The Nightingale (opera)

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The Nightingale (Solovyei) is a Russian conte lyrique in three acts by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, based on the tale of The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen, was written by the composer and Stepan Mitussov.

Press photo from the opera at the Norwegian national theatre
Press photo from the opera at the Norwegian national theatre

Stravinsky had begun work on the opera in 1908, but put it aside for several years. He completed it in 1914, after which he turned aside from large productions to concentrate on chamber music and the piano.

The opera's first performance was on 26 May 1914 in the Théâtre National de l'Opéra in Paris, in a production by Sergei Diaghilev, with the singers in the pit and their roles mimed and danced on stage.

[edit] Adaptations

A symphonic poem, The Song of the Nightingale, using music from the opera, was arranged by Stravinsky in 1917.

The opera has also been adapted for television in an animated interpretation by filmmaker Christian Chaudet.


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