Aleko (opera)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Operas by Sergey Rakhmaninov |
|---|
Aleko (1892) |
Aleko (Russian: Алеко) is the first of three completed operas by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The Russian libretto was written by Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and is an adaptation of the poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin. The opera was written in 1892 as a graduation work at the Moscow Conservatory, and it won the highest prizes from the conservatory judges that year. It was first performed in Moscow in 1893.
Contents |
[edit] Performance history
The Moscow premiere took place on 9 May (O.S. 27 April), 1893 at the Bolshoy Theatre in Moscow.
Other notable performances were given in Kiev on 18 October 1893, conducted by Rakhmaninov, while a 27 May 1899 performance in [[Saint Petersburg at the Tauride Palace utilized the chorus and ballet of the Mariinsky Theatre
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast 9 May 1893 (Conductor: Ippolit Altani |
Premiere cast 18 October 1893 (Conductor: Rachmaninov |
Premiere cast 27 May 1899 (Conductor: -) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleko | baritone | Bogomir Korsov | Bobrov | Fyodor Shalyapin |
| Young Gypsy | tenor | Lev Klementyev | Borisenko | Ivan Yershov |
| Zemfira | soprano | Mariya Deysha-Sionitskaya | Eigen | Mariya Deysha-Sionitskaya |
| An old man, Zemfira's father | bass | Stepan Vlasov | Levitsky | Frey |
| Gypsy woman | contralto | Shubina | Tomskaya | |
| Chorus, silent roles: Gypsies | ||||
[edit] Synopsis
Time:
Place:
Weary of his boring upper-class life, Aleko runs off with a band of Gypsies. He moves in with Zemfira, a young gypsy, and she bears him a child. The Old Gypsy, Zemfira's father, warns Aleko not to become too possessive of Zemfira. However, Aleko kills both Zemfira and the man he thinks is her lover. The Gypsies cast him out and disown him.
[edit] Principal arias and numbers
- Men's Dance
- The Young Gypsy's Romance
- Aleko's Cavatina
[edit] Critical reception
Like Rachmaninov's two other operas, Aleko shows Rachmaninov finding his own individual style, independent of the traditional number opera or Wagner's music-dramas. Michael Bukinik, a contemporary of Rachmaninov at the conservatory, recalled the rehearsals for the opera:
"I was a pupil of the orchestra class, and during the rehearsals, we not only admired, but were made happy and proud by his daring harmonies, and were ready to see in him a reformer."[1]
Geoffrey Norris has noted criticism of the opera as lacking in dramatic momentum and the libretto as being a hastily crafted "hotchpotch". A contemporary critic in the Moskovskiye vedomosti wrote of the opera at the time of the premiere:
"Of course there are faults, but they are far outweighed by merits, which lead one to expect much from this young composer in the future."[2]
[edit] Selected recordings
- Melodiya: I. Petrov, N. Pokrovskaya, A. Orfenov, A. Ognivtzev, V. Zlatogorova; Bolshoi Theatre Chorus and Orchestra; Nikolai Golovanov, conductor
- Saison Russe: Vladimir Matorine, Natalia Erassova, Viatchslav Potchapski, Vitaly Tarastchenko, Galina Borissova; Russian State Choir; Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra; Andrei Chistiakov, conductor[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Yasser, Joseph, "Progressive Tendencies in Rachmaninoff's Music" (Winter, 1951-1952). Tempo (New Ser.), 22: pp. 11-25.
- ^ Norris, Geoffrey (July 1973). "Rakhmaninov's Student Opera". The Musical Quarterly 59 (3): 441–448. doi:.
- ^ Quraishi, Ibrahim (1997). "'Aleko'. Sergei Rachmaninov". The Opera Quarterly 13 (4): 201–204. doi:.
 |
This article about an opera or opera-related subject is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
