Catherine II and opera
Catherine II the Great (1729 -1796), Empress of Russia was not only an opera fan, the patroness of arts, music and theatre, but also an opera librettist.
By her decree in 1783 the Imperial opera and ballet theatre was founded, and the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was built in St Petersburg for opera and ballet performances that surpassed the great European theatres by its brilliance and luxury.
She wrote nine opera texts in addition to fourteen comedies, seven proverbs (short plays), and other dramatic writings. To write these texts she was supervised by some writers including I. P. Elagin and A. V. Khrapovitsky.
She was clever enough to be self-critical stating in her letter to Voltaire that her dramatic works as being weak in plot and ill-sustained in intrigue, but as natural and true in their characterization.
She persuaded some known Russian and foreign composers to provide music for her opera librettos.
She has chosen Vasily Pashkevich to compose music for her dramatic fairy tale Fevey. It was staged on April 30 [OS April 19], 1786 at the Hermitage Theater in St Petersburg. The lavish opera production evoked widespread admiration.
Italian-trained composer Yevstigney Fomin was chosen to compose opera-ballet to her libretto The Novgorod Hero Boyeslayevich (Новгородский богатырь Боеслаевич – Novgorodskiy bogatyr’ Boyeslayevich, staged on December 8 [OS October 27], 1786 at St Petersburg.
The subject of the fairy tale on Fuflych-Bogatyr (Fuflych Unfortunate Hero) was suggested by Count Orlov. Catherine made of this a parody on her cousin Gustav III, King of Sweden. The limretto was set to music by Vicente Martin y Soler, a Spanish composer settled in Russia in 1788. The opera Gore-Bogatyr Kosometovich (Горе-Богатырь Косометович –The Unfortunate Hero Kosometovich March 30 [OS February 9], 1789 Hermitage Theatre) with overture on three Russian tunes had a great success and Great Princes Alexander and Konstantin knew it by heart. However Catherine to avoid a political scandal made a note in the printed libretto “Do not perform in the Town Theatre for the foreign ministers”. Prince Potemkin who attended the third performance of the opera agreed to this.
Catherine suggested her drama on the early history of Russia The Early Reign of Oleg (1786) to the famous Domenico Cimarosa, but he was too slow, and she replaced him with Giuseppe Sarti who wrote the opera together with Pashkevich and Milanese musician C. Cannobio, staged on October 26, [OS October 15] 1790 at Hermitage Theatre
The opera to her libretto Fedul s det’mi (Федул с детьми – Fedul and his Children was written by Vasily Pashkevich with Martin y Soler) and premiered on January 27 ([OS January 16]) , 1791 in St Petersburg.
Dramatic works
- О время! Комедия в трех действиях – O Tempora! a comedy in three acts
- Именины г-жи Ворчалкиной. Комедия в пяти действиях – Mrs Grumble’s Birthday, a comedy in five acts
- Передняя знатного боярина. Комедия в одном действии -
- Госпожа Вестникова с семьею. Комедия в одном действии – Mme Vastnikova and her Family, a comedy in one act
- Невеста-невидимка. Комедия в одном действии – Invisiple Bride]], a comedy in one act
- Вот каково иметь корзину и белье. Комедия в пяти действиях
- Разносторонняя семья осторожками и подозрениями. Комедия в пяти действиях
- Недоразумение. Комедия в пяти действиях
- Обманщик. Комедия в пяти действиях
- Обольщенный. Комедия в пяти действиях
- Шаман Сибирский. Комедия в пяти действиях
- Из жизни Рюрика. Историческое представление – From Rurik’s Life
- Начальное управление Олега. Историческое представление – The Early Reign of Oleg
- Новгородский богатырь Боеслаевич. Комическая опера – The Novgorod Hero Boyeslayevich, a comic opera
- Горебогатырь Косометович. Комическая опера – The Unfortunate Hero Kosometovich, a comic opera
- Федул с детьми – Fedul and his Children
Prose
- Сказка о царевиче Хлоре. Аллегорическая сказка – The Story of Tsarevich Chlor – an allegorical fairy tale
- Сказка о царевиче Февее. Аллегорическая сказка – The Story of Tsarevich Fevey – an allegorical fairy tale
- Письма Патрикея Правдомыслова
- Письмо к господину Живописцу
- Были и Небылицы и связанные с ними полемические заметки
- Общества незнающих, ежедневная записка
- Тайна противонелепого общества
Quotations
"In the composition of my comedies, I have taken all my conceptions of character exclusively from my own country, and thus, without quitting home, have found in it alone materials for satire sufficiently abundant for a pen far more practiced than I can ever hope to wield." (Catherine II the Great)
See also