Letter 3736
| Date | 1/13 December 1888 |
|---|---|
| Addressed to | Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich |
| Where written | Frolovskoye |
| Language | Russian |
| Autograph Location | Saint Petersburg (Russia): Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Pushkin House), Manuscript Department (ф. 137, No. 78/14) |
| Publication | Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского, том 3 (1902), p. 286–287 (abridged) П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том XIV (1974), p. 598–599 К.Р. Избранная переписка (1999), p. 65. |
Text and Translation
| Russian text (original) |
English translation By Luis Sundkvist |
с[ело] Фроловское 1-ое дек[абря] 1888 Ваше Императорское Высочество!
Я виноват перед Вами; обещался написать Вам из Праги, а пишу только теперь. Приехавши в Прагу, я тотчас же должен был идти на репетицию, и репетиции эти повторялись затем ежедневно, вплоть до последнего дня пребывания. Через три дня после прибытия моего туда в Народном театре был дан концерт исключительно из моих сочинений, а засим 24 ноября/6 декабря состоялось первое представление «Евгения Онегина». То и другое сошло вполне благополучно, в особенности опера. Конечно, постановка оставляет кое-чего желать, в особенности относительно vérité locale, — однако ж я ожидал ещё худшего, и хотя в первой картине Татьяна и Ольга выходят не из русского помещичьего дома, а из роскошного палацце в стиле возрождения (было ещё несколько ошибок этого рода), но зато костюмы довольно верны, а у главных персонажей даже вполне хороши. Что касается пения и игры, то безусловно лучше всех была Татьяна. Я даже могу смело и решительно сказать, что подобной исполнительницы этой партии никогда не было ни в Петербурге, ни в Москве. Она точно создана для Татьяны, и особенно ей удаются первые картины. Из остальных понравился мне Онегин, хотя в игре он сильно преувеличивал и слишком ломался. Очень недурён был бас, исполнявший партию Гремина. Оркестром я дирижировал сам, кажется, порядочно. Уровень исполнителей в оркестре ниже Петербургского на несколько ступеней. Опера, по-видимому, понравилась: впрочем, это покажет будущее. На другой день я уехал и в Вене, где на несколько часов остановился, узнал из русской газеты о смерти моей бедной племянницы. Известие это произвело на меня удручающее впечатление. Теперь я на несколько дней приехал отдохнуть в деревню. На будущей неделе мне предстоит концерт в Москве, а между 15 и 22 я буду в Петербурге и явлюсь к Вашему Высочеству. Покорнейше прося Ваше Высочество передать мои почтительные приветствия Великой княгине и Великому князю Дмитрию Константиновичу, имею честь быть всепокорный слуга. П. Чайковский |
Frolovskoye village 1 December 1888 Your Imperial Highness!
I owe you an apology: I had promised to write to you from Prague [1], but it is only now that I am writing my letter. On arriving in Prague I had to go off to a rehearsal at once, and these rehearsals were subsequently repeated daily, right up to the last day of my stay. Within three days of my arrival there, a concert was given at the National Theatre which was made up exclusively of my compositions, and after that there took place, on 24 November/6 December, the first performance of Yevgeny Onegin [2]. Both the one and the other went well, especially the opera. Of course, the staging leaves a thing or two to be desired, especially with regard to authenticity of milieu, but, still, I had expected it to be even worse, and although in the first scene Tatyana and Olga emerge not from a Russian manor-house, but from a luxurious Renaissance-style palazzo (there were a few other mistakes of this kind), it must be said that the costumes are quite authentic, and indeed the ones worn by the main characters are very good. As for the singing and acting, the interpretation of Tatyana was undoubtedly the best of them all [3]. I can even confidently and categorically assert that neither in Petersburg nor in Moscow has there ever been a comparable performer of this role. It is truly as if she had been born to play Tatyana, and she is particularly successful in the first scenes. Among the others I liked Onegin [4], even though he exaggerated a lot in his acting and postured far too much. The bass performing the role of Gremin was not bad at all [5]. I conducted the orchestra myself, and I think I did so pretty well. The level of the orchestra-players is several notches inferior to that in Petersburg. The opera seems to have gone down well with people: however, that is something which time will tell. I left on the next day, and in Vienna, where I stopped for a few hours, I found out from a Russian newspaper about the death of my poor niece [[[Vera]]] [6]. This news had a dispiriting effect on me. Now I have come to the country to rest for a few days. Next week, I am due to give a concert in Moscow [7]; and then, between the 15th and 22nd, I shall be in Petersburg [8] and will appear before Your Highness. After most humbly asking Your Highness to convey my respectful greetings to the Grand Duchess [9] and to Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich [10], I have the honour of remaining your ever humble servant. P. Tchaikovsky |
Notes and References
- ↑ Tchaikovsky had stayed in Saint Petersburg from 31 October/12 November to 13/25 November 1888, before his departure for Prague to fulfil several conducting engagements, and during this stay in the imperial capital he had visited Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich at his residence in the Marble Palace. It was evidently then that he had promised his august patron to write to him from Prague.
- ↑ On 18/30 November 1888, Tchaikovsky conducted at the National Theatre in Prague a concert of his own works, including the Symphony No. 5 and Piano Concerto No. 2 (soloist Vasily Sapelnikov). Six days later, on 24 November/6 December 1888, he conducted a production of Yevgeny Onegin at the National Theatre (it was the opera's first performance outside Russia).
- ↑ In the first Czech production of Yevgeny Onegin Tatyana was sung by Berta Foerstrová-Lautererová.
- ↑ The title-role in this production of Yevgeny Onegin was sung by the Czech baritone Bohumil Benoni (1862-1942) — note based on reference provided in К.Р. Избранная переписка (1999), p. 66.
- ↑ The role of Prince Gremin was sung by a certain F. Hinek — note in К.Р. Избранная переписка (1999), p. 66.
- ↑ Tchaikovsky's niece Vera Rimskaya-Korsakova had died of tuberculosis in Nice on 7/19 November 1888. She was just twenty-five years old. In his letter to the composer on 30 September/12 October 1888 the Grand Duke had written: "I cannot but empathize sincerely with your grief: I heard from Vera Vasilyevna that, apart from Mr Hubert's illness, you are very saddened by the condition of your niece Rimskaya-Korsakova". The Grand Duke's letter has been published in К.Р. Избранная переписка (1999), p. 60-62.
- ↑ Tchaikovsky left for Moscow a few days later. On 10/22 December 1888 he conducted a Russian Musical Society (RMS) concert there which featured the first performance in Moscow of the Symphony No. 5, and also Piano Concerto No. 2 (soloist Sapelnikov). The following day, he conducted the same programme in a popular concert of the RMS (i.e. with lower ticket-prices so that all those who had been unable to attend the previous evening's concert could hear Tchaikovsky conduct his own works).
- ↑ Tchaikovsky was in Saint Petersburg from 12/24 December 1888 to 25 December 1888/6 January 1889, and during his stay there he conducted, on 17/29 December, his orchestral fantasia The Tempest at a Russian Symphonic Concert.
- ↑ Grand Duchess Yelizaveta Mavrikievna (née Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg; 1865-1927) was the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich and a niece of his mother, Grand Duchess Aleksandra Iosifovna — note by L. K. Khitrovo in К.Р. Избранная переписка (1999), p. 39.
- ↑ Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich (1860-1919) was the younger brother of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. He served in the army, becoming an aide-de-camp, and in 1893 he was promoted to the rank of colonel. He was subsequently commander of the Horse Grenadiers Regiment of the Imperial Guard — note by L. K. Khitrovo in К.Р. Избранная переписка (1999), p. 66.
