Mar 24, 2008
Boris Godunov-The Story
I don't really feel like summing up the plot to Boris Godunov in my own words. There are plenty of other places you can go for the plot. For example, just click here: Synopsis
Boris Godunov-Rejection and Revision
Musorgsky finished writing Boris Godunov in 1869 and submitted it to the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg. It was rejected solely due to the lack of a prima donna role. The couldn't do an opera without a female role in it. Musorgksy was told that if he could insert one scene with a female character, performance of Boris would be assured.
Musorgsky began work on the revision immediately. However, he went far beyond adding the one scene required. A complete over haul of the opera commenced, including an entire new act (two scenes) featuring the new Polish princess Marina Mniszech, a new scene in the final act, and one of the old final act scenes being cut right out. In addition to all this, the music was revised thoroughly, to bring more of a serious and tragic feel to the opera. These extra revisions likely were motivated by reception of the work at a private performance of the original Boris at the home of Vladimir Stasov. It seems that Musorgsky's own friends could not come to a consensus as to whether it was meant as a comedy or a tragedy. It seems that the opéra dialogué style, a distinct feature of the original Boris, was more suited to a comedic style (like The Marraige) than a serious work. So Musorgsky took a much more melodic and emotional approach to his revision, undoubtedly creating the intended serious tone.
The opera was re-submitted to the theater committee in 1872, and after some delay was accepted and performed and published in 1874.
Musorgsky began work on the revision immediately. However, he went far beyond adding the one scene required. A complete over haul of the opera commenced, including an entire new act (two scenes) featuring the new Polish princess Marina Mniszech, a new scene in the final act, and one of the old final act scenes being cut right out. In addition to all this, the music was revised thoroughly, to bring more of a serious and tragic feel to the opera. These extra revisions likely were motivated by reception of the work at a private performance of the original Boris at the home of Vladimir Stasov. It seems that Musorgsky's own friends could not come to a consensus as to whether it was meant as a comedy or a tragedy. It seems that the opéra dialogué style, a distinct feature of the original Boris, was more suited to a comedic style (like The Marraige) than a serious work. So Musorgsky took a much more melodic and emotional approach to his revision, undoubtedly creating the intended serious tone.
The opera was re-submitted to the theater committee in 1872, and after some delay was accepted and performed and published in 1874.
Opéra Dialogué
Opéra dialogué was the style of opera promoted by the Kuchka in the 1860s and 1870s. The idea originated with Cesar Cui who felt that an ideal opera was an unchanged setting of a good literary text in a semi-melodic recitative style. The idea was to make the music blend with the speech of the characters as much as possible and to cut out all the "extra" music (arias etc...) which was unnecessary for the plot. Thus were to be no closed form musical numbers in an opéra dialogué unless a character in the drama was actually singing a song in the story or something like that.
One of the first composers to try an opéra dialogué was Dargomizhsky, who did The Sone Guest. Although it wasn't a hit with audiences, the Kuchka held it up as a standard for that they wanted in opera. Cui's own attempt, William Ratcliff was a complete failure and was treated brutally by critics. The general dissaproval of opéra dialogué was probably rooted in the fact that there was significantly less melodic material for the audience to hold on to, and no virtuosic arias or such things that they commonly appreciated.
Musorgsky also started work on an opera dialogue project, The Marraige, on a text by Gogol. In so doing, he developed his skill of writing speech-like musical settings of the Russian language. He made the musical line follow the pace and cadence of speech. This meant that odd angular intervals were used in the melodic line and strong syllables were placed on strong beats where they would sound natural--agogic accents and the like.
Musorgsky only finished one scene of The Marraige, realized it would not succeed, and moved on to a new operatic project, Boris Godunov. But he applied much of this new technique to his initial version of Boris.
One of the first composers to try an opéra dialogué was Dargomizhsky, who did The Sone Guest. Although it wasn't a hit with audiences, the Kuchka held it up as a standard for that they wanted in opera. Cui's own attempt, William Ratcliff was a complete failure and was treated brutally by critics. The general dissaproval of opéra dialogué was probably rooted in the fact that there was significantly less melodic material for the audience to hold on to, and no virtuosic arias or such things that they commonly appreciated.
Musorgsky also started work on an opera dialogue project, The Marraige, on a text by Gogol. In so doing, he developed his skill of writing speech-like musical settings of the Russian language. He made the musical line follow the pace and cadence of speech. This meant that odd angular intervals were used in the melodic line and strong syllables were placed on strong beats where they would sound natural--agogic accents and the like.
Musorgsky only finished one scene of The Marraige, realized it would not succeed, and moved on to a new operatic project, Boris Godunov. But he applied much of this new technique to his initial version of Boris.
Modest Musorgsky (1839-1881)
Early Life:
Musorgsky, like most of the Kuchka circle, started at his adult life in the military. He was the second son in his family, and his older brother was slated to inherit and run the family estate, while Modest was expected to have a military career. As you might expect, he showed signs of musical creativity quite early; as a small child he would try to improvise piano accompaniments to the folktales his nurse would tell him.1 Well, his military career lasted just two years, and in 1858, having begun to study composition with Balakirev, he resigned his commission and devoted himself to music. In retrospect, this might not have been the best idea: Modest was largely relying on income from the family estate and when Tsar Alexander II liberated the serfs throughout the country in 1861 the estate suffered greatly in productivity causing Modest to seek support elsewhere.
1 ROBERT WILLIAM OLDANI: 'Musorgsky, Modest Petrovich, §1: Childhood and beginnings as a composer', Grove Music Online (Accessed 26 March 2008), <http://www.grovemusic.com/shared/views/article.html?section=music.19468.1>
Musorgsky, like most of the Kuchka circle, started at his adult life in the military. He was the second son in his family, and his older brother was slated to inherit and run the family estate, while Modest was expected to have a military career. As you might expect, he showed signs of musical creativity quite early; as a small child he would try to improvise piano accompaniments to the folktales his nurse would tell him.1 Well, his military career lasted just two years, and in 1858, having begun to study composition with Balakirev, he resigned his commission and devoted himself to music. In retrospect, this might not have been the best idea: Modest was largely relying on income from the family estate and when Tsar Alexander II liberated the serfs throughout the country in 1861 the estate suffered greatly in productivity causing Modest to seek support elsewhere.
1 ROBERT WILLIAM OLDANI: 'Musorgsky, Modest Petrovich, §1: Childhood and beginnings as a composer', Grove Music Online (Accessed 26 March 2008), <http://www.grovemusic.com/shared/views/article.html?section=music.19468.1>
Mily Balakirev (1836-1910)
Balakirev was the leader of the "Moguchaya Kuchka". He was the only one who had met Glinka personally, and he sought to continue in the nationalistic direction that Glinka had been going. Although Glinka's nationalistic ideas consisted mostly of including folk material in serious music, Balakirev took a passionate political approach to establishing Nationalism as the dominant musical style in Russia. His orchestral pieces outline a fascinating development, first departing from Glinka's Kamarinskaya and ending in a style which, especially harmonically, is an antithesis of Western European developments. More on Balakirev's influence on the Kuchka later.
Mar 5, 2008
A Life for the Tsar
Glinka got the idea of a Russian nationalistic opera shortly after returning from his trip to Italy in 1833. He was not terribly impressed with the Italian style, and since it dominated the opera scene in his homeland as well as his trip abroad, it is easy to see why he was with Vasily Zhukovsky's suggestion to try an opera to the story of Ivan Susanin, the peasant-hero who had sacrificed his life in 1613 to keep the Polish army from discovering the hiding place of the tsar-elect Mikhail Romanov before Romanov was officially installed. The opera worked out rather well. In 1833 the idea of Official Nationality had been spread throughout Russia, expressing the idea that orthodoxy, autocracy, and nationality were all bound together and that personal happiness was gained through support of the Tsar who, in turn, was chosen and supported by God himself. This ideology was naturally intertwined in the story. The opera begins with Ivan Susanin lamenting the lack of a Tsar in Russia and advising his daughter and future son-in-law that it is no time for a wedding when the country is languishing with no true God-ordained ruler. Russia was in the "Time of Troubles" following the fall of Boris Godunov (hey, there's an opera coming up about him, too) and the strong presence of the Poles in Russia had everyone rather down. When news of the election of Mikhail Romanov comes, everyone is thrilled and the wedding plans commence. This is quenched, however, when the Polish army (the enemy) shows up and demands to be taken to the place where Romanov is hiding, intending to prevent his installation and maintain power in Russia. Ivan Susanin appeases the Poles by offering to lead them to Romanov, but instead he leads them far out into the frozen forest where they have no chance of surviving or finding their way back. When they discover his trick, Ivan mocks their failure and their hopeless fate and they kill him. The final scene is the celebration at Red Square where the coronation of Tsar Romanov takes place and Susanin's family is recognized and honored for their father's sacrifice. One of the most interesting things about the opera is Glinka's use of reminiscence music for dramatic effect near the end. As Ivan Susanin lies awake with the Poles in the forest, realizing his fate, he sings of his family and his various experiences, while corresponding motives from earlier in the opera come floating back. This practice had been used by plenty of European composers (Mozart and Verdi), but Glinka was the first to do it in Russia. More interesting things to follow.
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