Voyevoda (Russian: Воевода, The Voyevoda) is an opera, Opus 3, in 3 acts, 4 scenes, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) with a libretto written by Alexander Ostrovsky and based on his play The Voyevoda (A Dream on the Volga) (Russian: [Воевода (Сон на Волге)]).
The opera was composed between March 1867 and July 1868, and it received its first performance 11 February [OS January 30] 1869 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. It was a benefit for Menshikova.
In the 1870s Tchaikovsky destroyed the manuscript full score of the opera, while recycling much of the first act in his The Oprichnik (1870–1872). The subject of Voyevoda was thus left available to his former pupil Anton Arensky to compose as the opera A Dream on the Volga in 1888. In Soviet times Tchaikovsky's opera Voyevoda was posthumously reconstructed from surviving orchestral and vocal parts and the composer's sketches.
Roles
| Role |
Voice type |
Premiere cast
11 [OS January 30] February 1869
Conductor: Eduard Merten) |
| Nechay Shalïgin, Voyevoda |
bass |
Finokki |
| Vlas Dyuzhoy, a wealthy merchant |
bass |
Radonezhsky |
| Marya Vlasyevna, his wife |
soprano |
A. Menshikova |
| Praskovya Vlasyevna, his older daughter |
soprano |
Kronenberg |
| Nastasya |
soprano |
Annenskaya |
| Stepan Bastryukov, son of a wealthy nobleman |
tenor |
Rapport |
| Roman Dubrovin |
baritone |
Demidov |
| Olena, his wife |
mezzo-soprano |
Ivanova |
| Rezvïy, Bastryukov's servant |
bass |
Bozhanovsky |
| Jester |
tenor |
Lavrov |
| Nedviga, a nurse |
mezzo-soprano |
Rozanova |
| New Voevoda |
bass |
Korin |
| Chorus, silent roles: Noblemen, merchants, servants, maidens, people |
Instrumentation
- Strings: Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, and Double Basses
- Woodwinds: Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Cor Anglais, 2 Clarinets (B-flat & A), 2 Bassoons
- Brass: 4 Horns (all in F), 2 Trumpets (B-flat), 3 Trombones, Tuba
- Percussion: Timpani, Triangle, Cymbals, Bass Drum
- Other: Harp
Source: www.tchaikovsky-research.net
Synopsis
Time: The middle of the 17th century Place: A large city on the Volga River
The cover of P. Yurgenson's edition of 4-hand transcription of the Overture to Voyevoda
- Overture
Act 1
- No.1 Chorus of Maidens & Scena
- No.2 Mariya's Ballad & Duet
- No.3 Scena
- No.4 Bastryukov's Aria
- No.5 Scena & Duet
- No.6 Scena
- No.7 Scena
- No.8 Quartet & Scena
- No.9 Finale
Act 2
- No.10 Introduction
- No.11 Chorus of Servants
- No.12 Bastryukov's Aria
- No.13 Scena & Dubrovin's Aria
- No.14 Entr'acte & Dances of the Chambermaids
- No.15 Scena & Mariya's Song
- No.16 Scena
- No.17 Duet
- No.18 Scena
- No.19 Scena & Khorovod
Act 3
- No.20 Entr'acte
- No.21 Scena & Dubrovin's Aria
- No.22 Scena
- No.23 Quartet
- No.24 Scena
- No.25 Duet
- No.26 Scena & Quartet
- No.27 Scena
- No.28 Quintet
- No.29 Scena & Chorus
- No.30 Scena
- No.31 Closing Scena
Source: www.tchaikovsky-research.net
Derived works
- The Entr'acte and Dances of the Chambermaids from Act 2 were based on the Characteristic Dances for orchestra (1865), and were also arranged for piano duet by Tchaikovsky.
- Under the pseudonym "Cramer", Tchaikovsky composed a Potpourri on themes from the opera The Voyevoda, for solo piano (1868).
Similarly named works
Selected recordings
- A complete recording of the opera has been issued on the Aquarius CD label, with Vladimir Kozhukhar conducting soloists with the Academic Grand Chorus of Central Television and All-Union Radio and the State Symphonic Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of culture.
- The lively overture has occasionally been performed and recorded. It is one of the few works of Tchaikovsky to be performed by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra in a broadcast performance that was preserved on transcription discs. The overture was also included in Vox Records' complete recordings of Tchaikovsky's orchestral music, released on both LP and CD (with Dolby surround sound).
External links
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