War and Peace (Opera)

The idea of ​​creating an opera on this plot appeared in Prokofiev apparently very early. The first wife of the composer Lina Ivanovna Prokofieva wrote:

When, in 1935, Sergei Sergeyevich, giving a concert in Chelyabinsk, accidentally met the singer Vera Dukhovskaya and asked her to give him something to read, she suggested Tolstoy's “War and Peace”. And then he told her that he had long dreamed of writing an opera on this plot, but he put off everything, realizing that such a topic would require a very large and lengthy work [1]

. There is also important evidence of the second wife, Mira Mendelssohn-Prokofieva:

“War and Peace” was the first work I read aloud to Sergey Sergeyevich ... When I got to the pages describing the meeting of wounded Prince Andrei with Natasha, Sergey Sergeyevich told me that he felt this scene as an opera, and from that moment I began to think about “War and Peace” as an opera plot. In April 1941, he wrote down our short outline [2] of the opera’s libretto [3]

Thus, the first manuscripts related to opera appeared in the spring of 1941 . The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War prompted the composer to postpone all other work and closely engage in the implementation of this particular plan. By April 13, 1942 , the clavier of the opera in the first version, which included 11 paintings, was completely ready.

In the clavier, the opera was sent to the Committee on Arts, accompanied by a letter addressed to M.B. Khrapchenko . The response letter contained a high assessment of the lyrical paintings and wishes for improvements. In particular, it was suggested to think about strengthening the dramatic and heroic line, and doubts were expressed about the appropriateness of the beginning of the opera with a lyrical picture ^[4] . Revision of the opera took place until November 1942. In this version, in particular, the Epigraph was introduced. S. Eisenstein took part in the work, proposing some improvements. At the end of November, Prokofiev in Moscow, while listening to the opera, met with conductor S. Samosud , who also suggested making a number of corrections, which the composer took into account. In the new version, the clavier of the opera was first published with the help of a glass scanner. According to Samosud’s memoirs, the composer intended to involve Eisenstein (with whom he had fruitfully worked when writing music for the film “ Alexander Nevsky ”) in staging his opera as early as during the work on “ Semyon Kotko ”, however, due to the director’s busyness, these plans were not realized. According to Samosud: “Pondering the production, Eisenstein even began to make sketch-sketches of the layout, spatial, color solutions of individual episodes of War and Peace (over a dozen such sketches were preserved in his archive). He began to talk about possible improvements, re-emphasis in building a libretto ... ” Later, however, due to Eisenstein’s workload and his illness, they failed to carry out a joint theatrical production. According to the conductor, Prokofiev’s opera in its entirety can be truly revealed and conveyed to the listener-audience not only by theatrical means, but by cinematic means: “I’m convinced that if Eisenstein managed to complete his production of“ War in the World ”, which he had conceived, then this performance would become for him only sketches for the future film opera “War and Peace” ” ^[5] .

The planned production of the opera at the Bolshoi Theater did not take place in connection with the departure of S. Samosud from the theater. However, the composer's work on the opera continued and the conductor persistently promoted the opera to the stage. On June 7, 1945, a concert performance of the opera took place in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Soon, Samosud was appointed artistic director of the Leningrad Maly Opera House (MALEGOT) and was finally able to proceed right up to the production of War and Peace. It was then that the idea of ​​a two-night performance came up. For the new production, Prokofiev expanded the plan of the opera, in particular, adding two more paintings - “Ball at the Catherine’s nobleman” and “Military Council at Fili”. The first part of the opera (with the picture “Before the Battle of Borodino” attached to it) premiered on June 12, 1946 (the young Boris Pokrovsky was the director of this production). The second part (according to the memoirs of S. Samosud) was supposed to be shown in the next season ^[6] . Nevertheless, the complete production on the stage of MALEGOT was not possible, this was prevented by the processes associated with the publication of the infamous Resolution on the opera "Great Friendship" by Muradeli . Samosud recalled that "... In the fall of 1948 , the Maly Opera House made a new attempt to bring the performance to the audience" ^[7] . A new private viewing was organized, followed by discussion. Unfortunately, despite speaking in favor of the opera (in particular, D. Kabalevsky ), the opera in the two-night version was not accepted for production. A suggestion was made to try to combine both parts of the opera into one, making maximum bills in relation to everything that was objectionable. Prokofiev made concessions and noted possible reductions. This list of notes was later included in the author's note to the clavier of the opera. However

.

Until 1952 , Prokofiev continued to work on the work, inserting, replacing and editing individual episodes of the opera. Nevertheless, he could not see the final production of the opera in the theater. The full production of the opera was performed on the stage of MALEGOT in 1955 and on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in 1959 . Thus, work on the opera in total took more time from Prokofiev than any other of his works.

The opera aroused great interest Dm. Shostakovich , who wrote:

The libretto was made by the composer himself in collaboration with Mira Mendelssohn on the basis of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace. A wide range of sources was used in the work on the opera. According to the memoirs of Mira Mendelssohn-Prokofieva:

An important task was the widest possible reflection of the problems of the novel in the music of the opera, in connection with which the opera also grows to enormous size (it was not by chance that Prokofiev assumed the possibility of performing the opera at two in the evening). The libretto has the property of "fragmentation", that is, events that occur between the paintings are often not shown, they are thought out on the basis of replicas of the characters - this makes it possible to make a wide coverage of the historical context and enhances the epic sound of the opera. A characteristic feature of the libretto was also the presence of a large number of episodic characters borrowed from the novel, including people who had real historical prototypes - Napoleon , Emperor Alexander I , Field Marshal Kutuzov , etc.

When creating the libretto, Prokofiev set a special artistic task to bring the artistic world of the opera as accurate as possible to the original source - Tolstoy’s novel. Therefore, the libretto was written in prose with the inclusion of many fragments of direct speech, borrowed directly from the novel.

In addition to Tolstoy’s novel in Prokofiev’s treatment, the opera also used the original texts of the authors of the 18th and 19th centuries: in the first picture of the opera, a fragment from V. Zhukovsky ’s poem “Evening (Elegy)” (“A Stream Curling in the Bright Sand”); in the second painting of the opera, a fragment from M. Oda on the day of the accession to the throne of Her Majesty Empress Empress Elisaveta Petrovna M. Lomonosov (“Let the lights move harmoniously”), as well as a fragment of K. Batyushkov’s poem “Merry Hour” (“You, dear friends, with me "). A fragment from the literary diaries of Denis Davydov, together with quotes from the novel by Tolstoy, was partially included in the text of the Epigraph.

• Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky - bass (low, sarcastic); picture 3
• Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, his son - baritone (high); paintings 1, 2, 8, 12
• Princess Mary, sister of Prince Andrew - mezzo-soprano; picture 3
• Count Ilya Andreevich Rostov - bass (soft, baritone); paintings 2, 3, 4
• Natasha , his daughter is a lyrical and dramatic soprano; paintings 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12
• Sonia, cousin of Natasha - mezzo-soprano; paintings 1, 2, 4, 6
• Akhrosimova Marya Dmitrievna, a relative of the Rostovs - mezzo-soprano (domineering); pictures 2, 6
• Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov - bass; paintings 8, 10, 13
• Pierre Bezukhov - dramatic tenor; paintings 2, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13
• Helen Bezukhova - contralto; paintings 2, 4, 7
• Anatole Kuragin, brother Helen - tenor; paintings 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
• Lieutenant Dolokhov, buddy Kuragin - bass; paintings 2, 5, 6
• Coachman Balaga - bass (high, dashing); picture 5
• Gypsy Matresha - contralto; picture 5
• Lieutenant Colonel Denisov - baritone bass; paintings 7, 8, 13
• Plato Karataev - tenor (soft); picture 11
• Emperor Alexander I - without singing; picture 2
• Peronskaya - soprano; picture 2
• The master of the ball is the tenor; picture 2
• Mistress of the ball - soprano; picture 2
• Adjutant at the Ball - Baritone
• Footman at the ball - tenor
• The old footman of Bolkonsky - baritone; picture 3
• Maid Bolkonskih - mezzo-soprano; picture 3
• Bolkonsky valet - bass; picture 3
• Dunyasha, maid Akhrosimova - soprano (not high); paintings 6, 11, 13
• Gavrila, lackey Akhrosimova - baritone or bass; picture 6
• Tikhon Scherbaty - bass (without low notes); paintings 8, 13
• Fedor - tenor (without high notes); paintings 8, 13
• Matveev - baritone; paintings 8, 13
• The elder Vasilisa - mezzo-soprano; paintings 8, 13
• Trishka - contralto (travesty); picture 8
• West Prince Andrew - low tenor; picture 8
• Mavra Kuzminichna, Rostov's housekeeper - contralto; picture 11
• Ivanov - tenor (piercing); picture 11
• Adjutant Kutuzova - tenor (sharp); paintings 8, 13
• General Benigsen - bass; picture 10
• General Barclay de Tolly - tenor; picture 10
• General Ermolov - bass; picture 10
• General Raevsky - baritone; picture 10
• Konovnitsyn - tenor; picture 10
• Sang - baritone; picture 10
• Girl Malasha - without words; picture 10
• 1st staff officer - tenor; picture 8
• 2nd staff officer - bass; picture 8
• Emperor of France Napoleon - baritone; paintings 9, 11
• Metivier, French doctor - soft, velvet baritone or bass; picture 7
• French abbot - tenor; picture 7
• Marshal Berthier - baritone bass; picture 9
• Marshal Kolenkur - without words; picture 9
• General Beliard - bass (rough, without low notes); picture 9
• Minister of the Courtyard de Bosset - Tenor (comic); picture 9
• Adjutant of Napoleon - bass (high); picture 9
• Adjutant of Marshal Murat - contralto (travesty); picture 9
• Adjutant General Campan - tenor; picture 9
• Adjutant of Prince Eugene - tenor; picture 9
• A voice behind the curtains - tenor (high); picture 9
• Marshal Davout - bass (thick, gloomy, but without low notes); picture 11
• Captain Ramball - bass; Pictures 11, 13
• Lieutenant Bonnet - Tenor
• Gerard - tenor; picture 11
• Jaco - bass; picture 11
• Young factory - tenor (baritone is possible); picture 11
• Shopkeeper - low soprano; picture 11
• French officer - baritone; picture 11, 13
• 1st French actress - soprano; picture 11
• 2nd French actress - mezzo-soprano; picture 11
• Convoy - without words; picture 13
• 1st German general - without singing; picture 8
• 2nd German general - without singing; picture 8
• 1st crazy - tenor; picture 11
• 2nd crazy - bass (high); picture 11
• 3rd crazy - without words; picture 11
• Guests at the balls, Russian officers, soldiers, partisans and militias, residents of Moscow, French officers and soldiers, etc.

The action takes place in Russia from 1809 to 1812.

Scene One

Prince Andrei Nikolaevich Bolkonsky is visiting the estate of Count Rostov, he is full of joyless thoughts about the present and future. Suddenly he hears the singing and dialogue of Natasha Rostova and Sonya in the upper chambers. This distracts him from sad thoughts. Natasha is thrilled by the beauty of the spring night, her words touch Prince Andrei and set his thoughts to a lighter way.

Scene Two

Great ball at the Catherine nobleman. Invited come together. Among them, Count Rostov with his daughter, Pierre Bezukhov with his beautiful wife Helen, her brother Anatole Kuragin. Dances and fun are in full swing, Natasha Rostova for the first time at a big ball - she wants to dance to show herself. Pierre Bezukhov leads her to Andrei Bolkonsky, who invites her to a waltz tour. Natasha is happy, Andrei is fascinated by her.

Scene Three

Andrei made an offer to Natasha, now she should get acquainted with the groom's relatives. However, the old prince is offended by the engagement of his son with Natasha, he considers this unworthy of his son and refuses to receive guests. Alarmed, Rostov leaves Natasha with Princess Andrey's sister Mary. Between them is a tense conversation. Enters the old man Bolkonsky. He is harsh with his daughter and with Natasha, insulting her. Natasha rushes to her returning father, begging to pick her up. Princess Mary is trying to talk about Prince Andrew, but the dialogue does not work.

Scene Four

Ball at Helen Bezukhova. Anatole Kuragin confesses love to Natasha, trying to seduce her. Natasha is confused and confused, she is not able to figure out the feelings that gripped her, it seems to her that she loves Anatole.

Scene Five

Cabinet Dolokhov. Friends are preparing for the departure of Anatole. Kuragin indulges in dreams of an early meeting with Natasha, whom he is going to kidnap and take away abroad today. Dolokhov is trying to dissuade Anatole from a risky undertaking, but Kuragin is adamant: he does not want to think about the consequences. With a dashing trio, the coachman Balaga arrived. Anatole says goodbye to the gypsy Matresh and sets off.

Scene Six

Natasha is waiting for Kuragin. Sonya revealed the secret of the escape of Akhrosimova. Having barely appeared, Anatole sees the situation and disappears. Akhrosimova reprimands Natasha, who is in a state of despair. Pierre Bezukhov reports that Anatole could not be her fiance, he is married. Trying to console Natasha, Pierre accidentally gives her his own feelings. However, she is stunned by what she heard, it seems to her that there is no point in living and she is trying to commit suicide.

Scene Seven

After visiting Akhrosimova, Pierre returns home, where he finds Anatole. Enraged, Pierre demands that he return Natasha’s letters and leave Moscow immediately. Frightened Anatole agrees. The cowardice of Kuragin evokes Pierre's contempt and hatred. His sad thoughts are interrupted by the news of the beginning of the war with Napoleon.

Scene 8

A group of militias is building fortifications on the Borodino field. They are determined to win the upcoming battle. Not far away, Colonel Denisov tells the commander of the jaeger regiment Andrei Bolkonsky about his plan for guerrilla warfare. The meeting with Denisov stirred up the memories of the recent past in Prince Andrey’s soul. Happily greeted by troops, Field Marshal Kutuzov circumvents the position. He speaks to passing shelves with words inspiring a feat. Kutuzov beckons Prince Bolkonsky and invites him to serve at headquarters. But Bolkonsky does not want to part with people whom he loved in the days of formidable trials. The thunder of the first shots is heard - the battle of Borodino begins.

Scene Nine

Shevardinsky redoubt. From here Napoleon watches the fight. He has no doubt in success. However, instead of the usual reports of brilliant victories, one by one the adjutants of the marshals arrive, asking for reinforcements. Napoleon is confused. He cannot understand why the troops he leads do not take the enemy to flight, why military happiness has betrayed him.

Scene 10

The military council of the Russian command at Fili. Kutuzov urges to solve the question - whether to risk the loss of the army in the battle of Moscow or leave the city without a fight. After listening to the generals, the field marshal gives the order for the retreat. Everyone disagrees. Kutuzov remains alone, lost in thought about the fate of his homeland.

Scene 11

Fire on the streets of Moscow. The army scattered home, engulfed in the excitement of robbery. The remaining Muscovites are watching with anger the robbery of the French.

Picture Twelve

Dark hut. Heavily wounded Prince Andrei is delirious. In his painfully agitated consciousness, nightmares, memories of days past, and a painful foreboding of impending death alternate incoherently. Он многое увидел иначе, ему хочется вернуть прошлое и снова увидеть Наташу. В дверях показывается она. В момент просветления его сознания она бросается к князю Андрею и молит простить её за все страдания, которые причинила ему. Князь Андрей успокоен, он погружается в воспоминание о музыке вальса, который когда-то танцевал с ней. Однако тихий покой снова прерывается болью и мучительным, смертным бредом…

Картина тринадцатая

Остатки армии Наполеона беспорядочно отступают по заснеженной Смоленской дороге, пробиваясь сквозь пургу и метель. Под конвоем ведут русских пленных. На отступающий французский отряд нападают партизаны во главе с Денисовым, Долоховым и Щербатым. После короткого боя они собираются вокруг освобождённых пленных. Радостными возгласами партизаны встречают появление Кутузова, который обращается к народу с благодарностью за мужество в борьбе с врагом. Слова фельдмаршала вызывают всеобщий подъём.

• В концертном исполнении 16 октября 1944 , Москва ;
• 1-я часть (8 картин) пост. 12 июня 1946 , Ленинградский Малый оперный театр (Наташа Ростова — Лаврова, князь Андрей — Петров, Пьер Безухов — Чишко, старый князь Болконский — Журавленко , Анатоль Курагин — Андрукович, Ахросимова — Головина, Кутузов — Бутягин; дирижёр Самосуд , пост. Покровского , худ. Дмитриев).
• Во 2-й ред. «Война и мир» ставилась в концертном исполнении в июне 1953, Москва;
• 1 апр. 1955 ост. Ленингр. Малым оперным театром (Наташа Ростова — Лаврова, князь Андрей — Шапошников, Пьер Безухов — Глебов, Старый князь Болконский — Матусов, Анатоль Курагин — Андрукович, Ахросимова — Головина, Кутузов — Бутягин, Наполеон — Модестов; дирижёр Грикуров, пост. Покровского , худ. Дмитриев);
• 8 ноября 1957 — Муз. театр им. Станиславского и Немировича-Данченко , московская премьера полной ред. в 13 картинах, (Наташа Ростова — Каевченко, князь Андрей — Морозов, Пьер Безухов — Щавинский, Элен Безухова - Левко , Анатоль Курагин — Радзиевский, Ахросимова — Янко , Кутузов — Пирогов , Наполеон — Канделаки; дирижёр Шавердов, реж. Баратов и Златогоров , худ. Волков, хормейстер Степанов);
• 15 декабря 1959 — Большой театр , Москва (Наташа Ростова — Галина Вишневская , князь Андрей — Кибкало , Пьер Безухов — В. Петров, Анатоль Курагин — Масленников , Кутузов — Кривченя , Наполеон — Лисициан , Ахросимова — Авдеева , Элен — Архипова ; дирижёр Мелик-Пашаев , постановка Бориса Покровского , худ. Рындин, хормейстеры Рыбнов и Хазанов);
• 3 ноября 1956 «Война и мир» поставил Театр оперы и балета им. Шевченко, Киев (Наташа Ростова — Пономаренко, князь Андрей — Пузин, Пьер Безухов — Борищенко, Кутузов — Роменский, Наполеон — Козак; дирижёр Климов, реж. Скляренко, худ. Петрицкий, хормейстеры Колесников и Венедиктов, балетмейстер Ярыгина).

За рубежом

• 25 июня 1948 — Пражский национальный театр (в первой редакции)
• 26 мая 1953 — Флорентийский музыкальный май (в третьей редакции)
• 1957 — Софийская нар. опера (Наташа Ростова — Попова и Георгиева, князь Андрей — Генов и Янков, Пьер Безухов — Бодуров, Анатоль Курагин — Арсов и Цолов, Ахросимова — Тодорова, Кутузов — Попов; дирижёр Найденов, постановка сов. режиссёра Б. Покровского, худ. Попов).
• 28 сентября 1973 — Сиднейский оперный театр (первая постановка, произведённая в этом здании с момента постройки).
• 30 сентября 2018 — Государственный оперный театр, Нюрнберг, Германия ; дирижёр Йоана Мальвитц (Joana Malwitz), постановка: Йенс-Даниэль Герцог

,

• Исполнители: Андрей Болконский — Евгений Кибкало , Наташа Ростова — Галина Вишневская , Пьер Безухов — Владимир Петров , Элен Безухова — Ирина Архипова , Анатоль Курагин — Алексей Масленников , граф Ростов — Николай Щегольков , Соня — Валентина Клепацкая , князь Болконский — Александр Ведерников , княжна Марья — Кира Леонова , Ахросимова — Евгения Вербицкая , Долохов — Георгий Панков , Кутузов — Алексей Кривченя , Барклай-де-Толли; Платон Каратаев — Георгий Шульпин , генерал Раевский — Владимир Валайтис , Наполеон — Павел Лисициан , капитан Рамбаль — Артур Эйзен . Хор и оркестр Большого театра , дирижёр Александр Мелик-Пашаев . 1961 .
• Исполнители: Наташа — Екатерина Морозова, Андрей — Родерик Вильямс, Пьер — Джастин Лавендер, Кутузов — А.Юинг, Наполеон — Алан Опи, Элен — Елена Ионова, Анатоль — Олег Балашов, Ахросимова — Виктория Ливенгуд, хор Государственной Академической Симфонической капеллы России п/у В. Полянского, оркестр фестиваля в Сполето (Италия), дирижёр — Ричард Хикокс, 1999 год.

• Партитура, Прокофьев С. С., Собр. соч., тт. 7а, б, М." Музгиз, 195S;
• Клавир, Собр. соч., тт. 6а, б, М., Музгиз, 1958.

• Мнацаканова Е. Опера С. С. Прокофьева «Война и мир». — М., 1959.
• Волков А. "Война и мир" Прокофьева: Опыт анализа вариантов оперы. М.: Музыка, 1976. 136 с.
• Ручьевская Е. «Война и мир». Роман Л. Н. Толстого и опера С. С. Прокофьева. — СПб., 2009.

• Война и мир на сайте Belcanto
• Либретто оперы Война и мир
• Война миров. К 70-летию постановки оперы Прокофьева «Война и мир»