that he doesn't want to break the existing laws. They come to an agreement and rave about the perfect friendship (trio: "O, Pawel Iwanowitsch"). The paintings of Manilow's ancestors on the walls, however, shake their heads and mumble the term “dead souls”.
Scene 5: "Bumpy road". A storm breaks out on the way to the next estate. You get lost in the dark. Chichikov berates his coachman while the choir prays for an end to the storm.
Scene 6: "Korobotschka". The landowner Korobotschka, an old widow, complains about the bad times that have already led to the death of 18 of her people (portrait aria with solo bassoon: "Oh, father, a misfortune"). When Chichikov found out about this, he immediately offered her to buy up these dead souls. Since the greedy Korobotschka has never made such a deal and does not know the usual prices, she fears fraud. They only come to an agreement after lengthy bargaining - Chichikov pays her fifteen rubles per soul (rondo duet: “The matter seems advantageous, viewed closely”). Then she resumes her lament aria and decides to inquire about the value of souls in the city (pantomime no. 1: "Trade").
Scene 7: "Songs". In this interlude, the lead singers complain about the state of the world symbolized by the rampant wormwood (“You wormwood, wormwood grass, bitter grass”).
Scene 8: “Nosdrjow”. The next landowner is the boastful Nosdrjow, whose thoughts jump back and forth between his possessions, gambling losses and drinking parties (portrait aria with solo horn: "Ba, ba, ba ... And I, brother, have just come from the fair"). Against his will, he involves Chichikov, who inquires about dead souls, in a game of chance. When Chichikov notices that Nosdrjow is trying to deceive him, a heated argument ensues, as a result of which they both call for their servants and Nosdrjov's sleeping brother-in-law Mishuev wakes up (Arioso Mishuev: "No, brother! ). The servants comment on the dispute in the final septet (“I remember all the trains”) until a police superintendent arrested Nosdrjow for mistreating another landowner.
Second act
Scene 9: "Sobakewitsch". The landowner Sobakevich is the counterpart to the optimistic Manilov. For him the world has decayed and every person is a swindler (portrait aria with double basses and contrabassoon: “They proclaim: Enlightenment”). He tries to drive the price up to a hundred rubles per soul in the deal with Chichikov and to put him under pressure. Nevertheless, Chichikov succeeds in buying them from him for two rubles each (sextet: “You won't buy such good people cheaper anywhere”).
Scene 10: "Kutscher Selifan" (quartet). To the background singing of the choir, Selifan reflects on the sad situation of the Russian rural population. He directs his address to the carriage horses.
Scene 11: "Pljuschkin". The greedy Pljuschkin, who, out of avarice, lets his possessions expire senselessly, receives Chichikov only reluctantly (portrait cavatine with oboe and leaps into the falsetto register: “I haven't seen any guests for a long time”). He is only welcome when he declares that he does not need a meal. Pljuschkin complains about an epidemic that killed many of his farmers. When Chichikov offered to buy them out of “compassion”, he quickly took up the bargain. He thinks Chichikov is a fool and tries to sell him more junk.
Scene 12: "Lamentation of the soldier's wife". A peasant woman weeps her deceased son in the background of the choir.
Scene 13: "Ball at the governor's". The guests wonder about the sense of Chichikov's purchases. They believe they are living farmers and consider him a millionaire. Tschitschikow explains his financial goals (triumph aria: "No, this is not the province"). The ladies adore him. The governor even promises him the hand of his daughter (pantomime no. 2: "Love"). Nosdrjow appears and reveals the truth about Chichikov's business to those present. The Korobotschka also comes to inquire about the usual price of souls. The act ends in utter confusion.
Third act
Scene 14: "Singing". The lead singers resume their song about the passing white snow.
Scene 15: "Tschitschikow". After his failure, Tschitschikow complains about the people who waste their money on social balls (aria: "Get the devil").
Scene 16: "Two ladies" (duet). The two society ladies Sofja Ivanovna and Anna Grigoryevna talk about the latest fashion (duet: "Sofja Ivanovna - Anna Grigoryevna"). Your conversation turns to Chichikov. Anna Grigoryevna believes that he wants to kidnap the easy-going governor's daughter - presumably with Nosdrev's support.
Scene 17: "Rumors in the city". Chichikov is now also considered to be a spy and counterfeiter, the rebel leader Kopejkin and even Napoleon (16-part ensemble: “What does that really mean?”). He is no longer allowed to enter the houses of the dignitaries (pantomime no. 3: "The catastrophe"). Panicked that Chichikov could be an auditor, the prosecutor dies.
Scene 18: “Funeral Mass for the Public Prosecutor”. Against the background of the funeral chants, the governor ponders the reason for the prosecutor's life and death. Chichikov, meanwhile, is sitting alone in his room and continues to scold the company with their balls.
Scene 19: "Scene and Finale" (quintet). Nosdrjow reports to Chichikov about the rumors in the city (quintet: "Bah, ba, ba! Everyone in the city is against you"). He decides to flee with his coachman. The peasants standing on the way wonder whether he will make it to Moscow or Kazan.
layout
Shchedrin wrote in the Bolshoi Theater's program booklet that he didn't want to just illustrate Gogol's text. He had “focused on the essence, on the inside of this important book” and started out “in everything from the music, the song, the human voice with its diverse and unrepeatable intonations”. To this end, he wanted to integrate “all forms of the genre that have emerged over the centuries”. He not only assigned each of the characters their own themes and a portrait aria, but also a specific orchestral tone. The work is thus in the tradition of Shostakovich's opera The Nose . The title role has a special position, as Chichikov adapts to the specifics of his interlocutors depending on the situation.
A special feature of this opera is the use of folk music - a concept that Shchedrin had already introduced in his first opera, Ne tolko ljubow ( Not Just Love ) from 1961. Instead of the violins, there is a chamber choir in the orchestra pit. The opening song “The snow is not white in the pure field” (scene 1) forms the structural framework of the opera. It embodies the values of simple peasant life and the endless expanse of Russia. The text is based on an ancient folk tune. Shchedrin, on the other hand, composed the music anew based on the model of traditional coachman chants. The folk song level, which permeates the entire work, forms the ongoing background for the business of Chichikov in the main plot. The choir creates a "polyphonic lament-sigh, moan-sigh, which is based on the principle of consistent rhythm differences in the choir voices, with a chromatic second descent, which creates a mobile semitone cluster".
The escape of Tschitschikows, which Gogol says at the beginning of the novel, is at the end of the opera.
orchestra
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : four flutes (3rd also piccolo , 4th also alto flute), two oboes , three clarinets (3rd also bass clarinet ), two bassoons , contrabassoon
- Brass : four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba
- Small timpani, four timpani , percussion (three or four players):
- I: three gongs , three bongos , flexaton , vibraphone , bells , temple block , military drum, galton whistle , glass chimes, crotales , bird whistle
- II: deep fanfare , Troikaschellen, clamps, Güiro , xylophone or Marimba , whip, tambourine , shaker , military drum
- III: Drum, shaker tube, Charleston machine, maracas , small and medium tam-tam, cymbal , hanging cymbal, two cowbells
- IV: deep fanfare ad lib.
- Celesta , electric harpsichord ad libitum
- harp
- Balalaika , electric guitar (also electric bass )
- Small choir in the orchestra (instead of violins): eight sopranos, eight old men, six tenors, six baritones
- Strings (without violins ): twelve violas , ten cellos , eight double basses
- Incidental music behind the scene: Russian bells
The two lead singers are also within the orchestra.
Work history
Dead Souls is Shchedrin's second opera. He completed it in 1976 after ten years of work. Shchedrin also wrote the libretto himself. It is based on Nikolai Gogol's novel Die toten Seelen (according to his own statement, Shchedrin's favorite book), from which, with the exception of the folk songs, he took all texts verbatim. Shchedrin initially did not expect the opera to be performed - he repeated several times that he considered it to be a stroke of luck. But in 1977 Boris Pokrowski , the chief director of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater , had prepared the audience there with productions of Shostakovich's The Nose (also based on Gogol) and Prokofiev's The Player (based on Dostoyevsky) and was therefore able to include Dead Souls in the program. The opera was premiered there on June 7, 1977 under Pokrowski's direction - after a public preview on June 3. Due to the unfamiliar vocal styles, it took some effort on the part of the conductor Yuri Temirkanow to prepare the production appropriately. The set was created by Valeri Lewenthal .
The performance attracted a great deal of attention in the musical life of the Soviet Union, as it alluded to the economic conditions and the lack of rights of the population at the time of Leonid Brezhnev - with the opposite of the omnipresent "voice of nature". In this production, the stage was divided horizontally, with the main action taking place on the lower part ("the underworld of the scraps of humanity who consider themselves the 'fine world'") and the interludes with the rural Russian landscape on the upper part . The audience responded with great enthusiasm.
The following year the Leningrad Kirov Theater took over the production. Sergej Leiferkus sang the title role .
The German premiere took place as part of a GDR guest performance by the Kirov Opera in May 1979 at the German State Opera in Berlin and at the Dresden Music Festival. The musical direction was again Temirkanow. The singers included Sergei Leiferkus (Tschitschikow), Michail Tschornoshukow (Selifan), Igor Navoloschnikow (Sobakewitsch), Rimma Barinowa (Korobotschka), WA Trofimow, Ludmila Filatova, Konstantin Plushnikow and JA Boizow.
In 1984 Shchedrin was awarded the Lenin Prize for his opera Dead Souls, his choral poem The Execution of Pugachev and his Solemn Overture .
The opera was played in March 1988 as part of an American-Soviet co-production at Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company in Boston. The production was done by Valery Levanta. The musical direction was Dzhansug Kakhidze. The singers included Igor Morozov as Tschitschikow and Nina Gaponova as Korobotschka.
On April 12, 2009 the opera was performed again in concert at the Mariinsky Theater (the former Kirov). The musical direction was Valery Gergiev , who had already assisted in 1978. Sergej Leiferkus sang the title role again. Two years later there was a highly acclaimed new scenic production by the director Vasily Barkhatov and the set designer Zinovy Margolin at Mariinski. The musical direction was again Valery Gergiev. Sergei Romanov took the title role. A video recording of the production was released on DVD.
Recordings
- 1982 - Yuri Temirkanov (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Bolshoi Theater Moscow.
Alexander Voroshilov (Chichikov), Vladislav Piavko (Nozdryov), Larissa Avdeyeva (Korobotschka), Boris Morozov (Sobakevich) Galina Borisova (Plyushkin) Vitalij Vlasov (Manilow), Nina Larionova (Lisanka Manilowa), Alexei Maslennikov (Selifan), Vladimir Filippov (Mishuyev), Irina Zhurina (Anna Grigorjewna), Olga Teryuschnova (Sofja Ivanovna), Lev Vernigora (governor), Raisa Kotova (governor), Vladimir Valaitis (prosecutor), Yuri Grigoriev (police chief), Anatoly (postmaster), Georgi Andriuschenko Mishutin (President of the Chamber), Andrej Sokolov (priest), Nicolai Nizienko (police captain), Vladislav Paschinsky (Sysoi Pafnutjewitsch), Boris Buryatsa (Makdonald Karlowitsch), Georgi Selesnjow (bearded farmer), Piotr Gluboky (farmer with goat), Jevy Schapin (farmer with goat) , Miauli), Yuri Korolev (Porfiri, Manilow's grandfather, Maurokordato), Galina Chernova (Manilow's mother), Konstantin Baskov (Manilow's father, Kanari), Larisa Yurchenko (Bobelina).
Studio recording under the supervision of the composer.
BMG 2 CD, Melodia 74321 29347-2 (2 CDs). - 2012 - Valery Gergiev (conductor), Vasily Barkhatov (director), Zinoy Margolin (stage), Maria Danilova (costumes), Damir Ismagilov (light), orchestra and choir of the Mariinsky Theater Saint Petersburg.
Sergei Romanov (Tschitschikow), Sergei Semishkur (Nosdrjow), Larissa Djadkowa (Korobotschka), Sergei Aleksashkin (Sobakewitsch), Svetlana Volkova (Pljuschkin), Alexander Timchenko (Manilow), Karina Chepurnova (Lisanka Manilowa), Andrei Popov (Selif Serov (Mishuyev), Tatiana Kravtsova (Anna Grigorjewna), Varvara Solovyova (Sofja Ivanovna), Vladimir Felyauer (Governor), Lyudmila Kanunnikova (Governor), Yekaterina Devitchinskaya (Governor's daughter), Vitaly Gerasimeov (Public Prosecutor), Yvy Gerasimeov (State Prosecutor), Ishutin (Postmaster), Dmitry Koleushko (President of the Chamber), Nikita Gribanov (Priest), Nikolai Kamensky (Police Captain), Oleg Losev (Pavlushka), Dmitry Turchaninov (Porfiri).
Video; live from the Mariinsky Theater Saint Petersburg.
EuroArts 5904.
Web links
- Work data on Mërtvye duši / Dead Souls based on MGG with discography at Operone
- Rodion Shchedrin: Dead Souls - Opera in three acts. Video on YouTube
Remarks
- ↑ a b From "nosdrewaty" - "spongy". See Piper's Encyclopedia of Music Theater.
- ↑ a b From "korobotschka" - "box".
- ↑ a b From "sobaka" - "dog".
- ↑ a b From "pljusch" - "plush".
- ↑ a b From "manilowschtschina" - "Fantasterei".
- ↑ From "tschinownik" - "official".
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Laurel Fay: Myortvïye dushi. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ↑ a b c d Sigrid Neef : Handbook of Russian and Soviet Opera. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Bärenreiter 1989. ISBN 3-7618-0925-5 , pp. 556-562.
- ↑ a b c d e f Sigrid Neef : Mjortwyje duschi. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 5: Works. Piccinni - Spontini. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1994, ISBN 3-492-02415-7 , pp. 653-655.
- ↑ a b Ulrich Schreiber : Opera guide for advanced learners. The 20th century III. Eastern and Northern Europe, branch lines on the main route, intercontinental distribution. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2006, ISBN 3-7618-1859-9 , p. 94.
- ↑ Stschedrin opera based on Gogol's “Dead Souls”. In: Neues Deutschland from June 9, 1977, p. 4.
- ^ Manfred Schubert : Ovations for a gorgeous musical theater. Opera, ballet and concert experiences in Lenin's land. In: Berliner Zeitung of November 5, 1977, p. 10.
- ↑ Premiere of the opera “Die toten Seelen”. In: Neues Deutschland from December 30, 1978.
- ^ Klaus Klingbeil: Exactly drawn musical portraits. For the GDR guest performance of the Kirov Opera in Leningrad. In: Neues Deutschland from May 29, 1979, p. 4.
- ↑ Manfred Schubert : Grown from musical-dramatic traditions. Guest performance of the Kirov Theater Leningrad. In: Berliner Zeitung of May 29, 1979, p. 6.
- ^ Bernard Holland: Review / Opera; US-Soviet Portrayal Of Gogol's "Dead Souls" (English). In: The New York Times, March 14, 1988; accessed December 23, 2017.
- ↑ Concert performance of Rodion Shchedrin's opera “Die toten Seelen”. Article from April 12, 2009 on shchedrin.de, accessed on December 23, 2017.
- ↑ Galina Stolyarova: Mariinsky Stages Opera on Gogol's "Dead Souls" (English). In: The Moscow Times of March 28, 2011.
- ↑ Information and photos of the production from 2011 on the Mariinsky Theater website , accessed on December 23, 2017.
- ↑ a b Mariinsky: Rodion Shchedrin: Dead Souls on the website of the EuroArts label, accessed on December 18, 2017.
- ^ Rodion Konstantinowitsch Shchedrin. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005, p. 16805.