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| '''''The Enchantress''''' (Чародейка), sometimes translated as '''''The Sorceress''''', is an opera in four acts ([[TH]] 9 ; [[ČW]] 9), based on a play by [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]]. It was Tchaikovsky's ninth completed opera, written and orchestrated between September 1885 and May 1887.
| | {{letterhead |
| | |Date=7/19 August 1851 |
| | |To=[[Aleksandra Tchaikovskaya]] |
| | |Place=[[Saint Petersburg]] |
| | |Language=Russian |
| | |Autograph=[[Saint Petersburg]] (Russia): {{RUS-SPsc}} (ф. 834, ед. хр. 33, л. 47–48) |
| | |Publication={{bib|1940/210|П. И. Чайковский. Письма к родным ; том 1}} (1940), p. 32–33<br/>{{bib|1959/50|П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений ; том V}} (1959), p. 36–37 |
| | |Notes=Includes a drawing by Tchaikovsky of the ivy he had planted in [[Alapayevsk]] before leaving for [[Saint Petersburg]] in August 1850 <ref name="note1"/>, and a postscript to Anastasiya Popova |
| | }} |
| | ==Text and Translation== |
| | Spelling and punctuation errors in the original text have not been indicated. |
| | {{Lettertext |
| | |Language=Russian |
| | |Translator=Luis Sundkvist |
| | |Original text=[[File:0032 ex1.jpg|left]] {{right|7 августа 1851 год}} |
| | {{centre|Милейший мой<br/>Ангел Мамаша!}} |
| | Я пишу вам одним потому что верно Папашу уж вы проводили до Шайтанска. |
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| ==Instrumentation==
| | Мне все кажется что вы или в Казани, или в Нижнем Новгороде. Но я не думаю что бы вы бы не исполнили такую просьбу какова была моя вы верно сюрпризом поехали с Папашей. Я не буду вам много писать оттого что верно все это я делаю напрасно. Но если вас Папаша оставил в Алапаеве вам скучно так надо вас повеселить бабочка моя, которая любит своего Петрушку или Попку который вас обожает и который с жадностью ждет той минуты, чтобы поцеловать вашу прекрасную ручку. Папашину я наверно поцелую а вашу Бог знает когда. |
| The opera is scored for vocal soloists, mixed chorus, and an orchestra consisting of 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (in A, B-flat, C), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F), 2 cornets (in B-flat), 2 trumpets (in B-flat), 3 trombones, tuba + 3 timpani, triangle, tambourine, military drum, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam + harp, violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses. Off-stage: 4 horns (in F)
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| There are fifteen singing roles:
| | Прощайте мой Ангельская душка. |
| * ''Prince Nikita Kurlyatev ''(Князь Никита Курлятев) — baritone
| | {{right|Ваш, Pierre}} |
| * ''Princess Yevpraksiya'' (Княгиня Евпраксия) — mezzo-soprano
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| * ''Prince Yury'' (Княжич Юрий) — tenor
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| * ''Mamyrov'' (Мамыров) — bass
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| * ''Nenila'' (Ненила) — mezzo-soprano
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| * ''Ivan Zhuran'' (Иван Журан) — bass-baritone
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| * ''Nastasya'' (Настасья), known as ''Kuma'' (Кума) — dramatic soprano
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| * ''Foka'' (Фока) — baritone
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| * '' Polya'' (Поля) — soprano
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| * ''Balakin'' (Балакин) — tenor
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| * ''Potap'' (Потап) — bass-baritone
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| * ''Lukash'' (Лукаш) — tenor
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| * ''Kichiga'' (Кичига) — bass
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| * ''Paisy'' (Паисий) — character tenor
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| * ''Kudma'' (Кудьма) — baritone
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| ==Movements and Duration==
| | ----- |
| Tchaikovsky's original score contains an introduction, two entr'actes and 23 individual numbers. The titles of numbers in Russian (Cyrillic) are taken from the published score, with English translations added in bold type. Vocal incipits are given in the right-hand column, with transliterations below in italics.
| | {{centre|Милая Сестрица. }} |
| | Целую вас от всего сердца и благодарю за милое ваше письмо. |
| | {{right|Пётр Ч.}} |
| | Целую ручки у Тёти Лизы и Н[астасьи] П[етровны] и всех братишков и сестер. |
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| {| class="wikitable" width="100%"
| | |Translated text=[[File:0032 ex1.jpg|left]] {{right|7 August 1851}} |
| | colspan="2"| | | {{centre|My dearest<br/>Angel [[Mamasha]]}} |
| | '''Introduction''' (Интродукция)<br/>Andante sostenuto | | I am writing to you alone because you have probably already seen [[Papasha]] off as far as Shaitansk <ref name="note2"/>. |
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| | width="8%" rowspan="11"|'''''Act I'''''
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| | width="8%"|No. 1
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| | width="45%"|'''Folk Scene''' (Народная сцена)<br/>Allegro giusto
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| | width="39%"|Любо нам за Окой у Кумы молодой собираться!<br/>''Lyubo nam za Okoy u Kumy molodoy sobiratsya!''
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| | No. 2
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| | '''Folk Scene''' (Народная сцена)<br/>L'istesso tempo
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| | Пойду ль выйду ль, я пойду ль выйду ль я<br/>''Poydy l vydu l, ya poydu l; vydu l ya''
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| |-
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| | No. 3
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| | '''Chorus of Guests and Scene''' (Хор гостей и сцена)<br/>Moderato—Allegro giusto
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| | Здравствуй, матушка Кума<br/>''Zdravstvuy, matushka Kuma''
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| |-
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 4
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Allegro
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| | Песню! Песню!<br/>''Pesnyu! Pesnyu!''
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| | '''Kuma's Arioso''' (Ариозо Кумы)<br/>Andante sostenuto
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| | Глянуть с Нижнего<br/>''Glyanut s Nizhnego''
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| |-
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 5
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| | '''People's Chorus''' (Хор народов)<br/>Moderato con moto
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| | Должно с охоты, братцы, княжич<br/>'' Dolzhno s okhoty, brattsy, knyazich''
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Allegro giusto
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| | На местник! На местник!<br/>''Na mestnik! Na mestnik!''
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| | No. 6
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Maestoso in tempo moderato assai
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| | Так вот, где гульбищ скверное гнездо!<br/>''Tak vot, gde gulbishch skvernoye gnezdo!''
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| | No. 7a
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| | '''Decimet (a cappella) with Chorus''' (Децимет (a cappella) с хором)<br/>Andante
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| | Мне этот перстень драгоценный!<br/>''Mne etot persten dragotsenny!''
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| | No. 7b
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| | '''Scene and Chorus''' (Сцена и хор)<br/>Allegro—Più mosso, allegro vivo
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| | А ты вина, Мамыров, хочешь?<br/>''A ty vina, Mamyrov, khochesh?''
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| | No. 7c
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| | '''Dance of the Tumblers and Scene''' (Пляска скоморохов и сцена)<br/>Allegro vivace assai—Adagio con moto
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| | Дьяк, пляши!<br/>''Dyak, plyashi!''
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| | rowspan="11"|'''''Act II'''''
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| | '''Entr'acte''' (Антракт)<br/>Andante molto sostenuto
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 8
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Moderato
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| | Бежит мой сон от дум тревожних<br/>''Bezhit moy son ot dum trevozhnikh''
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| | '''Princess's Arioso''' (Ариозо Княнини)<br/>Allegro risoluto ma non troppo
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| | Так вот беда пришла откуда<br/>''Tak vot beda prishla otkuda''
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| |-
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 9
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Moderato assai quasi Andante
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| | Ах, Юрий, здравствуй<br/>''Akh, Yury, zdravstvuy''
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| | '''Duet''' (Дуэт)<br/>Moderato con moto
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| | Дай нам Бог в счастьи жить<br/>''Day nam Bog v schasti zhit''
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| | No. 10
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Moderato con moto
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| | Призван был и приидох! Я не звал<br/>''Prizvan byl i priidokh Ya ne zval''
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 11
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Moderato assai
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| | Коль с делом ты, в другое время<br/>''Kol s delom ty, v drygoye vremya''
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| | '''Prince's Arioso''' (Ариозо Князя)<br/>Andantino
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| | А образ той пригожницы<br/>''A obraz toy prigozhnitsy''
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| |-
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| | No. 12
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| | '''Scene of the Prince with the Princess''' (Сцена Князя с Княгиней)<br/>Adagio
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| | Меня изводил ты позвать<br/>''Menya izvodil ty pozvat''
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| | No. 13
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| | '''Folk Scene''' (Народная сцена)<br/>Allegro giusto
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| | Держи его! Лови его!<br/>''Derzhi yego! Lovi yego!''
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| |-
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| | No. 14
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| | '''Finale''' (Финал)<br/>Allegro non troppo
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| | Зачем в отцовы ты дела мешаешься, мой сын?<br/>''Zachem v ottsovy ty dela meshayeshsya, moy syn?''
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| | rowspan="5"|'''''Act III'''''
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 15
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Allegro moderato—Moderato
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| | Ты, государь, потупив очи<br/>''Ty, gosudar, potupiv ochi''
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| | '''Duet''' (Дуэт)<br/>Andante con moto
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| | Нет, сладу с собою!<br/>''Net, sladu s soboyu!''
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| | No. 16
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Moderato
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| | Как выдержать достало силы!<br/>''Kak vyderzhat dostalo sily!''
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 17
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Allegro giusto
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| | Свети! Еë здесь нет?<br/>''Sveti! Yeyo zdes net?''
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| | '''Duet''' (Дуэт)<br/>Andante un poco rubato
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| | Когда ты гнев в душе моей<br/>''Kogda ty gnev v dushe moyey''
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| | rowspan="11"|'''''Act IV'''''
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| | '''Entr'acte''' (Антракт)<br/>Andante non tanto
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| | No. 18
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| | '''Scene with Chorus''' (Сцена с хором)<br/>L'istesso tempo
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| | Никак рога!<br/>''Nikak roga!''
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 19
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Allegro giusto
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| | Медведя, княжич, мы подняли<br/>''Medvedya, knyazhich, my podnyali''
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| | '''Duet''' (Дуэт)<br/>Allegretto
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| | Огня лютей, как куча змей оно ширит<br/>''Ogna lyutey, kak kucha zmey ono shirit''
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 20
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Andante
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| | Вот здесь причалить нам велели<br/>''Vot zdes pricalit nam veleli''
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| | '''Kuma's Arioso''' (Ариозо Кумы)<br/>Andante
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| | Где же ты, мой желанный?<br/>''Gde zhe ty, moy zhelanny?''
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 21
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Allegro moderato
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| | Кума? Ну да!<br/>''Kuma? Nu da!''
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| | '''Duet''' (Дуэт)<br/>L'istesso tempo
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| | А он нейдет! И мой черед<br/>''A on neydet! I moy chered''
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| | rowspan="2"|No. 22
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| | '''Scene''' (Сцена)<br/>Allegro vivo ed agitato
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| | Настя! Милый мой<br/>''Nastya! Milyu moy''
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| | '''Quartet''' (Квартет)<br/>Allegro moderato
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| | В тревоге сердечной, покоя не зная<br/>''V trevoge serdechnoy, pokoya ne znaya''
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| | No. 23
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| | '''Finale''' (Финал)<br/>Allegro non tanto
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| | Болина ты, Настя?<br/>''Bolna ty, Nastya?''
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| |}
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| A complete performance of the opera lasts around 180 minutes.
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| ==Libretto== | | I keep thinking that you are either in Kazan or in [[Nizhny Novgorod]]. For I don't think that you would be capable of not fulfilling a request such as mine: I am sure you have gone with [[Papasha]] as a surprise. I shall not write to you much because I am sure I am doing all this in vain. However, if [[Papasha]] did leave you behind in [[Alapayevsk|Alapayeva]], you must be sad, and so it is necessary to cheer up my butterfly who loves her Petrushka or Popka <ref name="note3"/>, who in turn adores you and eagerly awaits that moment when he can kiss your wonderful hand. I shall kiss [[Papasha]]'s for sure, but God knows when I shall kiss yours. |
| The libretto was written by [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]] (1848–1917), after his own drama ''The Enchantress'' (1884), subtitled ''A Nizhny-Novgorodian Legend''.
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| The earliest document testifying to Tchaikovsky's interest in [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]]'s tragedy is found in a letter of 18/30 December 1884 to [[Pavel Pchelnikov]]. In this letter Tchaikovsky, who had missed a recent performance, expressed his "ardent wish to obtain a seat at the theatre for the next performance of ''The Enchantress''" <ref name="note1"/>. However, due to urgent proofreading work and then a trip to [[Saint Petersburg]] to attend the premiere of his [[Suite No. 3]], Tchaikovsky was unable to make it to the next performance of [[Shpazhinsky]]'s play.
| | Goodbye, my Angelic dear one. |
| | | {{right|Yours, Pyotr}} |
| [[Modest Tchaikovsky]] thus describes how the idea of writing an opera based on ''The Enchantress'' came about: "At that time [January 1885] Pyotr Ilyich was looking for a subject for an opera. I was in [[Moscow]] to attend [[Max Erdmannsdörfer]]'s concert [on 19/31 January 1885] and once happened to mention ''The Enchantress'' and how effective the scene of Kuma's meeting with the prince's son would be for an opera, though I did not by any means recommend using the play itself as a libretto. That very same day, Pyotr Ilyich bought a lithographed copy of [[I. V. Shpazhinsky]]'s play and went into raptures over this scene. Indeed, it was this scene which settled the matter. The following day, he wrote a letter to the author of ''The Enchantress'' proposing that the play be re-fashioned into a libretto..." <ref name="note2"/>.
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| | | {{centre|Dear Sestritsa <ref name="note4"/>. }} |
| In his reply on 21 January/2 February 1885, [[Shpazhinsky]] wrote: "I have been wanting to make your acquaintance for a long time, and with no one else would I collaborate with such particular pleasure as with you" <ref name="note3"/>.
| | I kiss you with all my heart and thank you for your sweet letter. |
| | | {{right|Pyotr T. }} |
| In a letter of 26 January/7 February 1885, Tchaikovsky informed [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]] that he had just commenced negotiations with [[Shpazhinsky]] regarding a libretto on the subject of ''The Enchantress'': "...I'm going off to see him now for a detailed discussion about a future opera. What would you say about ''The Enchantress''? I haven't seen it, but I have read it and I think there is a splendid role for you in it" <ref name="note4"/>.
| | I kiss the hands of [[Aunt Liza]] and Nastasya Petrovna <ref name="note5"/> and all my little brothers and sisters. |
| | | }} |
| [[Pavlovskaya]] tried to dissuade Tchaikovsky from writing an opera on that subject: "A loose woman who enchants by what means? By means of ''fine speeches'', of ''custom''? What does this signify?! She talks ''sweetly'', seeking to ''please'' everyone. She's brave, and yet she's afraid of the old prince. Only the scene with the prince's son is any good... besides, the Enchantress's type cannot possibly appeal to ''you''. You are far too idealistic, too much of a poet; your notions of women, especially of the heroines of your works, are far too pure. You cannot possibly like ''The Enchantress''. Then there's that princess, a grey-haired matron (with a grown-up son) who is so in love that she acknowledges nothing apart from her jealousy. And that old prince who is his own son's rival..." <ref name="note5"/>.
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| In his reply, Tchaikovsky gave a very compelling defence of his choice of subject:
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| {{quote|The way I picture ''Nastasya'' to myself and understand her is quite different to yours. Of course, she is a ''loose'' woman, but her charms consist not merely in the fact that she talks ''sweetly'' and tries to '' please'' everyone. Those qualities would suffice for attracting ordinary mortals to her inn. But how could ''that alone'' possibly cause the prince's son, who arrives there as a fierce enemy, intent on killing her, to become a passionately devoted lover? The point is that in her heart of hearts this loose woman possesses a ''moral strength and beauty'' which until that occasion had had no opportunity to manifest themselves. ''That power consists in love''. Hers is a strong feminine nature; she can fall in love only once and for all, and for the sake of that love she is capable of surrendering ''everything''. So long as her ''love'' has not yet blossomed, Nastasya fritters away that power as small change, so to speak [...] But then appears the man who is destined to touch the finest, hitherto silent, chords of her ''inner being'', and she is transformed. Life for her becomes ''worthless'' if she cannot achieve her goal. Her '' power of attraction'', which until then had acted like an elemental, subconscious force, is now an indestructible weapon which instantly overcomes what is hostile to it, that is, the prince's ''hatred''. Then both the one and the other surrender themselves to the frenzied current of love which leads to the inevitable catastrophe—her death—and this death leaves the spectator feeling reconciled and moved. It goes without saying that I am talking about how it will all be in my libretto rather than the play as it is now. [[Shpazhinsky]] has fully understood what I require, and he will delineate the main characters in accordance with my conception. [...] ''He'' and ''I'', and then ''you'' [...] will ensure that in the final act the whole audience will be crying. [...] The fact that the ''mighty beauty of femininity'' is concealed in Nastasya for a very long time under the guise of a ''loose woman'' surely intensifies her attractiveness as a dramatic figure. [...] My ''princess'' will also be a strong character in her own way. [...] She is ''jealous'' not on account of her husband, but, rather, on account of her princely dignity; in short, she is a fanatic aristocrat, obsessed with preserving the honour of her ''kin'', and for its sake she is prepared to give up her life and to commit a crime. [...] I do not feel like obeying you and going to see ''The Enchantress'' at the Maly Theatre—besides, [[Shpazhinsky]] strongly advises me not to go, arguing that in her ''present'' form the ''Enchantress'' might cause me to cool towards her ''future'' realization...<ref name="note6"/>. }} | |
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| [[Pavlovskaya]] was convinced by Tchaikovsky's arguments, and her subsequent letters testify to her growing interest in the figure of Nastasya. Writing to the composer on 25 April/7 May 1885, she expressed a number of thoughts on how in her view Nastasya was to develop as a character <ref name="note7"/>. Tchaikovsky replied: "Everything that you say is extremely pertinent and true, and it will of course be taken into account" <ref name="note8"/>.
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| From Tchaikovsky's correspondence with [[Shpazhinsky]], it transpires that the original plan of the scenario envisaged five acts in the opera to match the play's five acts. According to [[Shpazhinsky]]'s manuscript the libretto of Act I was completed on 25 May 1885 {{OS}}, and the composer rated it very highly: "Oh, what a fine fellow this [[Shpazhinsky]] is, and what a splendid colleague Fate has accorded to me in his person! The first act, which is the only one I have so far, is written magnificently: it is teeming with life and action" <ref name="note9"/>.
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| However, by the time he completed Act II, Tchaikovsky had come to the conclusion that it was necessary to make some alterations to the plan of the libretto. In his letter of 30 January/11 February 1886 to [[Shpazhinsky]], the composer wrote: "I have become convinced that ''The Enchantress'' must be in four acts rather than five. [...] Now that I have written the first two acts I have identified fully with my subject, and I feel most keenly that it is ''absolutely impossible'' to divide the opera into the same five acts as in the play. [...] The third act is the ''culmination'' of the drama. There the composer will perforce be very high-strung—the tension in this act is extreme. [...] one can feel the inevitability of a complicated and awful catastrophe. The fourth act then must be dedicated to this very catastrophe, after which the listener/spectator will leave the theatre staggered, yet reconciled and satisfied. After the magnificent, ''terrifying'' and ''passionate'' two scenes of Act III I ''feel'' that I can ''successfully'' write only one more act. [...] In opera [...] it is essential to have compressed and swift action—otherwise, the composer wouldn't have the energy to write his work, nor would the listener to take it all in attentively. [...] it will inevitably be necessary to come up with something utterly new and different to the play here. The princess ''must'', ''of course'', kill Kuma [Nastasya]. There ''must'', ''of course'', be hostility between the prince and his son, there must be a struggle and death—but where is all this to take place? How, under what circumstances? [...] It's just essential that all this should happen not in the prince's palace or at Kuma's inn, but rather in some neutral place. Wouldn't it be possible to have all the principal characters come together in the hut of the old wizard whom the princess visits in order to obtain poison? Would it not be possible for ''Kuma'' to be tricked by the princess (with Mamyrov as her instrument)? Is it not possible to arrange it so that the tragedy ends in public? How might one ensure that the ''people'' are present during all this?" <ref name="note10"/>. He made similar points in a letter of 6/18 February 1886 to his brother [[Modest]] <ref name="note11"/>.
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| [[Shpazhinsky]] agreed to modify the plan of the scenario. On 18 February/2 March 1886, Tchaikovsky noted in his diary: "At ''[[Shpazhinsky]]'s'' [...] a splendid new version of the finale of Act IV".<ref name="note12"/>
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| ===Synopsis===
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| The action takes place in and around [[Nizhny Novgorod]], during the last quarter of the 15th century.
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| {{quote|'''Act I'''. In a squalid inn on the banks of the River Oka, Foka and the vagabond monk Paisy are joined by Foka's niece Nastasya (known familiarly as 'Kuma') and her friend Polya. As Prince Yury and his huntsman Zhuran pass by on their way back from their bear hunt, Kuma's reflectiveness suggests that she is in love with Yury. Lukash, one of the drinkers, reports that Yury's father Prince Nikita Kurlyatev is on his way to investigate scandalous reports about the inn, together with the puritanical clerk Mamyrov. Only Kuma, who is the inn-keeper, keeps her head, and she succeeds in charming Prince Kurlyatev on his arrival with her beauty and simplicity of manner. She plies him with wine and even induces him to join in the dancing, to the rage of Mamyrov.}}
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| {{quote|'''Act II'''. In the garden of Prince Kurlyatev's house, his wife Princess Yevpraksiya is being consoled about her husband's daily visits to Kuma by Mamyrov's sister Nenila. Her son, Yury, tries to discover the cause of the trouble, and Paisy is ordered to spy on Kuma. A furious scene follows between the Prince and Princess. Yury pacifies an angry crowd who have pursued one of the Prince's men into the garden, demanding punishment for the man's crimes. When Paisy returns with news that the Prince has gone to Kuma, Yury realizes the reason for his mother's grief and vows to kill the 'enchantress' who has bewitched his father.}}
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| {{quote|'''Act III'''. Prince Kurlyatev is wooing Kuma in her hut, but she declares she would die rather than yield to him. When he has gone, Polya and Foka warn her of Yury's resolve. But when Yury himself arrives with Zhuran, he is readily convinced of Kuma's innocence, and left alone they fall into each others' arms.}}
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| {{quote|'''Act IV'''. Hunting horns sound from a dark forest on the river bank, and the wizard Kudma retreats into his cave as the hunt approaches. Zhuran meets Yury and learns of his plan to meet Kuma here and run away with her. When they have rejoined the hunt, Paisy and the Princess arrive to get poison for Kuma from Kudma. Kuma is now set ashore with her belongings, and, not knowing the Princess, is persuaded by her to accept a drink which contains the poison. Yury returns in time for Kuma to die in his arms. Yury rounds on his mother with curses as she departs, rejoicing. The Prince now appears in pursuit of Kuma and Yury, and, refusing to believe that she is not being hidden, kills his son in a jealous rage. Yury's body is borne away. Left alone in the dark forest, with thunder and lightning and peals of the wizard's laughter all about him, the Prince goes mad <ref name="note13"/>. }}
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| ==Composition==
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| While waiting for the libretto, Tchaikovsky began to make sketches for the ''[[Manfred]]'' symphony. He became so engrossed in the symphony that he felt unable to interrupt his work on it, and so it was only after completing ''[[Manfred]]'' on 22 September/4 October 1885 that, "without tarrying a single hour", he set about composing his opera<ref name="note14"/>. Shortly after commencing work on ''The Enchantress'', Tchaikovsky observed: "I have decided to write this opera little by little, spending just two hours on it each morning. I want to stop exhausting myself and indeed to avoid going too far in my compositional zeal" <ref name="note15"/>.
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| By 9/21 October, half of the first act had been composed <ref name="note16"/>. In the draft sketches for the opera the following date appears at the top of Scene 5 in Act I: "10[/22] October 1885". On 17/29 October Tchaikovsky wrote: "I am making uncommonly swift progress in my work, and if it weren't for this visit to [[Kamenka]] the entire first act, huge as it is, would have been ready by 1[/13] November" <ref name="note17"/>.
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| In early December, Tchaikovsky received the libretto for Act II from [[Shpazhinsky]] <ref name="note18"/>. In Tchaikovsky's sketches the following date appears at the start of Act II: "Began on 9[/21] Dec[ember] 1885 in the village of [[Maydanovo]]".
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| On 19/31 January 1886, Tchaikovsky informed [[Shpazhinsky]]: "I have set about this work so briskly and successfully that by the end of next week, God permitting, I shall have finished the second act", and in the same letter he noted that he was upset by [[Shpazhinsky]]'s intention of going away for a while: "I really don't want my ardour to be damped by a long interruption [...] Are you sure you don't have some fragments from the third or fourth act to hand? If, for example, I had ''the scene between Kuma''[''Nastasya'']'' and the prince's son'', that would be so marvellous!!!" <ref name="note19"/>.
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| On 23 January/4 February 1886, Tchaikovsky wrote to [[Nadezhda von Meck]]: "My work has progressed so swiftly that two acts are already almost complete. But there are still three left" <ref name="note20"/>.
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| Judging from the entries in his diary, Tchaikovsky completed Act II on 1/13 February, and the following day he was at work on the Introduction to the opera <ref name="note21"/>.
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| In that letter of 6/18 February to [[Modest]], he spoke of his being "infatuated" with the two first acts that were already complete. On 7/19 February, he continued his work on the Introduction and noted in his diary that evening: "All day long I have plugged away, with incredible effort, at a few bars".<ref name="note22"/> Lengthy interruptions delayed the completion of Act III of the opera. In March 1886, Tchaikovsky left for the Caucasus and then went abroad. [[Shpazhinsky]] was sending him the libretto in instalments. In a letter of 6/18 April from [[Tiflis]], the composer informed [[Shpazhinsky]] that he had finished those scenes in Act III for which he had the text and asked him to send the second half of the act. He added that he hoped to get back to [[Maydanovo]] in mid-June "with the third act fully completed" <ref name="note23"/>. In this letter he also asked [[Shpazhinsky]] to send him Act IV as well, so that he could devote the whole summer to the completion of the opera.
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| During his stay in [[Tiflis]], Tchaikovsky had hardly any opportunity to work on ''The Enchantress'' <ref name="note24"/>. Some passages of the scene between Kuma (Nastasya) and the prince's son were evidently composed during the voyage to France (as implied by this note on the manuscript: "At sea. 2[/14] May 1886"). However, it seems that Tchaikovsky put off any further work on his opera until his return to [[Maydanovo]], that is, until mid-June. In a letter of 19 June/1 July from [[Maydanovo]], Tchaikovsky informed [[Modest]]: "Today I've started to work"<ref name="note25"/>. Various entries in Tchaikovsky's diary for June also record the progress of his work on ''The Enchantress''. On 26 June/8 July, for instance, he noted: "Have been working (finale of Act III)" <ref name="note26"/>. This same date is indicated in the rough draft of the opera's score.
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| In a letter of 25 June/7 July-26 June/8 July, Tchaikovsky told [[Modest]] that he had received [[Shpazhinsky]]'s "outstanding" libretto for Act IV <ref name="note27"/>. As a result, work on the opera could again proceed in an intensive and systematic fashion. On 3/15 July, Tchaikovsky recorded in his diary that he had started to compose Act IV <ref name="note28"/>. However, during the initial stage of his work on Act IV Tchaikovsky experienced great difficulties, which may have been due to a bout of ill-health at the time: "I am having a great deal of trouble writing. I haven't even managed to write a tenth of Act IV so far" <ref name="note29"/>. On 29 July/10 August the composer noted in his diary: "All these days I've been having bleak thoughts. I think I won't ever finish ''The Enchantress''..." <ref name="note30"/>. "I am constantly ailing, and my work is going so slowly as it has never done before," he lamented in a letter of 30 July/11 August 1886 to [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]] <ref name="note31"/>. "I am approaching the end, but at a snail's pace," he told [[Modest]] in a letter of 31 July/12 August <ref name="note32"/>.
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| However, from early August onwards Tchaikovsky was working at his usual speed again. On 3/15 August he noted in his diary: "Have begun the new half of Act IV (''The Princess and Kudma'')" <ref name="note33"/>.
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| On 6/18 August, he wrote to [[Modest]]: "I have now reached a good phase for work [...] and I am getting on very well with my work..." <ref name="note34"/>. "During the past few days I have been seized with such a relish for work that my opera is now almost fully complete. I have only one small scene left to write", he informed [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]] on 13/25 August 1886 <ref name="note35"/>.
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| On 14/26 August, Tchaikovsky noted in his diary that he had completed Kuma's arioso, and on 18/30 August that the whole opera was complete: "''today I've completely finished'' the draft sketches for the opera" <ref name="note36"/>.
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| Tchaikovsky spent the remainder of August and early September {{OS}} composing the [[Twelve Romances, Op. 60]], but he did also go over an ensemble in Act I of his opera <ref name="note37"/>.
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| Various entries in Tchaikovsky's diary around this time indicate his concern over the fact that the opera had turned out to be far too long. "Played through all of the first act, and to my horror I can see that it's terribly long. Long operas, however, are no good for anything" (entry for 11/23 September 1886) <ref name="note38"/>. "I've played through the whole ''Enchantress'' [...] It's clear that huge cuts will be necessary, and that is very unpleasant," he wrote to [[Modest]] on 18/30 September <ref name="note39"/>, and that same day he noted in his diary: "Reading and playing of Act I. Cuts" <ref name="note40"/>. On 19 September/1 October, Tchaikovsky commenced the instrumentation of Act I <ref name="note41"/>. While working on the instrumentation he continued to worry about the opera being too long and about the need for making cuts, as is clear from various diary entries during the latter half of September and in October 1886 <ref name="note42"/>. According to Tchaikovsky's date on the autograph, the instrumentation of Act I was completed on 25 November/7 December 1886. However, he did not commence the remaining three acts until the vocal-piano reduction had been completed.
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| Tchaikovsky's work on the instrumentation cost him great effort. "During all these days I have been plugging away, without a break, at the instrumentation of my opera, which, most likely as a result of my having become old and tired, is proceeding at a snail's pace..." he told [[Anton Arensky]] in a letter of 2/14 April 1887 <ref name="note43"/>.
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| Despite the cuts he had made to Act IV, Tchaikovsky was still not satisfied with the opera's finale. From 25 March/6 April 1887 onwards there again began appearing entries in his diary in which he commented on the longueurs of this act: "Played Act IV of ''The Enchantress''. A whole hour!! That's terrible" <ref name="note44"/>. It was, however, no longer possible to make further cuts, since the vocal-piano reduction was already at the printers'. After completing the instrumentation of Act II on 8/20 April (as indicated in his diary), Tchaikovsky set about scoring Act IV, "the very hardest" of all the acts. Shortly after embarking on this task he wrote: "... I don't like this act, or, rather, I have ceased to like it. I made a hash of it, gluing it together artificially, and it is too long, complicated, and awfully bleak!" <ref name="note45"/>.
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| In subsequent diary entries Tchaikovsky recorded his daily progress on Act IV, which the autograph indicates he finished scoring on 26 April/8 May 1887 <ref name="note46"/>.
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| Thereafter we find the following entries in the composer's diary:
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| * 27 April/9 May 1887: "Began the third act (i.e. the last one that remains to be done). Worked successfully".
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| * 5/17 May: "Had a lot of trouble with my work (the Introduction)".
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| * 6/18 May: "Worked well, so that by suppertime I had ''finished everything!!!''" <ref name="note47"/>.
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| At the end of Act III in the full score Tchaikovsky wrote: "Finished orchestrating the whole opera on 6 May 1887 {{OS}}. At [[Maydanovo]]".
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| On 7/19 and 8/20 May, Tchaikovsky added tempo and dynamic markings to the score, and on 9/21 May he departed for [[Saint Petersburg]] <ref name="note48"/>. That same day, he informed [[Jurgenson]] that he had "completed everything" and asked him to send the proofs for Act III to [[Aleksandra Hubert]] and the Introduction to [[Eduard Langer]] <ref name="note49"/>.
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| On 9/21 May, he also wrote to [[Aleksandra Hubert]] (who often assisted Tchaikovsky with his proof-reading work): "I have ''finished everything''. Tomorrow [[Aleksey]] will dispatch Act III by post to [[Jurgenson]], and the latter will have it brought to you. [...] I entrust my ''Enchantress'' to your care" <ref name="note50"/>.
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| The first general rehearsal of the opera with the singers was held at the Mariinsky Theatre on 7/19 September 1887, after which it became clear that even more cuts were required, especially in the third and fourth acts.
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| Tchaikovsky wrote about these cuts to his librettist [[Shpazhinsky]]: "I had to produce the ''vocal-piano reduction'' quickly during the rehearsals for ''[[Cherevichki]]'' last year, amidst the bustle of [[Moscow]] life. It was impossible to do this job calmly and with due reflection. In some places I did vaguely sense a certain long-windedness and an excess of music, which might tire out listeners and quench their interest. However, I had no choice but to refrain from giving thought to this, and I just carried on transcribing my rough sketches into a fair copy. When I subsequently set about the instrumentation I couldn't change anything because the vocal-piano reduction had already been sent to press. All this summer I was constantly tormented by the thought that the last scene of Act III and the whole of Act IV are marred by unbearable longueurs. On 8 September [actually 7/19 September], during the first general rehearsal with the singers, I noticed very clearly at what point the sympathetic attitude of everyone present towards my opera ceased and there set in a dreary silence and a kind of melancholy bemusement. It began during the love scene between the prince's son and Kuma. When Yury, for the third time in effect, makes as if to leave and yet still doesn't leave, while the music keeps going on and on, I felt rather ashamed. I had exactly the same sensation that the listeners would subsequently experience, that is, ennui, a loss of interest, and the desire to make it through to the end as quickly as possible. [...] As far as Act IV is concerned, all its dramatic effectiveness notwithstanding, I have long since got used to the thought that it is far too long (a good whole ''hour!!!'') and that cuts would be essential. Of course, it was very difficult and sad to make this decision about alterations, but for the sake of the opera's success, which I passionately yearn for, I made my mind up, retired to the seclusion of [[Maydanovo]], and have come up with some excellent cuts, as a result of which that scene in Act III will be much improved, the listener's interest will keep rising in crescendo, and everything that is substantial and ''good'' will be retained. Likewise, the cuts in Act IV did not at all prove as difficult as I had expected. In short, I am quite satisfied with the opera in its present form and I ''know'' that at no point will the spectator feel exhausted" <ref name="note51"/>.
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| On 1/13 October 1887, the composer wrote to [[Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov]]: "... I must tell you that for [[Petersburg]] I have made some ''significant alterations'' and ''lots of cuts'' (especially in Acts III and IV), and since all these changes were undertaken for very serious reasons, and since, moreover, the opera's success will depend on them, it is essential that in [[Tiflis]] the opera should be performed in accordance with its present version. I have already given instructions for a vocal-piano reduction with paste-in slips to be prepared for [[Tiflis]]. As for the orchestral score, we have one copy here with all the modifications (it is now being used to copy the voice parts), and next week it will become available again. ''I shall send it to you at once''. You must have all the ''alterations'' added to your ''score'' and then dispatch immediately to [[Jurgenson]] in [[Moscow]] the copy which you will receive from me. The opera turned out to be very impractical in many respects (except for Acts I and II). You will have to re-rehearse one or two things" <ref name="note52"/>.
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| On 10/22 October, Tchaikovsky wrote to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]]: "... I shall not allow ''The Enchantress'' to be staged either in [[Tiflis]] or in [[Kiev]] until we have settled on the final version once and for all" <ref name="note53"/>.
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| In the course of the rehearsals in [[Saint Petersburg]], the singers asked Tchaikovsky to add or modify various passages. The mezzo-soprano [[Mariya Slavina]] requested an aria for herself at the start of Act II. The composer, however, did not fulfil her request because he considered the text in the libretto at this point to be unsuitable. [[Shpazhinsky]] evidently did not write any new text <ref name="note54"/>.
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| Although it went against his feelings as the author, Tchaikovsky showed himself to be quite willing to satisfy requests for modifications to the ''tessitura'' of the voice-parts. Thus, for [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]] he made a significant number of modifications to the part of Nastasya in Act III. Still, Tchaikovsky felt that the modified melodies were not quite in keeping with the nature of that character and the situations in the opera. He wrote: "I am burning with impatience to discuss with you, even if only in writing, the low ''tessitura'' of the duet with the prince's son. After reading your letter I started to study this scene in detail and, just imagine, I still do not understand why you feel that it lies too low. That is, if it is indeed so, the fault is not mine (so it seems to me) but rather the scene's. It is only at the end that her passion manifests itself fully. To begin with, all of Nastasya's words are calm and slightly mocking; then her love expresses itself timidly, gently—in short, all her words here are such that high notes are not called for. But as soon as her feelings gain the upper hand over the timidity restraining her, the ''tessitura'' at once becomes higher" <ref name="note55"/>.
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| In some cases, however, the composer remained adamantly opposed to changes. Responding to [[Pavlovskaya]]'s request for a free recitative in Scene 6 of Act I, he wrote: "I really do not know what could be done here. I mean, it would be necessary to compose everything entirely afresh in order to turn it into a free ''recitative!!!''" <ref name="note56"/>. At [[Mariya Slavina]]'s request, Tchaikovsky made many modifications in the part of the Princess <ref name="note57"/>.
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| ==Arrangements==
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| Rehearsals for ''The Enchantress'' at the [[Saint Petersburg]] Mariinsky Theatre were scheduled for the spring of 1887, and Tchaikovsky was urged to complete the vocal-piano reduction as quickly as possible <ref name="note58"/>. At the same time, therefore, as he worked on the instrumentation of Act I Tchaikovsky also set about transcribing it for piano and proceeded afterwards to transcribe the other acts. In his letter to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]] of 10/22 November 1886, he wrote: "I am now intensely occupied with finishing Act I of the opera both in the full score and in the [vocal-piano] arrangement. When I finish this I shall send it to you so that you can have a copy made and immediately start engraving the vocal-piano reduction. As for the following acts, I shall write these in the form of a vocal-piano reduction to start with, and I shall be asking you to make great haste with the engraving process, since I have promised to submit the complete printed vocal-piano reduction by ''Lent''. And this is essential if we want the opera to be produced at the start of the next season" <ref name="note59"/>.
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| On 4/16 December, Tchaikovsky told [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]]: "... I am working on ''The Enchantress'' with a frenetic haste, because I have pledged myself to submit it to the [Theatres'] Directorate by Lent. After that I shall have to orchestrate the three acts that are still not orchestrated (at the moment I am in fact working on the vocal-piano reduction) [...] I requested [from [[Shpazhinsky]]] various alterations and cuts in ''The Enchantress'', and he has carried out all these" <ref name="note60"/>.
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| By 24 December 1886/5 January 1887 the vocal-piano reduction of Act II was ready (see the entry in Tchaikovsky's diary for that day) <ref name="note61"/>. In his letter of 1/13 January 1887 to [[Eduard Nápravník]], Tchaikovsky also mentioned how he was working "with intense diligence" on the vocal-piano reduction <ref name="note62"/>.
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| The composer spent the greater part of January 1887 in [[Moscow]], where he was involved in rehearsals for his opera, since he was due to conduct the first performances of ''The Enchantress''. In early February, at the same time as he was working on its transcription for voices and piano, Tchaikovsky also made some changes to Act IV in connection with the cuts he had decided on for that act <ref name="note63"/>. On 11/23 February, the vocal-piano reduction of ''The Enchantress'' was complete. On 12/24 February, Tchaikovsky recorded in his diary that he had started work on the full score of Act II <ref name="note64"/>. At the same time as the instrumentation he also looked through the proofs of the vocal-piano reduction <ref name="note65"/>.
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| ==Performances==
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| {{picture|file=Mariya Slavina.jpg|caption=[[Mariya Slavina]] as the Princess in the first production of ''The Enchantress'' (1887)}} | |
| Before the opera was shown on the stage for the first time, some excerpts from ''The Enchantress'' were given concert performances in [[Moscow]] and [[Saint Petersburg]] <ref name="note65A"/>.
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| The first complete performance of ''The Enchantress'' took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in [[Saint Petersburg]] on 20 October/1 November 1887, with Tchaikovsky himself conducting, with the following soloists: [[Ivan Melnikov]] (''Nikita''), [[Mariya Slavina]] (''Yevpraksiya''), Mikhail Vasilyev III (''Yury''), Fyodor Stravinsky (''Mamyrov''), Mariya Dolina (''Nenila''), [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]] (''Kuma''), Nikolay Klimov (''Foka''), Yelena Markovskaya (''Polya''), Vladimir Sobolev (''Potap''), Grigory Ugrinovich (''Lukash''), Mikhail Koryakin (''Kichiga''), Vasily Vasilyev II (''Paisy''), Sergey Pavlovsky (''Kudma''). The composer also conducted the next three performances (23 October/4 November, 30 October/11 November and 2/14 November 1887) with the same cast.
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| The opera was not successful, and the press reviews were on the whole negative <ref name="note66"/>. "The production of ''The Enchantress",'' Tchaikovsky wrote to [[Ippolitov-Ivanov]] on 19 November/1 December 1887, "has not only exhausted me very much, but has also failed to give me any joy, because it really has not gone down well with the public (the ovations at the first performance don't mean anything at all) <ref name="note67"/>.
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| Nevertheless, Tchaikovsky considered that the failure of ''The Enchantress'' would be but temporary. "By no means does it cause me to despair, and I think that this is an opera which one has to get used to. It will eventually gain a footing in the repertoire, that is, once audiences have accustomed their ears to it".<ref name="note68"/>
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| In anticipation of the opera's staging in [[Moscow]], which was scheduled for the 1888/89 season, [[Shpazhinsky]] informed Tchaikovsky that the Imperial Theatres' Directorate was of the view that "some further corrections, mainly in the second half of Act III" were desirable <ref name="note69"/>. Tchaikovsky refused categorically to consider any such suggestion: "I tormented myself enough with those revisions last autumn and I am fully convinced that no matter how much one alters, it will just make things worse. [...] I consider ''The Enchantress'' to be my best opera and I do not intend to retract a single note. [...] At present I am quite incapable of addressing its failure without feeling anger and pain in my heart. I cannot warm to the subject again, and even if alterations were indeed necessary, I should only be able to undertake them after a few years have passed"<ref name="note70"/>.
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| The first complete performance in [[Moscow]] eventually took place on 2/14 February 1890, conducted by [[Ippolit Altani]], with soloists: [[Bogomir Korsov]] (''Nikita''), Aleksandra Krutikova (''Yevpraksiya''), Lavrenty Donskoy (''Yury''), Vasily Tyutyunnik (''Mamyrov''), Vera Gnucheva (''Nenila''), Stepan Trezvinsky (''Zhuran''), Mariya Korovina (''Kuma''), Romuald Vasilyevsky (''Foka''), Mikhail Mikhaylov (''Paisy''), and Vladimir Streletsky (''Kudma'') <ref name="note70A"/>.
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| In Soviet times the opera was performed with a revised libretto by Sergey Gorodetsky, and it was first heard in this form at the Kirov Theatre in [[Leningrad]] on 22 March 1941.
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| ==Publication==
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| In April 1887, the first version of the vocal-piano reduction was published by [[Jurgenson]], both complete and also as separate numbers <ref name="note71"/>. In August 1887, the solo piano arrangement made by [[Aleksandra Hubert]] was published.
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| From 10/22 September to 19 September/1 October, Tchaikovsky worked on these cuts and the related modifications to the opera's score <ref name="note72"/>. These changes resulted in a second version of the opera <ref name="note73"/>, which was published in vocal-piano reduction and full score by [[Jurgenson]] in 1901 (passed by the censor on 2/14 February 1901). Consequently, the first version of the opera was never performed, and indeed Tchaikovsky insisted that only the second version should be used for performance.
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| Tchaikovsky's full score and vocal-piano reduction of ''The Enchantress'' were published in volumes 8 and 40 respectively of the composer's ''[[Complete Collected Works]]'', edited by Ivan Shishov (1948-49). They include the passages subsequently cut from the second edition <ref name="note74"/>.
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| ==Autographs==
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| The following manuscripts are preserved in the {{RUS-Mcm}} in [[Moscow]].
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| * Full score of the Introduction and Act I, with vocal-piano reduction {{TOW2|charodeyka-opera-v-4-h-deystviyah-introdukciya-i-deystvie-i|(ф. 88, No. 44a)}}
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| * Full score of Act II {{TOW2|charodeyka-opera-v-4-h-deystviyah-deystvie-ii|(ф. 88, No. 44b)}}
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| * Full score of Act III {{TOW2|charodeyka-opera-v-4-h-deystviyah-deystvie-iii|(ф. 88, No. 44v)}}
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| * Full score of Act IV {{TOW2|charodeyka-opera-v-4-h-deystviyah-deystvie-iv|(ф. 88, No. 44g)}}
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| * Vocal-piano arrangement of the Introduction and Acts II to IV {{TOW2|charodeyka-opera-v-4-h-deystviyah-introdukciya-i-deystviya-ii-iv|(ф. 88, No. 45)}}
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| ==Recordings==
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| {{reclink}}
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| ==Dedication==
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| In September 1886, Tchaikovsky wrote of his intention to dedicate the opera to the [[Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich]] <ref name="note76"/>. However, the score was subsequently published without any inscription.
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| ==Related Works==
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| The Introduction and Kuma's Arioso (Act I, No. 4) employ the Russian folk tunes 'The Grey Dove Flies at First Light' (Сизый голубь по зорям летал) and 'It's Not the Sound Resounding' (Не шум шумит); the latter theme was also used in Lel's Third Song (Act III, No. 14) from ''[[The Snow Maiden]]'' (1873), and also arranged by Tchaikovsky as No. 21 of [[Fifty Russian Folksongs]] (1868-69).
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| The Entr'acte to Act IV draws on the folksong 'The Final Hour of Parting' (Последний час разлуки), also known as 'The Young Shepherd Serezha' (Серёжа пастушок) <ref name="note75"/>.
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| ==External Links==
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| * {{imslpscore|The_Enchantress_(Tchaikovsky,_Pyotr)|''The Enchantress''}}
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| ==Notes and References== | | ==Notes and References== |
| <references> | | <references> |
| <ref name="note1">[[Letter 2621]] to [[Pavel Pchelnikov]], 18/30 December 1884. [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]]'s ''The Enchantress'' was first performed in [[Moscow]] at the Maly Theatre on 8/20 October 1884, and in [[Saint Petersburg]] at the Aleksandrinsky Theatre on 12/24 November that year.</ref> | | <ref name="note1">See [[Letter 10]] to his parents on 8/20 November 1850.</ref> |
| <ref name="note2">{{bib|1902/25|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 3}} (1902), p.22-23.</ref> | | <ref name="note2">[[Ilya Tchaikovsky]] had promised to visit his sons Pyotr and [[Nikolay]], who were studying at boarding-schools in [[Saint Petersburg]]. After making the long journey from [[Alapayevsk]] in the Urals to [[Saint Petersburg]], he spent about three weeks with them in September before returning home. Shaitansk is a small settlement on the banks of the Neiva River in the Central Urals.</ref> |
| <ref name="note3">Letter from [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]] to the composer, 21 January/2 February 1885—published in {{bibx|1940/227|Чайковский на Московской сцене}} (1940), p. 426.</ref>
| | <ref name="note3">Literally "parrot; Polly". As we find out from [[Letter 30]], it was [[Aleksandra Tchaikovskaya]] who called her son by this affectionate name.</ref> |
| <ref name="note4">[[Letter 2649]] to [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]], 26 January/7 February 1885.</ref>
| | <ref name="note4">'Sestritsa', or 'little sister', was the affectionate name for Tchaikovsky's much older cousin, Anastasiya Vasilyevna Popova (1807–1894), the daughter of [[Ilya Tchaikovsky]]'s older sister [[Yevdokiya Popova]].</ref> |
| <ref name="note5">Letter from [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]] to the composer, 9/21 April 1885—published in {{bibx|1940/226|Чайковский на Московской сцене}} (1940), p. 330.</ref>
| | <ref name="note5">Anastasiya Petrovna Petrova (1824–1893) had joined the Tchaikovsky family in [[Alapayevsk]] on 24 November/6 December 1849 as a governess, specifically with the task of preparing Pyotr for the School of Jurisprudence in [[Saint Petersburg]]. After spending some three years with the Tchaikovskys she worked as a governess in various other families, but returned to her first employer in 1859, when she took charge of the twins, [[Anatoly]] and [[Modest]].</ref> |
| <ref name="note6">[[Letter 2685]] to [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]], 12/24 April 1885. While in [[Tiflis]], in June 1887, Tchaikovsky saw a production of ''The Enchantress'' with the famous actress Mariya Savina in the title role. In [[Letter 3266]] to [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]], 4/16 June 1887, he shared his impressions of this performance: "Savina asked me so earnestly to attend her benefit performance that in spite of my extreme reluctance to see ''The Enchantress'' in the form of a play, I had no choice but to go. [...] Good Lord, how far it is from that ideal of ''The Enchantress'' which had been living in my imagination!!!".</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note7">Letter from [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]] to the composer, 25 April/7 May 1885—published in {{bibx|1940/226|Чайковский на Московской сцене}} (1940), p. 335–340.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note8">[[Letter 2708]] to [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]], 9/21 May 1885.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note9">[[Letter 2762a]] to [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]], 9/21 September 1885.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note10">[[Letter 2875]] to [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]], 30 January/11 February 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note11">[[Letter 2882]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 6/18 February 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note12">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 38. If one compares the play to the final version of the libretto, several modifications can be pointed out. Thus, a number of scenes involving secondary characters were omitted and the text in many scenes was abridged. Various characters, including the boyar Shetnev, the father of the bride intended for the prince's son. A scene of popular revolt was added to Act II, whereas in the play it is only mentioned in the exchanges between the prince's son and the scribe Mamyrov. Act III underwent hardly any alterations, except for some abridgement of the text in the scene between Kuma (Nastasya) and Foka. Act IV of the play was not incorporated into the libretto (this act takes us into the midst of the prince's household, and we are also told of the wizard Kudma, who knows how to prepare poison). Act V of the play (Act IV in the opera) has been modified considerably. In the play, the princess, dressed up as a pilgrim, arrives at Kuma's inn and poisons her. The prince's son then arrives, followed by the prince. When he sees Kuma dead the prince rushes furiously upon the princess, but their son shields her and is slain by the blow struck by his father. The prince decides to hand himself over to be tried by the tsar. The people gather around Kuma's cottage and call for her death to be avenged. In the opera, all the characters come face to face in a dense forest near the hut of the wizard Kudma, who appears in some of the scenes. When the prince's son is killed a terrible storm breaks out. The deranged prince remains in the forest alone. Among [[Shpazhinsky]]'s manuscripts (which are kept in the Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum in [[Moscow]]), there are several variants for the ending of his tragedy ''The Enchantress''. In one of them there is a scene in Kudma's hut in the forest. The princess seeks him out in order to obtain poison. The text of Kudma's monologue in this scene and also the text of most of the exchanges between Kudma and the princess were incorporated, with hardly any modifications, into Act IV of the opera's libretto.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note13">From {{bib|2002/22|The Tchaikovsky Handbook, vol. 1}} (2002), p. 73.</ref> | |
| <ref name="note14">[[Letter 2762a]] to [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]], 9/21 September 1885.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note15">[[Letter 2779]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 27 September/9 October 1885.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note16">[[Letter 2788]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 9/21 October 1885.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note17">[[Letter 2797]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 17/29 October 1885.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note18">Letter from [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]] to the composer, 5/17 December 1885—published in {{bibx|1940/227|Чайковский на Московской сцене}} (1940), p. 428.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note19">[[Letter 2861]] to [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]], 19/31 January 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note20">[[Letter 2863]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 23 January/4 February 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note21">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 33.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note22">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 35.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note23">[[Letter 2928]] to [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]], 6/18 April 1886. [[Shpazhinsky]] sent the second half of Act III together with a letter to Tchaikovsky on 9/21 April 1886. See {{bibx|1940/227|Чайковский на Московской сцене}} (1940), p. 438.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note24">See the following letters, which the composer sent from [[Tiflis]]: [[Letter 2929]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 9/21 April; and [[Letter 2932]] to [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]], 17/29 April 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note25">[[Letter 2979]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 19 June/1 July 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note26">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 74.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note27">[[Letter 2985]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 25 June/7 July-26 June/8 July 1886. [[Shpazhinsky]] telegraphed the composer from [[Moscow]] on 19 June/1 July 1886 to tell him that he had now completed the libretto. See {{bibx|1940/227|Чайковский на Московской сцене}} (1940), p. 438.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note28">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 75. Judging from the order of the material in the manuscript score, it seems that Tchaikovsky began composing Act IV from the second half of the act (from scene no. 22).</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note29">[[Letter 3004]] to [[Aleksandra Hubert]] and [[Nikolay Hubert]], 13/25 July 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note30">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 83.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note31">[[Letter 3019]] to [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]], 30 July/11 August 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note32">[[Letter 3020]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 31 July/12 August 1886.</ref> | |
| <ref name="note33">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 84.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note34">[[Letter 3024]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 6/18 August 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note35">[[Letter 3026]] to [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]], 13/25 August 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note36">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 88. In [[Letter 3033]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 20 August/1 September 1886, Tchaikovsky informed his publisher that he had finished the composition of his opera.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note37">Diary for 9/21 September 1886. See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 94.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note38">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 94.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note39">[[Letter 3050]] to [[Modest Tchaikovsky]], 18/30 September 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note40">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 96.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note41">Diary entry for 19 September/1 October 1886. See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 96.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note42">After analyzing the rough draft it has been possible to establish what exactly was cut. In Act I: (a) a part of Scene 3 (after the chorus: "We don't care for your intoxicating beer") which included an extended solo for Lukash (120 bars in all); (b) Mamyrov's reply to the prince in the finale of the act (7 bars). Apart from that, it is clear that while composing Act I Tchaikovsky removed the prince's arioso from Scene 6 ("Another such beauty", 32 bars) and used its theme for the arioso in Act II: "Now the image of that comely woman". In Act II, the princess's arioso, which opened Scene 8 (25 bars), was cut. The libretto published by [[Jurgenson]] in 1887 does, however, include the text of this arioso. In Act III the following were cut: (a) two small solo episodes for Nastasya at the end of Scene 16 (12 and 27 bars); (b) an orchestral passage after Nastasya's words: "And what else? Tell me quick" in Scene 17 (30 bars). Only two scenes were preserved in Act IV: Scenes 22 and 23. In the final version of Scene 23, a long episode after Nastasya's death was cut (a solo for the princess and a choral scene—79 bars in all). It seems that the librettist was also involved in the cutting process, since many alterations to the text in connection with the aforementioned cuts are written in [[Shpazhinsky]]'s hand in the manuscript of the libretto.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note43">[[Letter 3215]] to [[Anton Arensky]], 2/14 April 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note44">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 134.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note45">[[Letter 3223]] to [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]], 10/22 April 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note46">Judging from some letters and diary entries, it seems that Tchaikovsky sought [[Sergey Taneyev]]'s advice with regard to the instrumentation. [[Taneyev]] also assisted in the proof-reading of the full score.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note47">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 141–143.</ref> | |
| <ref name="note48">See [[Letter 3251]] to [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]], 7/19 May 1887, and the diary entries for 7/19 and 8/20 May 1887 in {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 143.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note49">[[Letter 3253]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 9/21 May 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note50">[[Letter 3252]] to [[Aleksandra Hubert]], 9/21 May 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note51">[[Letter 3367]] to [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]], 25 September/7 October 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note52">[[Letter 3373]] to [[Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov]], 1/13 October 1887. The first performance of ''The Enchantress'' in [[Tiflis]] took place on 14/26 December 1887 and was conducted by [[Ippolitov-Ivanov]]. This performance was a great success.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note53">[[Letter 3382]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 10/22 October 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note54">See [[Letter 3367]] to [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]], 25 September/7 October 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note55">[[Letter 3306]] to [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]], 30 July/11 August 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note56">[[Letter 3361]] to [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]], 21 September/3 October 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note57">See [[Letter 3314]] to [[Mariya Slavina]], 8/20 August 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note58">See [[Letter 3088]] to [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]], 4/16 November 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note59">[[Letter 3094]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 10/22 November 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note60">[[Letter 3116]] to [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]], 4/16 December 1886.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note61">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 119.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note62">[[Letter 3140]] to [[Eduard Nápravník]], 1/13 January 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note63">Diary entries for 2/14 and 3/15 February 1887. See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 125.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note64">See {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 127.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note65">See [[Letter 3189]] to [[Nadezhda von Meck]], 20 February/4 March 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note65A">[[Sergey Taneyev]] directed students of the [[Moscow]] Conservatory at a special Russian Musical Society concert on 22 February/6 March 1887 in Kuma's Arioso (Act I, No. 4), the Folk Chorus (Act I, No. 5), and the Decimet with Chorus (Act I, No. 7a). The composer himself conducted Kuma's Arioso (Act I, No. 4) and the Tumblers' Dance (Act I, No. 7) at a Philharmonic Society concert in [[Saint Petersburg]] on 5/17 March 1887, with [[Aleksandra Panayeva-Kartsova]] as Kuma.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note66">One of the reasons for the opera's failure was the poor rendition of the leading role. The talented soprano [[Emiliya Pavlovskaya]] had by this point lost much of her voice (the 1887/88 season turned out to be her penultimate one before her retirement from the stage), and since she had to devote a lot of attention to vocal aspects, she could not deploy fully her innate dramatic gifts in the portrayal of Nastasya.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note67">[[Letter 3411]] to [[Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov]], 19 November/1 December 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note68">[[Letter 3392]] to [[Yuliya Shpazhinskaya]], 28 October/9 November 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note69">Letter from [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]] to the composer, 11/23 April 1888—published in {{bibx|1940/222|Чайковский на Московской сцене}} (1940), p. 53.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note70">[[Letter 3350]] to [[Ippolit Shpazhinsky]], mid/late April 1888.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note70A">On 14/26 and 15/27 November, [[Adelina Skompskaya]] had performed Kuma's Arioso (Act I, No. 4) at two Russian Musical Society concerts, with Tchaikovsky conducting. The same excerpt was performed in [[Kiev]] at the 4th RMS symphony concert on 9/21 March 1890, with Ye. Silina as Kuma, conducted by Aleksandr Vinogradsky, and at [[Kharkov]] on 21 January/2 February 1892 in the 3rd RMS symphony concert, with Julia Reider conducted by [[Ilya Slatin]].</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note71">Passed by the censor on 21 February/5 March 1887.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note72">See the diary entries for that period in {{bib|1923/23|Дневники П. И. Чайковского}} (1923), p. 178–180.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note73">Passed by the censor on 2/14 February 1901.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note74">In the [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive there is a study by Ivan Shishov (presented as a lecture during a conference at the museum) in which the first and second versions of ''The Enchantress'' are compared in detail. The ending of Act II (No. 9, from bar 202) was rewritten, and a total of 140 bars were cut from Act III (No. 17). In Act IV, No. 18 was shortened by 76 bars, 15 bars were cut from No. 21, and 48 bars were removed from No. 22; three cuts in the finale (No. 23) reduced its length from 273 to 216 bars.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note75">See {{bib|1902/25|Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского ; том 3}} (1902), p. 64.</ref>
| |
| <ref name="note76">See [[Letter 3043]] to [[Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich]], 9/21 September 1886.</ref>
| |
| </references> | | </references> |
| [[Category:Operas|Enchantress]]
| | {{DEFAULTSORT:Letter 0032}} |
