“The Queen of Spades” - an opera by P. I. Tchaikovsky in 3 acts, 7 scenes, a libretto by M. I. Tchaikovsky based on the story by A. S. Pushkin . The opera was written in Florence in the early spring of 1890 , the first production was on December 7 (19), 1890 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg performed by artists of the Imperial troupe.
Opera | |
Queen of spades | |
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P. I. Tchaikovsky and the Figner spouses, the performers of the main parts at the premiere | |
Composer | |
Librettist | |
Libretto language | |
Plot source | The story of A. S. Pushkin "The Queen of Spades" |
Genre | |
Action | |
Pictures | |
First production | |
Place the first production | Mariinsky Theater , Petersburg |
Duration (approx.) | |
Scene | |
Creation History
The idea of staging the opera with the plot of A. S. Pushkin's The Queen of Spades on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater probably belonged to Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky , Director of the Imperial Theaters. Since 1885, on behalf of the directorate of theaters, negotiations were held on the creation of an opera on this plot with several people, including composers A. A. Villamov and N. S. Klenovsky , as well as librettists I. V. Shpazhinsky and V. A. Kandaurov. In October 1887, Vsevolozhsky had his first conversation with Tchaikovsky, who was asked to write music for this plot, but the composer resolutely refused, in particular, explaining his refusal by the lack of a “proper stage” plot. From the beginning of 1888, Modest Ilich Tchaikovsky , who wrote about this to his brother Peter Ilyich in a letter dated February 7, 1888, took up compiling the libretto for this plot (for Klenovsky).
The second picture of the libretto finished. I am terribly pleased with the general view of this picture <...> If you wrote music for it, with what tenfold diligence I would sprinkle my poems! [1] . |
Tchaikovsky's attitude towards this plot changed at the end of 1889, when, during rehearsals of his ballet Sleeping Beauty, negotiations on a future opera were resumed at the Mariinsky Theater. In a letter to Yu. P. Shpazhinsky dated January 26, 1890, Tchaikovsky noted:
... I gradually began to feel the urgent need to do in the form of rest my own business, that is, writing. And then, as if on purpose, I. A. Vsevolozhsky began to ask me hard to write an opera on the plot of the Queen of Spades. The libretto was already done before by anyone else, like my brother Modest <...> I read it, I liked it, and then one day I decided to give up everything, that is, St. Petersburg and Moscow, and many cities in Germany Belgium and France, where he had an invitation to concerts, and go somewhere abroad, in order to work without interference [2] . |
January 19, 1890 in Florence, Tchaikovsky began to compose an opera. The process of its creation was unusually fast: the clavier of the opera was completed on April 6, and by June 8 of the same year the entire score was completed. In the process of composition, Tchaikovsky edited the libretto, and he himself wrote words to certain fragments, including two arias (Yeletsky, in the second act and Liza - in the third). Later, working together with Nikolai Figner , a tenor who was supposed to play the main role in the opera, Tchaikovsky inserted Hermann’s song in the seventh film (aria) and made a new version of his deathbed arioso.
The world premiere of the opera was held at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on December 19, 1890 . Conducted by Edward Napravnik .
The Kiev premiere of The Queen of Spades was held on December 31, 1890 (conducted by Iosif Pribik ), and in Moscow , at the Bolshoi Theater , on November 4, 1891 (conducted by Ippolit Altani ). Gradually, the opera entered the repertoire of many theaters in Europe and America:
- October 11, 1892 - the first production outside of Russia, the premiere in Prague (performed in Czech in the translation of V. Novotny)
- 1902 - first production in Vienna , Vienna State Opera , conductor Gustav Mahler
- 1904 - staged at the Bolshoi Theater (Moscow), behind the conductor's stand - Sergei Rakhmaninov
- March 5, 1910 - first production in the USA, New York, conductor Gustav Mahler (performed in German )
- May 29, 1915 - the first production in Great Britain, London (performed in Russian)
Scene interpretation
Despite the similarities of many plot points in the original story and opera, the actions of the actors in the opera have a completely different psychological motivation. Unlike the story, Herman flames to Lisa with the strongest love passion, but Lisa is represented in the opera not as a poor relative of the Countess, but as her rich heiress. The need to secure his position pushes him to try to find out the Countess's secret in order to win money in cards with it. However, the passion for the game and the desire to learn the fateful secret have a disastrous effect on him and leads him not only to madness, but also to death. The fate of Lisa, whose image was rewritten by Tchaikovsky, also ends with death. Unlike the unfortunate pupil from Pushkin’s story, Liza is a passionate, strong person who sacrifices her brilliant position and engagement with Prince Yeletsky in the name of passionate love for Herman, and the madness of the latter causes her death. At the insistence of Tchaikovsky, the libretto of the opera specifically added the sixth picture, dedicated to her fate. In addition, the author’s attitude to his heroes is different. If in Pushkin it is a detached character (the story is written in the spirit of a secular anecdote), then Tchaikovsky experiences the fate of each character as if they were living people he knew:
Herman was not just a pretext for me to write this or that music, but all the time I was a real living person, moreover, I liked very much <...> I wrote the Queen of Spades with love. God, how I cried yesterday when I was reading the words of my poor Herman! [3] . |
Some believe that the author’s personal attitude toward the hero is reinforced by the fact that the main character in the Pushkin story bears the name Hermann , while his name remains unknown to the reader. In the libretto, the second letter “n” was removed from the last name, so that the word was perceived as a name: Herman [4] . However, the story does not indicate anywhere, whether the name is Hermann or the name, and the phrase “His name is Hermann” indicates that it is after all the name [5] . In this case, in German the name Hermann is more common than the surname Hermann, so perhaps Tchaikovsky simply simplified the spelling of the name that was outdated by that time.
Strengthening the psychological line in the images of the main actors brings them closer to the characters of F. M. Dostoevsky , in particular the novel “The Player” [6] .
The opera also pays great attention to binding to specific Petersburg landscapes - Sunny Day in the Summer Garden (first picture) and Winter Canal at night (sixth picture).
According to the original idea of Vsevolozhsky, the opera was moved to the 18th century, in the epoch of Catherine II . This allowed to include in the libretto texts of Russian poets of the XVIII - beginning of the XIX centuries, namely:
- In a duet of Lisa and Polina (the second picture) a poem by V. A. Zhukovsky “Evening” was used .
- The text of Pauline’s romance “Girlfriends are lovely” (second picture) is borrowed from K. N. Batyushkov ’s poem “The inscription on the shepherdess’s coffin”
- The text of the choir "Joyful, Fun" (third picture) belongs to G. R. Derzhavin
- The text of the pastoral "Sincerity of the Shepherd" was borrowed from the collection "Poems of Peter Karabanov , moral, lyrical, love, humorous and mixed." SPb., 1812.
- In the ceremonial choir "Glory to Sim, Catherine" (the third picture) Derzhavin's text from his Song of Her Imperial Majesty Catherine II to the victories of Count Suvorov-Rymnik of 1794 sounds along with the music of O.A. Kozlovsky ’s festive poloneza, popular at the end of the 18th century. Thunder of victory be heard . ”
- In Tomsky’s song “If Dear Maidens” (the seventh picture), Derzhavin ’s poem “Comic Desire” was used
The choir of gamblers “And on rainy days they were going to ...” (the seventh picture) was written on the text of the epigraph to Pushkin's story.
In addition, the fourth picture in the Countess's vocal part uses the melody of Loretta’s song “ Je crains de lui parler la nuit ” from the opera by French composer Andre Gretrie “Richard the Lionheart” .
The transfer of the action to an earlier era met the composer's lively creative response. Writing a pastoral “Sincerity of the Shepherd” stylized in the spirit of 18th century music, on February 12, 1890, Tchaikovsky wrote in his Diary:
At times, it seemed to me that I live in the 18th century, and that there was nothing beyond Mozart [7] . |
Characters and Premier Lineups
The consignment | Premiere in St. Petersburg December 19, 1890 conductor eduard napravnik | Premiere in Kiev December 31, 1890 conductor Iosif Pribik | Premiere in Moscow November 4, 1891 Conductor Hippolyte Altani | |
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Herman ( tenor ) | Nikolay Figner | Mikhail Medvedev | Mikhail Medvedev | |
Tomsk ( baritone ) | Ivan Melnikov | Dementiev | Bogomir Korsov | |
Eletsky ( baritone ) | Leonid Yakovlev | Joachim Tartakov | Pavel Khokhlov | |
Chekalinsky ( tenor ) | Vasily Vasilyev (Vasilyev-second) | |||
Surin ( bass ) | Ya. A. Frey | |||
Chaplitsky ( tenor ) | K.A. Kondarak | |||
Narumov ( bass ) | V.F. Sobolev | |||
Manager ( tenor ) | V.N. Efimov | |||
Countess ( mezzo-soprano / contralto ) | Maria Slavina | Maria Smirnova | Alexandra Krutikova | |
Lisa ( soprano ) | Medea Figner | Alexandra Matsulevich | Maria Deisha-Zionitskaya | |
Polina ( contralto ) | Maria Valley | Vera Gnucheva | ||
Governess ( mezzo-soprano ) | Maria Wilhelmina Pilz | |||
Masha ( soprano ) | Julia Yunosova | |||
Boy Commander (no singing) | ||||
Prilepa ( soprano ) | Olga Olgina | |||
Milovzor ( contralto ) | Nina Friede | |||
Zlatogor ( baritone ) | Alexander Klimov (Klimov-second) | |||
Chorus, roles without words: Nannies, governess, walking, manager of the ball, guests, children, players |
Summary
The opera takes place in St. Petersburg at the end of the 18th century.
First action
The first picture . Sunny Summer Garden , filled with a walking crowd. The officers Surin and Chekalinsky share their impressions about the strange behavior of his friend Hermann: he spends the whole night in a gambling house, but he never takes his cards. Soon, accompanied by the Count of Tomsk, Herman himself appears. He admits that he is passionately in love, but does not know the name of his chosen one. Meanwhile, Prince Yeletsky, who joined the company of officers, shares his joy in connection with his imminent marriage: “The bright angel agreed to combine his destiny with mine!” Herman learn with horror that the object of his passion is the prince's bride, when the Countess passes by, accompanied by her granddaughter, Lisa. Both women, who noticed the burning gaze of Herman, are gripped by heavy forebodings.
Tomsky tells his friends a secular anecdote about the countess, who as a young “Venus of Moscow” lost all fortune. “At the price of a single rendezvous,” she learned from the Count of Saint-Germain the fatal secret of the three always-winning cards in order to get her money back. From that moment her further fate proved to be firmly connected with this secret: “Since she called those cards to her husband, another time they found out their handsome young man, but that very night, only she was left alone, the ghost appeared to her and said ominously:“ You will get a deadly the blow you are from the third, who, passionately, passionately loving, will come to learn from you by force three cards, three cards, three cards! "". After this story, Surin and Chekalinsky make fun of Hermann and offer to find out the secret of the cards from the old woman, but Hermann’s thoughts are focused on Lisa. Thunderstorm begins. The garden is empty. Among the raging elements, Herman exclaims: “I am not afraid of the storm! In me, all the passions awoke with such deadly power that this thunder is nothing in comparison! No, prince! While I am alive, I will not give it to you, I do not know how, but I will take it away! ... She will be mine, mine, or I will die! ”.
The second picture . Dusk. Girls try to cheer saddened Lisa, but she hides her thoughts. Only when left alone, Lisa confides in her dark secret of the night. She feels love for the mysterious stranger, he is beautiful "like a fallen angel", in his eyes "the fire of scorching passion." Suddenly, Herman appears on the balcony. He reveals his love to Lisa and begs her to accept this recognition, because otherwise he is ready to part with life. Her answer is tears of compassion. They are interrupted by a knock at the door. The Countess enters the room, and when Hermann hides behind the curtain at the sight of her, she suddenly remembers the terrible secret of the three cards. In the face of the old woman he seems to be the terrible ghost of death. But she leaves and Herman's impetuous explanation ends with a reciprocal admission of Lisa.
Second Step
The first picture.
Ball. Yeletsky, alarmed by Liza's coldness, assures her of his love, but at the same time nobly gives her freedom. Surin and Chekalinsky in masks scoff at Hermann: “Are you the third one who, passionately loving, will come to learn three cards from her, three cards, three cards?” Hermann is frightened by these words. At the end of the interlude "Sincerity of the Shepherd," he encounters the Countess. Having received the keys to the Countess's secret door from Lisa, Herman sees this as a fatal omen. Tonight he learns the secret of the three cards.
The second picture .
Herman sneaks into the Countess's bedroom. With awe, he peers into her portrait in his youth and feels the secret fatal force that binds him to her: “I look at you and hate you, but I can’t see enough of myself”. The Countess herself appears, accompanied by the hangers. She obscurely recalls the past and gradually falls asleep in the chair. Suddenly, Herman arises in front of her, imploring to reveal the secret of the three cards: “You can make up the happiness of a lifetime, and it will cost you nothing!” But the Countess, numb from fright, is immovable. Furious, Herman threatens with a pistol and the old woman drops dead. The prophecy came true, but the secret remained Herman unknown. Lisa comes to the noise and sees Hermann in a state of madness. She understands that Herman needed the secret of three cards.
Step
The first picture .
Herman in the barracks. He reads Liza’s letter, where she is dating him on the embankment. He recalls the past and in his imagination there are pictures of the funeral of the old woman, a ghostly funeral singing is heard. They knock on the window. Extinguished candle. A horrified Herman sees the ghost of the Countess and hears her words: “I came to you against my will. But I am commanded to fulfill your request. Save Lisa, marry her, and three cards will win in a row. Remember! Troika! Seven! Ace! "" Three ... Seven ... Ace ... "- as the spell repeats Herman.
The second picture .
Lisa is waiting for Herman on the embankment at the Winter Canal. She feels terrible agony of doubt: "Ah, I was exhausted, I was tormented." When the clock strikes midnight and Lisa finally loses hope, Herman appears, initially repeating the words of love behind Liza, but already possessed by another idea. Lisa is convinced that Herman is responsible for the death of the Countess. His madness is intensifying, he does not recognize her, his thoughts are only about the gambling house: "There are piles of gold there for me, they belong to me alone." He runs away to the gambling house, and Lisa, driven to despair, rushes into the water.
The third picture .
Players have fun at the card table. They are entertained by Tomsk humorous song. In the midst of the game appears agitated Herman. Twice in a row, offering large stakes, he wins. “The devil himself plays with you,” the people proclaim. The game continues. This time against Herman prince Eletsky. And instead of a win-win ace in his hands is the lady of spades. Hermann sees on the map the features of a deceased old woman: “Damned! What do you need! My life? Take it, take it! ”And he shoots himself. In the minds of a dying hero, a beautiful image of Lisa appears: “Beautiful! Goddess! Angel! ”With these words, Herman dies.
Famous arias and numbers
External audio files | |
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Participants sing the Petersburg premiere of "The Queen of Spades" | |
Hermann's aria “Forgive me, heavenly creature” performed by Nikolay Figner (recording of 1901) | |
Liza's arioso "Ax, I was exhausted by grief" performed by Medea Mei-Figner (recording of 1901) |
From the first action -
- Choir of children, nannies, etc.
- Arioso: "I do not know her name" (Herman)
- Introduction and Ballad: “Once in Versailles (Three Cards)” (Tomsky)
- Duet: “Already evening” (Liza and Polina)
- Romance: “Friend's Friends” (Polina)
- Arioso: "Where do these tears come from" (Lisa)
- Aria: "Forgive, heavenly creature" (Herman)
From the second action -
- Aria: "I love you" (Eletsky)
- Duet: “My dear little friend” (from the pastoral “Sincerity of the Shepherd” - Prilepa and Milovzor), the music is borrowed from Mozart from the opera “The Magic Flute” - the second aria of Papageno.
- Scene and romance: “Ah, hath this light to me” (Countess), a quote from Andre Gretrie 's Richard the Lionheart
From the third action -
- Arioso: "Ax, I was exhausted with grief" (Lisa)
- Song: "If the lovely girls" (Tomsk)
- Chorus: "Igretskaya"
- Aria: “What is our life? Game! ”(Herman)
Literature
- G. Christie. Work Stanislavsky in the Opera House. - M., Art, 1952. - 282 p.
- A. A. Solovtsov. The book is about the Russian opera. - M., 1960.
- G. V. Kopytova. V.E. Meyerhold: Queen of Spades - intention, embodiment, fate. - M., Composer, 1994. - 404 p.
Известные аудиозаписи
- 1938 — Дирижёр Самуил Самосуд , хор и оркестр Большого театра , «Мелодия» , СССР .
- Исполнители: Герман — Никандр Ханаев , Томский; Златогор — Александр Батурин , Елецкий — Пётр Селиванов , Чекалинский — Александр Перегудов , Сурин — Михаил Соловьёв , Чаплицкий; распорядитель — Фёдор Годовкин , Нарумов — Иван Скобцов , Графиня — Фаина Петрова , Лиза — Ксения Держинская , Полина — Надежда Обухова , гувернантка — Любовь Ставровская , Маша — Лариса Махова, Прилепа — Наталья Шпиллер , Миловзор — Елизавета Антонова .
- 1940 — Дирижёр Самуил Самосуд , хор и оркестр Большого театра , «Мелодия» , СССР.
- Исполнители: Герман — Никандр Ханаев , Томский — Александр Батурин , Елецкий — Пантелеймон Норцов , Чекалинский — Сергей Остроумов , Сурин — Иван Маньшавин , Чаплицкий — Михаил Новоженин, Нарумов — Константин Терёхин, распорядитель — Пётр Белинник , Графиня — Бронислава Златогорова , Лиза — Ксения Держинская , Полина; Миловзор — Мария Максакова , гувернантка — Маргарита Шервинская , Маша — Надежда Чубенко , Прилепа — Валерия Барсова , Златогор — Владимир Политковский .
- 1950 — Дирижёр Александр Мелик-Пашаев , хор и оркестр Большого театра , «Мелодия» , СССР.
- Исполнители: Герман — Георгий Нэлепп , Томский; Златогор — Алексей Иванов , Елецкий — Павел Лисициан , Чекалинский — Александр Перегудов , Сурин — Всеволод Тютюнник , Чаплицкий — Фёдор Годовкин , Нарумов — Иван Скобцов , распорядитель — Вениамин Шевцов , Графиня — Евгения Вербицкая , Лиза — Евгения Смоленская , Полина; Миловзор — Вероника Борисенко , гувернантка — Елена Корнеева , Маша — Надежда Косицына, Прилепа — Вера Фирсова .
- 1955 — Дирижёр Крешимир Баранович , Оркестр Белградской оперы, хор югославской армии, DECCA , Югославия .
- Исполнители: Герман — Д. Петрович, Томский — А. Маринкович, Елецкий — А. Веселинович, Графиня — М. Веркевич, Лиза — В. Гейбалова, Полина — Б. Цвеич .
- 1966 — Дирижёр Борис Хайкин , хор и оркестр Большого театра , «Мелодия» , СССР.
- Исполнители: Герман — Зураб Анджапаридзе , Томский — Михаил Киселёв , Елецкий — Юрий Мазурок , Чекалинский — Андрей Соколов , Сурин — Валерий Ярославцев , Чаплицкий — Виталий Власов , Нарумов — Юрий Дементьев , распорядитель — Анатолий Мишутин, Графиня — Валентина Левко , Лиза — Тамара Милашкина , Полина; Миловзор — Ирина Архипова , гувернантка — Мария Митюкова , Маша — Маргарита Миглау , Прилепа — Вера Фирсова , Златогор — Виктор Нечипайло .
- 1974 — Дирижёр Марк Эрмлер , хор и оркестр Большого театра , «Мелодия» , СССР.
- Исполнители: Герман — Владимир Атлантов , Томский; Златогор — Владимир Валайтис , Елецкий — Александр Федосеев , Чекалинский — Андрей Соколов , Сурин — Валерий Ярославцев , Чаплицкий — Виталий Власов , Нарумов — Юрий Дементьев , распорядитель — Константин Басков , Графиня — Валентина Левко , Лиза — Тамара Милашкина , Полина; Миловзор — Галина Борисова , гувернантка — Нина Григорьева , Маша — Нелли Лебедева , Прилепа — Маквала Касрашвили .
- 1977 — Дирижёр Мстислав Ростропович , Национальный оркестр Франции, хор имени П. Чайковского, женский хор французского радио, Deutsche Grammophon , Франция .
- Исполнители: Герман — Петер Гугалов, Томский — Дан Йордаческу, Елецкий — Бернд Вайкль , Графиня — Регина Резник , Лиза — Галина Вишневская , Полина — Ханна Шварц.
- 1984 — Дирижёр Альгис Жюрайтис , Оркестр и хор Баварской государственной оперы , Ponto , Германия .
- Исполнители: Герман — Владимир Атлантов , Томский — Александр Ворошило , Елецкий — Бодо Бринкман, Графиня — Елена Образцова , Лиза — Джулия Варади .
- 1990 — Дирижёр Эмил Чакыров , Хор имени С. Обретенова, Софийский фестивальный оркестр, SONY , Болгария .
- Исполнители: Герман — В. Охман, Томский — И. Консулов, Елецкий — Юрий Мазурок , Графиня — П. Дилова, Лиза — Стефка Евстатьева , Полина — С. Точиска.
- 1991 — Дирижёр Сэйдзи Одзава , Бостонский симфонический оркестр, хор тангелвудского фестиваля, BMG , США .
- Исполнители: Герман — Владимир Атлантов , Томский — Сергей Лейферкус , Елецкий — Дмитрий Хворостовский , Графиня — Морин Форрестер , Лиза — Мирелла Френи , Полина — К. Сиенская.
- 1992 — Дирижёр Валерий Гергиев , Хор и оркестр Мариинского театра , Philips Records , Россия .
- Исполнители: Герман — Гегам Григорян , Томский — Николай Путилин , Елецкий — Владимир Чернов , Графиня — Ирина Архипова , Лиза — Мария Гулегина , Полина — Ольга Бородина .
- 1999 — Дирижёр Валерий Гергиев , Хор и оркестр театра « Метрополитен Опера », США .
- Исполнители: Герман — Пласидо Доминго , Томский/Златогор — Николай Путилин , Елецкий — Дмитрий Хворостовский , Графиня — Элизабет Сёдерстрём , Лиза — Галина Горчакова , Полина/Миловзор — Ольга Бородина , гувернантка — Ирина Богачёва .
Фильм
- Пиковая дама (фильм, 1960)
Notes
- ↑ [1] Музыкальное наследие Чайковского. Из истории его произведений / Ред. К. Ю Давыдова. М.: Изд-во АН СССР, 1958. С. 90.
- ↑ [2] П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений. Литературные произведения и переписка. Т. XVБ [Письма за 1890 год] / Подгот. тома К. Ю. Давыдовой и Г. И. Лабутиной. М.: Музыка, 1977. С. 26.
- ↑ [3] Письмо от 3 марта 1890 года к М. И. Чайковскому. Quoted по: П. И. Чайковский Полное собрание сочинений. Литературные произведения и переписка. Т. XVБ [Письма за 1890 год] / Подгот. тома К. Ю. Давыдовой и Г. И. Лабутиной. М.: Музыка, 1977. С. 87-88.
- ↑ [4] Саймон Г. У. Сто великих опер и их сюжеты / Пер. from English А. Майкапара; Майкапар А. Шедевры русской оперы. М.: Крон-пресс, 1999. С. 706.
- ↑ И. А. Балашова. Как звали героя повести А.С. Пушкина "Пиковая дама"? (рус.) // Русская речь. — 2005. — Январь. — С. 14—17 .
- ↑ [5] See this, for example, in the book: Tumanina N. V. Tchaikovsky: The Great Master. 1878–1893. M .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1968. p. 308-310.
- ↑ [6] Tchaikovsky P. I. Diaries. 1873-1891 / Prep. for print Ip. I. Tchaikovsky. M.-Pg .: Muzgiz, 1923. P. 255