Betrothal in a Monastery (Prokofiev)

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Betrothal in a Monastery (Obrucheniye v monastïre in transliteration) is Sergei Prokofiev's 6th opera with an opus number.

1 Background
2 Characters
3 Plot
4 Analysis
5 Instrumentation
6 Premiere
7 Performance history
8 Recordings
9 Summer Night
10 External links

[edit] Background

Written in four acts to a Russian libretto by the composer and his second wife Mira Mendelson, the opera is based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comic opera libretto The Duenna.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Plot

[edit] Analysis

[edit] Instrumentation

Piccolo

2 Flutes

2 Oboes

Cor Anglais

2 Clarinets

Bass Clarinet

2 Bassoons

Contrabassoon

4 French Horns

3 Trumpets

3 Trombones

Tuba

Timpani

Percussion (Triangle, Wood Blocks, Tambourine, Snare Drum, Maracas, Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tam-tam)

Harp

Strings (1st and 2nd Violins, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses)

[edit] Premiere

03-Nov-1946, Kirov Theater, Leningrad, conducted by Boris Khaikin.

[edit] Performance history

The opera will be performed in 2006 at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

[edit] Recordings

Orchestra	Choir	Conductor	Record Company	Year of Recording	Format
Kirov Orchestra	Kirov Opera Chorus	Valery Gergiev	Philips	1998	DVD/CD
Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre	Chorus of the Bolshoi Theatre	Alexander Lazarev	BMG Classics	1990	CD
Orchestra of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre	Choir of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre	Alexander Lazarev	Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga	?	LP

[edit] Summer Night

Summer Night (Op. 123) is an orchestral suite with music drawn from Betrothal in a Monastery.

[edit] Movements

The suite, lasting around 20 minutes, consists of five movements:

Introduction: Moderato, ma con brio
Serenade: Adagio
Minuet
Dreams (Nocturne): Andante tranquillo
Dance: Allegretto

[edit] Premiere

[edit] Instrumentation

Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Cor Anglais, 2 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, Contrabassoon, 4 French Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion (Triangle, Wood Blocks, Tambourine, Snare Drum, Maracas, Cymbals, Bass Drum, Glockenspiel), Harp, and Strings.

[edit] Recordings of Summer Night

Orchestra	Conductor	Record Company	Year of Recording	Format
Russian National Orchestra	Mikhail Pletnev	Deutsche Grammophon	1994	CD
Philharmonia Orchestra	Neeme Järvi	Chandos Records	1991/2	CD
St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra	Vladimir Ashkenazy	Exton	2002	SACD