Mozart and Salieri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Operas by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

The Maid of Pskov (1872)
May Night (1879)
The Snow Maiden (1881)
Mlada (1890)
Christmas Eve (1895)
Sadko (1896)
Mozart and Salieri (1897)
The Noblewoman Vera Sheloga (1898)
The Tsar's Bride (1898)
The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1900)
Servilia (1901)
Kashchey the Deathless (1902)
Pan Voyevoda (1903)
The Invisible City of Kitezh (1905)
The Golden Cockerel (1907)
v • d • e

Mozart and Salieri (Russian: Моцарт и Сальери , Motsart i Sal’yeri) is a one-act opera in two scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, to a Russian libretto taken almost verbatim from Alexander Pushkin's 1830 verse drama of the same name.

The story follows the apocryphal legend that Antonio Salieri poisoned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart out of jealousy over the latter's music.[1] Rimsky-Korsakov incorporated quotations from Mozart's Requiem and Don Giovanni into the score. Richard Taruskin has placed this opera in the historical context of the development of the realistic tradition in Russian opera.[2]

Contents

[edit] Performance history

The first performance took place at the Solodovnikov Theater in Moscow, presented by the Moscow Private Russian Opera, Moscow on 7 December 1898 (O.S. 25 November. The conductor was Iosif Truffi and scenic designer was Mikhail Vrubel. Fyodor Chaliapin claimed to have often sung the piece as a monodrama and the role of Mozart goes no higher than g'.

The first US performance took place in Forest Park, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1933.[3]

[edit] Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast
Moscow, 7 December 1898
(Conductor:Iosif Truffi)
Mozart tenor
Salieri baritone
A blind fiddler silent role
Offstage chorus: sings a few bars of Mozart's Requiem Mass in the second scene.

[edit] Synopsis

V. P. Shkafer as Mozart and Fyodor Shalyapin as Salieri(Russian Private Opera, 1898)
V. P. Shkafer as Mozart and Fyodor Shalyapin as Salieri
(Russian Private Opera, 1898)

Time: End of the 18th century

Place: Vienna, Austria

[edit] Scene 1

Salieri enjoys high social position as a composer, and has dedicated himself to the service of his art. Secretly, however, he is jealous of the works of Mozart because he recognizes their superior quality, especially given what he sees as the "idle" character of Mozart. Salieri invites Mozart to dinner and plans to poison him.

[edit] Scene 2

Mozart and Salieri are dining at an inn. Mozart is troubled by his work on his Requiem, which an anonymous stranger in black commissioned from him. Mozart notes that Pierre Beaumarchais and Salieri were once friends, but then asks if it is true that Beaumarchais once poisoned someone. Salieri then surreptitiously pours poison into Mozart's drink. Mozart begins to play at the keyboard, as Salieri begins to cry. Mozart sees this, but Salieri urges Mozart to continue to play. Mozart begins to feel ill, and leaves. Salieri ends the opera singing farewell to Mozart and comparing himself to Michelangelo.

[edit] Selected recordings

Audio Recordings (Mainly studio recordings)

Source: www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk

Motsart i Salyeri (Russian)

  • 1947, Samuil Samosud (conductor), Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre, Sergey Lemeshev (Mozart), Aleksandr Pirogov (Salieri)
  • 1951, Samuil Samosud (conductor), USSR Radio Orchestra and Chorus, Ivan Kozlovsky (Mozart), Mark Reyzen (Salieri)
  • 1974, Stoyan Angelov (conductor), Bulgarian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Svetoslav Obretenov Chorus, Avram Andreev (Mozart), Pavel Gerdzhikov (Salieri), Teodor Moussev (piano), Raina Manolova (violin)
  • 1986, Mark Ermler (conductor), Bolshoy Theatre Orchestra and Chorus, Aleksandr Fedin (Mozart), Yevgeny Nesterenko (Salieri), Vera Chasovennaya (piano), Sergey Girshenko (violin)
  • 1994, Yuli Turovsky (conductor), I Musici de Montréal, I Musici de Montréal Choir, Vladimir Bogachev (Mozart), Nikita Storojev (Salieri)

Mozart und Salieri (German)

  • 1982, Marek Janowski (conductor), Dresden Staatskapelle, Leipzig Radio Symphony Chorus, Peter Schreier (Mozart), Theo Adam (Salieri), Peter Rosel (piano)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Davies, Peter J., "Mozart's Illnesses and Death - 2. The Last Year and the Fatal Illness" (October 1984). The Musical Times, 125 (1700): pp. 554-557, 559-561.
  2. ^ Taruskin, Richard (1970). "Realism as Preached and Practiced: The Russian Opera Dialogue". The Musical Quarterly LVI (3): 431–454. doi:10.1093/mq/LVI.3.431. 
  3. ^ Harlow Robinson, "Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri". New York Times, 16 August 1981.

[edit] External links

 This article about an opera or opera-related subject is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Languages