The Demon (opera)
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The Demon (Russian: Демон) is an opera in 3 acts (six scenes) by Russian composer Anton Rubinstein. The work dates from 1871. The libretto was by Pavel Viskovatov, based on the poem of the same name by Mikhail Lermontov.
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[edit] History
[edit] Composition history
[edit] Performance history
Source: Театральная Энциклопедия (Theatrical Encyclopedia published by Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya)
St. Petersburg Premiere (World premiere)
- Date: 25 January 1875
- Place: Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg
- Conductor: Eduard Nápravnik
- Scene Desighers: Mikhayil Bocharov, Matvey Shishkov, Lagorio
Moscow Premiere
- Date: 23 October 1879
- Place: Bolshoy Theatre, Moscow
- Conductor: Enrico Bevignani
Original Interpreters
| Russian | Voice | St. Petersburg 1875 | Moscow 1879 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Gudal | bass | Osip Petrov | Anton Bartsal |
| Tamara | soprano | Wilhelmina Raab | Yelena Verni |
| Nurse | contralto | ||
| Sinodal | tenor | Fyodor Komissarzhevsky | |
| Sinodal's servant | bass | ||
| Courier | tenor | ||
| Demon | baritone | Ivan Melnikov | Bogomir Korsov |
| Angel | contralto | Aleksandra Krutikova |
The opera received 100 performances in the first decade since its premiere. Its first performance in Paris was in May 1911, where the critics considered the opera to be old-fashioned.[1]
Publication history
- 1878, V. Bessel and Co., St. Petersburg
- 1958, Muzgiz, Moscow
[edit] Critical reception
Rubinstein invited several musicians of the group known as The Five, including César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as the critic Vladimir Stasov to a private hearing of the opera in September 1871, where the guests did not regard the work favourably. However, melodic motifs from The Demon inspired comparable motifs in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.[2]
[edit] Roles and setting
[edit] Roles
| Russian | English | Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Князь Гудал | Prince Gudal | bass |
| Тамара, его дочь | Tamara, his daughter | soprano |
| Няня Тамары | Tamara's nurse | contralto |
| Князь Синодал, жених Тамары | Prince Sinodal, Tamara's betrothed | tenor |
| Старый слуга князя Синодала | Prince Sinodal's old servant | bass |
| Гонец | Courier | tenor |
| Демон | Demon | baritone |
| Ангел | Angel | contralto |
| Хоры злых и добрых духов, грузин и грузинок, гостей, татар, слуг, монахинь | Evil and good spirits, Georgians, guests, Tatars, servants, nuns | chorus, silent roles |
[edit] Setting
- Time: Unspecified
- Place: Georgia
[edit] Synopsis
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
[edit] References
- ^ Garden, Edward, "Reviews of Books: Anton Rubinstein and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Selected Operas. Proceedings of the International Musicological Convention in Vorzel (Ukraine), May 4th-6th, 1994 (November 1998). Music & Letters, 79 (4): pp. 622-624.
- ^ Abraham, Gerald, "Anton Rubinstein: Russian Composer" (December 1945). The Musical Times, 86 (1234): pp. 361-365.
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