Stone guest (opera)

The idea of ​​the opera came to Dargomyzhsky in 1863, but not being sure of success, at first he considered his work as experience, creative “intelligence” and in one of his letters said: “I am amusing myself with Pushkin's Don Juan . I’m trying an unprecedented thing: I’m writing music on the “Stone Guest” scenes as they are, without changing a single word ” (quoting from 100 operas. Author M. C. Druskin ). The composer was passionate about work, but due to heart disease, she did not progress so fast. The opera was already close to completion, and the composer was pleased to talk about the progress of work on it to his friends. But Dargomyzhsky failed to finish writing it to the end; death in January 1869 did not allow it. This was done by his friends. After the death of Dargomyzhsky, in accordance with his desire, the “Stone Guest” was completed according to Cui ’s original designs (in the clavier) and was orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov . The first performance of the opera took place on February 4 (16), 1872 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg ^[1] .

In 1987, Mikhail Kollontai orchestrated the opera without additions and amendments by Cui and Rimsky-Korsakov (production - Klagenfurt , Austria ).

For many years, the name of Dargomyzhsky was associated exclusively with the opera The Stone Guest, as a work that had a great influence on the development of Russian opera. The opera was written in an innovative style at that time: it has neither arias nor ensembles, it is entirely based on “melodic recitations” ^[2] and recitations based on music. As a goal of choosing such a language, Dargomyzhsky set not only a reflection of “dramatic truth” ^[3] , but also artistic reproduction of human speech with all its shades and bends using music. Later, the principles of Dargomyzhsky's opera art were embodied in the operas of M. P. Mussorgsky - “ Boris Godunov ” and especially vividly in “ Khovanshchina ”. Mussorgsky himself respected Dargomyzhsky and in initiations to several of his romances called him "a teacher of musical truth." ^[four]

It was a time of a new trend in the art of Europe, a time of moving away from the bombast of classicism and the pretense of romanticism and the emergence of new principles of realism. Young Russian musicians grouped around Balakirev - Rimsky-Korsakov, Cui, Mussorgsky, Dargomyzhsky became the forerunners of these new musical forms in Russia. They created a new historical and psychological type of Russian opera, directing it to a new path based on national identity, having left the prevailing European Italian sounding ease.

All characters of the “Stone Guest” are thoroughly verified psychologically, it is the musical depiction of psychological characters, and each character, and not just the main characters, is most important for the composer.

• Art. A. S. Dargomyzhsky “The Stone Guest” (According to the book: Viktor Korshikov . Want, I will teach you to love opera. About music and more. Moscow: YAT Studio, 2007):

The whole opera lasts eighty minutes. Its main advantage is a new, never-used style of musical dialogue. All melodies are thematic, and the characters "say the notes." This style was subsequently developed by M.P. Mussorgsky.
Don Juan is a universal figure. He is not insensitive and not stupid. As we learn from Laura, he writes poetry. He is friendly with Leporello. But he has a mania - women. (...) For people like him, love means death - and ... he dies.
Leporello is a typical opera servant. Smart, cunning, more moral than his master, he is the main comic hero of the opera.
Laura is a universal type of actress of that time. Singing, changing lovers and openly preferring male society. She loves to be the center of attention. Joan (and Carlos) arouse sympathy in her precisely because she is used to being the “boss in love," and these two are not afraid to offend her and themselves get the upper hand over her.
Donna Anna is the exact opposite of Laura. She is modest, married without love, but only for the sake of “position” and more than anything else she values ​​her honor. Although she should be the main heroine of the opera, both Pushkin and Dargomyzhsky were equally sympathetic to Laura.

Without the “Stone Guest” one cannot imagine the development of Russian musical culture. It was three operas - “Ivan Susanin”, “Ruslan and Lyudmila” and “Stone Guest” that created Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin. “Susanin” is an opera where the main character is the people, “Ruslan” is a mythical, deeply Russian plot, and “Guest”, in which the drama excels over the sweet beauty of sound.

The opera "Stone Guest" has become one of the "foundational stones" laid down in the development of Russian musical art. Without it, not only the study of Russian music, but also the general Russian culture is impossible. The opera is composed on the almost unchanged text of the Pushkin tragedy. The vocal style is unusual: “The Stone Guest” is entirely written by a recitative (with the exception of Laura’s two songs, which she performs for her guests). And finally, the musical expression of various psychological characters: “Dargomyzhsky finds very different expressive musical colors both for the passionate Don Juan, and for the humble and sometimes crafty Donna Anna, and for the rude, but endowed with lively humor Leporello” (See Solovtsev A. Book about the Russian opera. M., 1960. S. 72 ).

The plot of the opera is fully consistent with the text of the work of Pushkin. And this also showed the innovation of the opera.

Actors

• Don Giovanni (tenor)
• Leporello (bass)
• Donna Anna (soprano)
• Don Carlos (baritone)
• Laura (mezzo soprano)
• Monk (bass)
• 1st guest (tenor)
• 2nd guest (bass)
• Statue of the Commander (bass)

1 act

Scene One

Don Juan, expelled from Madrid for the murder of rivals, but still secretly returning there with his faithful servant Leporello, takes refuge at the monastery cemetery in the vicinity of Madrid. Remembering the past adventures, he is going to continue them, again penetrating the city. From the monk, Don Juan learns that this cemetery is visited by Donna Anna every day, the widow of Commander de Salva, who was once killed by him in a duel. Seeing her, decides to get acquainted with her in order to seduce her. In the meantime, in a hurry to Madrid.

Scene Two

In the house of actress Laura, guests gathered: friends and fans. Laura's singing delights guests. But one of the guests, Don Carlos, learning that the words of the song was composed by her former lover Don Juan, is furious - this villain killed his own brother! Laura is ready to drive away the impudent gentleman, however, guests reconcile them and after a new song disperse. And Laura decides to keep her hot-tempered Don Carlos: she liked him. Their conversation is disturbed by the appearance of Don Juan. Laura joyfully rushes to him. A duel is inevitable, and Don Carlos insists that he take place immediately. Opponents fight, and Don Juan kills Don Carlos.

Act 2

After killing Don Carlos, Don Juan again in the monastery, where he takes refuge under the guise of a hermit. Every day, Donna Anna comes to the grave of her husband-commander. Don Juan meets her, called Don Diego. With a mixed sense of curiosity and fear, she listens to him. And inferior. Donna Anna agrees to receive him tomorrow at her home. Delighted with victory, Don Giovanni challenges a bold fate: he invites the commander to tomorrow's meeting so that he stands on the watch during the meeting. Chilling horror grips him and Leporello when they see the statue nodding its consent in response to the invitation.

Act 3

Room in the house of Donna Anna. Ardent confessions cannot leave the young woman's heart cold. But Don Juan dropped an imprudent word about his guilt before Donna Anna. No, he does not want to touch this gloomy secret, otherwise Donna Anna will hate him! But she insists, and Don Juan, making sure that he managed to provoke a reciprocal feeling, reveals his name. He does not repent that he killed the commander, and is ready to die by her hand. But in the heart of Donna Anna there is no hatred, she realizes her reciprocal love for the rival who killed her husband. Don Juan triumphs, but at that moment heavy steps are heard, and now a statue of the commander appears. Donna Anna falls without feelings, and the commander holds out his hand to Don Juan, and he, full of unbridled excitement and fearlessness, responds to the handshake of a stone statue, holding out his hand. And then both fall into the netherworld.

• The premiere took place on February 16, 1872 at the Mariinsky Theater (conductor Napravnik ; Don Juan - Komissarzhevsky , Donna Anna - Platonova , Laura - Ilyina , Don Carlos - Melnikov , Leporello - O. Petrov ).
• In 1887, the production of Solodovnikov’s private opera house in Moscow on the Kuznetsk bridge was staged.
• The new orchestral edition of Rimsky-Korsakov staged on December 19, 1906 , the Bolshoi Theater (conductor Suk , director Mikhailov; Don Juan - Bonachich , Donna Anna - Khrennikova , Laura - Azerskaya , Don Carlos - Gryzunov , Leporello - Lossky ).
• In 1915, the opera was staged in Petrograd, at the Musical Drama Theater, under the direction of M. Bihter .
• January 27, 1917 - a new production at the Mariinsky Theater (conductor Malko , director Meyerhold , artist Golovin ; Don Juan - Alchevsky , Donna Anna - Cherkasskaya , Laura - Pavlinova , Don Carlos - Tartakov , Leporello - Sharonov ).
• In 1925, staged at the Opera Studio of the Leningrad Conservatory.
• In 1936 - in concert performance, recording of the All-Union Radio .
• In 1959 - in concert performance. Moscow (conductor Khaikin ; Don Juan - Maslennikov , Donna Anna - Vishnevskaya , Laura - Arkhipova , Leporello - Abramov , Don Carlos - Kiselev ).
• In 2016 - the Bolshoi Theater. Director D. Belyanushkin, conductor Anton Grishanin, production designer Victor Shilkrot. Don Juan - Fedor Ataskevich, Donna Anna - Anna Nechaeva, Laura - Agunda Kulaeva , Leporello - Peter Migunov , Don Carlos - Nikolai Kazansky, Statue of the Commander - Valery Gilmanov

Abroad: Salzburg (1928, in Russian), Prague (1935). Editions: “K. ", St. Petersburg, Bessel, [1871]; a new edition in the instrumentation of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, St. Petersburg, Bessel, 1906, and M., Muzgiz, 1029.

• Stone Guest (film, 1967)

Sources: [1] , [2]

Sources: [3] , [4]

• 100 operas . M. C. Druskin . Publishing house "Music", Leningrad. 1970
• Stone guest on the portal Culture of Russia
• Stone guest
• Stone guest. Libretto
• Sheet music of the opera The Stone Guest by Dargomyzhsky is free
• Author's clavier (straightened by manuscript), score in the orchestra of M. Kollontai, orchestral voices for free