A Feast in Time of Plague
At a banquet during a plague, the central figure taunts Death with a toast to the plague’s reign.
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At a banquet during a plague, the central figure taunts Death with a toast to the plague’s reign.
In two sections, “Arrivals” and “Departures,” twelve archetypal characters gather for a last supper and reflect on risk, life, and death. Most of them die before departing.
After Tsar Feodor's death, Boris accepts the crown, but his rule is haunted by the murder of the young Dmitry. A monk escapes to claim that he is the surviving Dmitry and raises an invasion; Boris dies, his son is killed, and the people are left silent when urged to acclaim the pretender.
In the 1872 revised version, crowds are prompted to urge Boris Godunov to take the throne, and he is crowned Tsar. At a monastery, novice Grigoriy learns of Tsarevich Dmitriy’s death and decides to impersonate him. Boris is troubled by guilt over the child’s murder, especially after Shuysky recounts the death and Pimen describes a miracle at Dmitriy’s grave. The Pretender gains support in Poland, where Marina Mniszech and the Jesuit Rangoni maneuver for power; Marina agrees to join the Pretender after he promises to march on Moscow. Boris dies after visions of the murdered child. In the final Kromi scene, rebels denounce Boris, celebrate Dmitriy’s advance and march toward Moscow, while the Holy Fool laments Russia’s fate. The 1869 original version has a different scene structure and omits the Polish act and Kromi scene; it ends with Boris’s death.
Tatyana falls in love with the worldly Onegin and writes him a letter. He kindly rejects her and warns her against such openness. At a ball held for Tatyana, Onegin flirts with Olga to annoy her fiancé Lensky. Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel and is killed. Years later, Onegin meets Tatyana again, now the wife of Prince Gremin, and recognizes that he loves her. Tatyana admits she still loves him but chooses to remain faithful to her husband. She leaves, and Onegin is alone in despair.
Le Poisson doré (The Golden Fish) (ru: Золотая рыбка; a.k.a. Zolotaia Ribka) is a "fantastic ballet" in 4 acts/6 scenes with prologue and epilogue. The choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, and the music by Ludwig Minkus.
A short poetic drama, based on rumors surrounding Mozart’s early death, features Mozart, Salieri and a blind fiddler whose playing draws opposite reactions from the composers.
Salieri, who has devoted himself to music, privately resents Mozart’s effortless talent and believes Mozart’s work is superior. He invites Mozart to dinner and poisons his drink. Mozart speaks of the Requiem commissioned by a mysterious stranger and asks whether genius can coexist with crime. As Mozart plays, Salieri weeps and urges him to continue. Mozart feels ill and leaves; Salieri remains troubled by Mozart’s belief that a genius could not be a murderer.
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged by Kurt-Heinz Stolze. Setting: 1820s, Russia Act 1 Madame Larina's garden In the garden, Madame Larina, her daughters Olga and Tatiana, and the nurse are finishing party dresses and discussing Tatiana's upcoming birthday celebrations. They think about the future, and the local girls play an old folk game: whoever looks into the mirror will see her beloved. Lensky, a young poet engaged to Olga, arrives with a friend from Saint Petersburg. He introduces Eugene Onegin, who has come to the country to see if it can offer him any distraction from city life. Tatiana falls in love with the handsome stranger, who seems so different from the country people she knows, while Onegin only sees a naive, romantic girl. Tatiana's bedroom That night, Tatiana dreams of Onegin, her first love. She writes him a passionate love letter, which she asks her nurse to deliver. Act 2 Tatiana's birthday The local gentry have all arrived to celebrate Tatiana's birthday. Onegin finds the company boring and is struggling to be polite. He is also annoyed by Tatiana's letter, which he thinks is just an outburst of adolescent love. He seeks Tatiana out and tears up her letter, telling her that he cannot love her. Prince Gremin, a distant relative of Tatiana who is in love with her, appears. Madame Larina hopes they will make a good match, but Tatiana hardly notices him as she is so distressed. Onegin decides to provoke Lensky by flirting with Olga, hoping it will relieve his boredom. Olga joins in with the joke, but Lensky takes it seriously and challenges Onegin to a duel. The duel Tatiana and Olga try to reason with Lensky but he insists the duel must go ahead. Onegin kills his friend. Act 3 St Petersburg Years later, Onegin returns to St. Petersburg after travelling the world. He goes to a ball at the palace of Prince Gremin. Onegin is surprised when he recognises the beautiful Princess Tatiana as the country girl he once turned away. He realises how much he lost through his previous actions. Tatiana's boudoir Onegin writes to Tatiana and reveals his love. He asks to see her but she does not wish to see him. She pleads with her husband not to leave her alone that evening. Onegin comes and declares his love for her. Tatiana feels Onegin's change of heart has come too late. And even if she still loves him she has now a new life with Prince Gremin and also after having killed Lensky she would never want Onegin again. She tears up his letter and orders him to leave her forever.
At the wedding of Ruslan and Lyudmila, the bride is abducted by sorcerous forces. Ruslan journeys to rescue her, defeats the sorcerer Chernomor, and returns to Kiev with the sleeping Lyudmila. A magic ring awakens her, and the couple are reunited.
Tsar Dodon fears invasion and asks an Astrologer for advice. The Astrologer gives him a magical Golden Cockerel, which alerts the Tsar to danger from the Tsaritsa of Shemakha. Dodon sends his sons to war, but they kill one another. He then leads the army himself and becomes enamored of the Tsaritsa, who encourages his marriage proposal. At the wedding, the Astrologer asks for the Tsaritsa as his reward. Dodon strikes him dead, and the cockerel pecks Dodon’s throat. The Tsaritsa and cockerel disappear.
Herman becomes obsessed with learning the Countess’s secret sequence of three cards, which is said to guarantee a gambling win. He frightens her to death, and her ghost reveals the cards. At the gambling table Herman wins on the first two cards but loses on the third, drawing the queen of spades; Lisa drowns herself, and Herman takes his own life.
Dargomyzhsky sets Pushkin’s blank-verse play about Don Juan directly as an opera, retaining its text unchanged. The work consists principally of characters’ melodic recitative solos, with two small romances for Laura.
At a banquet during a plague, the central figure taunts Death with a toast to the plague’s reign.
In two sections, “Arrivals” and “Departures,” twelve archetypal characters gather for a last supper and reflect on risk, life, and death. Most of them die before departing.
After Tsar Feodor's death, Boris accepts the crown, but his rule is haunted by the murder of the young Dmitry. A monk escapes to claim that he is the surviving Dmitry and raises an invasion; Boris dies, his son is killed, and the people are left silent when urged to acclaim the pretender.
In the 1872 revised version, crowds are prompted to urge Boris Godunov to take the throne, and he is crowned Tsar. At a monastery, novice Grigoriy learns of Tsarevich Dmitriy’s death and decides to impersonate him. Boris is troubled by guilt over the child’s murder, especially after Shuysky recounts the death and Pimen describes a miracle at Dmitriy’s grave. The Pretender gains support in Poland, where Marina Mniszech and the Jesuit Rangoni maneuver for power; Marina agrees to join the Pretender after he promises to march on Moscow. Boris dies after visions of the murdered child. In the final Kromi scene, rebels denounce Boris, celebrate Dmitriy’s advance and march toward Moscow, while the Holy Fool laments Russia’s fate. The 1869 original version has a different scene structure and omits the Polish act and Kromi scene; it ends with Boris’s death.
Tatyana falls in love with the worldly Onegin and writes him a letter. He kindly rejects her and warns her against such openness. At a ball held for Tatyana, Onegin flirts with Olga to annoy her fiancé Lensky. Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel and is killed. Years later, Onegin meets Tatyana again, now the wife of Prince Gremin, and recognizes that he loves her. Tatyana admits she still loves him but chooses to remain faithful to her husband. She leaves, and Onegin is alone in despair.
Le Poisson doré (The Golden Fish) (ru: Золотая рыбка; a.k.a. Zolotaia Ribka) is a "fantastic ballet" in 4 acts/6 scenes with prologue and epilogue. The choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, and the music by Ludwig Minkus.
A short poetic drama, based on rumors surrounding Mozart’s early death, features Mozart, Salieri and a blind fiddler whose playing draws opposite reactions from the composers.
Salieri, who has devoted himself to music, privately resents Mozart’s effortless talent and believes Mozart’s work is superior. He invites Mozart to dinner and poisons his drink. Mozart speaks of the Requiem commissioned by a mysterious stranger and asks whether genius can coexist with crime. As Mozart plays, Salieri weeps and urges him to continue. Mozart feels ill and leaves; Salieri remains troubled by Mozart’s belief that a genius could not be a murderer.
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged by Kurt-Heinz Stolze. Setting: 1820s, Russia Act 1 Madame Larina's garden In the garden, Madame Larina, her daughters Olga and Tatiana, and the nurse are finishing party dresses and discussing Tatiana's upcoming birthday celebrations. They think about the future, and the local girls play an old folk game: whoever looks into the mirror will see her beloved. Lensky, a young poet engaged to Olga, arrives with a friend from Saint Petersburg. He introduces Eugene Onegin, who has come to the country to see if it can offer him any distraction from city life. Tatiana falls in love with the handsome stranger, who seems so different from the country people she knows, while Onegin only sees a naive, romantic girl. Tatiana's bedroom That night, Tatiana dreams of Onegin, her first love. She writes him a passionate love letter, which she asks her nurse to deliver. Act 2 Tatiana's birthday The local gentry have all arrived to celebrate Tatiana's birthday. Onegin finds the company boring and is struggling to be polite. He is also annoyed by Tatiana's letter, which he thinks is just an outburst of adolescent love. He seeks Tatiana out and tears up her letter, telling her that he cannot love her. Prince Gremin, a distant relative of Tatiana who is in love with her, appears. Madame Larina hopes they will make a good match, but Tatiana hardly notices him as she is so distressed. Onegin decides to provoke Lensky by flirting with Olga, hoping it will relieve his boredom. Olga joins in with the joke, but Lensky takes it seriously and challenges Onegin to a duel. The duel Tatiana and Olga try to reason with Lensky but he insists the duel must go ahead. Onegin kills his friend. Act 3 St Petersburg Years later, Onegin returns to St. Petersburg after travelling the world. He goes to a ball at the palace of Prince Gremin. Onegin is surprised when he recognises the beautiful Princess Tatiana as the country girl he once turned away. He realises how much he lost through his previous actions. Tatiana's boudoir Onegin writes to Tatiana and reveals his love. He asks to see her but she does not wish to see him. She pleads with her husband not to leave her alone that evening. Onegin comes and declares his love for her. Tatiana feels Onegin's change of heart has come too late. And even if she still loves him she has now a new life with Prince Gremin and also after having killed Lensky she would never want Onegin again. She tears up his letter and orders him to leave her forever.
At the wedding of Ruslan and Lyudmila, the bride is abducted by sorcerous forces. Ruslan journeys to rescue her, defeats the sorcerer Chernomor, and returns to Kiev with the sleeping Lyudmila. A magic ring awakens her, and the couple are reunited.
Tsar Dodon fears invasion and asks an Astrologer for advice. The Astrologer gives him a magical Golden Cockerel, which alerts the Tsar to danger from the Tsaritsa of Shemakha. Dodon sends his sons to war, but they kill one another. He then leads the army himself and becomes enamored of the Tsaritsa, who encourages his marriage proposal. At the wedding, the Astrologer asks for the Tsaritsa as his reward. Dodon strikes him dead, and the cockerel pecks Dodon’s throat. The Tsaritsa and cockerel disappear.
Herman becomes obsessed with learning the Countess’s secret sequence of three cards, which is said to guarantee a gambling win. He frightens her to death, and her ghost reveals the cards. At the gambling table Herman wins on the first two cards but loses on the third, drawing the queen of spades; Lisa drowns herself, and Herman takes his own life.
Dargomyzhsky sets Pushkin’s blank-verse play about Don Juan directly as an opera, retaining its text unchanged. The work consists principally of characters’ melodic recitative solos, with two small romances for Laura.