Letter 3536
| Date | 28 March/9 April 1888 |
|---|---|
| Addressed to | Emiliya Pavlovskaya |
| Where written | Tiflis |
| Language | Russian |
| Autograph Location | Moscow (Russia): Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum (Pavlovskaya collection) |
| Publication | Чайковский на Московской сцене (1940), p. 416 П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том XIV (1974), p. 397 |
Text and Translation
| Russian text (original) |
English translation By Luis Sundkvist |
Тифлис 28 марта [18]88 Голубушка Эмилия Карловна!
Чувствую, что Вы на меня сердитесь за то, что я совсем не писал Вам из заграницы. Ей-Богу, родная, невозможно было вести корреспонденцию даже с таким близким другом, как Вы. Зато уж как наговоримся при свидании! Напишите мне хоть словечко и главное уведомьте, до каких пор Вы остаётесь в Питере? Как ангажемент на будущий год? Здоровы ли Вы, Сергей Евграфович, а также симпатичная обладательница чудных глазок? Я устал ужасно, неимоверно! Останусь здесь 2 недели и потом уеду в деревню, но подумываю съездить в Петербург, чтобы повидаться с родными и друзьями. Смерть хочется поболтать с Вами!!! Ей-Богу, я Вас люблю и вовсе не изменил Вам. Целую Вашу ручку. Ваш П. Чайковский |
Tiflis 28 March 1888 Golubushka Emiliya Karlovna!
I can sense that you are angry with me for not having written to you at all when I was abroad [1]. My God, my dear, it was just impossible to keep up my correspondence even with such a close friend as you are. But to make up for it, we shall have so much to say to one another when we meet! Write me a word or two if you can, and, most importantly, let me know how long you will be staying in Piter for. What's happened with the engagement for next year?[2] Are you all right? What about Sergey Yevgrafovich, and also the attractive proprietress of those wonderful little eyes?[3] I am awfully tired, incredibly so! I shall stay here for two weeks and then I'll leave for the country [4], though I am considering going up to Petersburg in order to see my relatives and friends. I very much want to have a chat with you!!! My God, I do love you and I have not been unfaithful to you at all. I kiss your hands. Yours P. Tchaikovsky |
Notes and References
- ↑ On 15/27 December 1887 Tchaikovsky had left Russia to begin his first concert tour of Western Europe as a conductor of his own works. He returned to Russia on 20 March/1 April 1888, arriving in Taganrog to visit his brother Ippolit. Three days later he set off for Tiflis, where he arrived on 26 March/7 April. He stayed there with his brother Anatoly's family until mid/late April.
- ↑ Emiliya Pavlovskaya was engaged at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre for the 1888/89 season. During the previous four seasons she had been a member of the Saint Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre's troupe.
- ↑ Emiliya Pavlovskaya's husband, Sergey Yevgrafovich Pavlovsky (1846–1915), was also a singer (a baritone) and had performed the minor role of the sorcerer Kudma at the premiere of The Enchantress. The "proprietress of those wonderful little eyes" was Pavlovskaya's sister, Yelena.
- ↑ In mid/late April 1888 Tchaikovsky left Tiflis for his new place of residence in the village of Frolovskoye, near Klin.
