The Voyevoda (opera)

Tchaikovsky Research

The Voyevoda (Воевода) is an opera in 3 acts and 4 scenes, Op. 3 (TH 1 ; ČW 1) [1], based on a story by Aleksandr Ostrovsky. It was Tchaikovsky's first completed opera, written and orchestrated between March 1867 and July 1868, and although he later destroyed the score, it was reconstructed after his death from the parts used for the first performance.

Tchaikovsky's later symphonic ballad The Voyevoda (1890-91) is completely unconnected to this opera.

Instrumentation

The opera is scored for solo voices, mixed chorus, and an orchestra consisting of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (in A, B-flat), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in C, D, E, F), 3 trombones, tuba (doubling ophicleide) + 2 timpani, triangle, cymbals, bass drum + harp, violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses.

There are twelve singing roles:

  • Nechay Shalygin / Voyevoda (Нечай Шалыгин/Воевода) — bass
  • Vlas Dyuzhoy (Влас Дюжой) — bass
  • Nastasya (Настасья) — soprano
  • Marya Vlasyevna (Марья Власьевна) — soprano
  • Praskovya Vlasyevna (Прасковья Власьевна) — soprano
  • Stepan Bastryukov (Степан Бастрюков) — tenor
  • Roman Dubrovin (Роман Дубровин) — baritone
  • Olyona (Олëна) — mezzo-soprano
  • Rezvy (Резвый) — bass
  • Jester (Шут) — tenor
  • Nedviga (Недвига) — mezzo-soprano
  • New Voyevoda (Новый воевода) — bass.

Movements and Duration

The numbering, titles and tempo are taken from the reconstruction in П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том 1А (1953). Act I is divided into five "episodes" (явления). 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.

Overture (Увертюра)
Moderato quasi Allegro
Act I Episode 1 No. 1 Chorus of Maidens (Хор девушек)
Andantino
На море утушка купалася
Na more utushka kupalasya
Scene (Сцена)
Moderato quasi Allegro
Нам в терему и тесно, да и душно
Nam v teremu i tesno, da i dushno
No. 2 Arioso (Ариозо)
Allegro risoluto
Ты расскажи, как в тереме высоком
Ty rasskazhi, kak v tereme vysokom
Marya Vlasyevna's Song with Chorus (Песня с хором Марьи Власевьны)
Allegro con fuoco
Становили сторожей у ворот и у дверей
Stanovili storozhey u vorot i dverey
Scene (Сцена)
Allegro comodo
А что потом?
A chto potom?
Episode 2 No. 3 Scene with Chorus (Сцена с хором)
Allegro molto e misterioso
Проходи
Prokhodi
No. 4 Recitatives (Речитатив)
Adagio
Вот здесь в садуто то ли дело
Vot zdes v saduto to li delo
Bastryukov's Aria (Ария Бастрюкова)
Andantino
Догорай на небе
Dogoray na nebe
Episode 3 No. 5 Scene (Сцена)
Allegro agitato
Откуда ты?
Otkuda ty?
Duet for Marya Vlasyevna and Bastryukov (Дуэт Марьи Власевьны и Бастрюкова)
Andante non troppo
Дай мне потешиться свободой
Day mne potershitsya svobodoy
No. 6 Scene (Сцена)
Allegro semplice
Беги, Боярин!
Begi, Boyarin!
Episode 4 No. 7 Scene (Сцена)
Allegretto comodo
Пожалуй нас, из воль присесть
Pozhaluy nas, iz vol; prisest
No. 8 Quartet (Квартет)
Adagio
Ты не слези свои сокольи очи
Ty ne slezi svoi sokoli ochi
Episode 5 Scene (Сцена)
Allegro semplice
Ты слышал, Резвый
Ty clyshal, Rezvy
No. 9 Finale (Финал)
Allegro vivo assai
Ну, что ж вы, холопы
Nu, chto zh vy, kholopy
Sextet with Chorus (Секстет с хором)
Allegro vivo assai
Боярин невесту к себе возьмёт
Boyarin nevestu k sebe vozmet
Act II Introduction
Andante
Scene 1 No. 1 Chorus of Servants (Хор слуг)
Moderato
Где-то боярин?
Gde-yo boyarin?
No. 2 Bastryukov's Aria (Ария Бастрюкова)
Allegro
Душа горит и сердце рвется
Dusha gotiy i serdtse rvetsya
Scene (Сцена)
Moderato
Боярин!
Boyarin!
No. 3 Scene (Сцена)
Moderato assai
Ты на моем дворе живешь, Роман
Ty na moyem dvore zhivesh, Roman
Scene 2 No. 4 Entr'acte and Dances of the Chambermaids (Антракт и пляска сенных девушек)
Andante comodo assai
No. 5 Scene (Сцена)
Moderato
Да что ж за чудо
Da chto zh za chudo
Marya Vlasyevna's Song (Песня с хором)
Cantabile
Соловушка в дубровушке громко свищет
Solovushka v dubrovushke gromko zvishchet
No. 6 Scene (Сцена)
Allegro vivo
Государыня, боярышня!
Godusarynya, boyaryshnya!
No. 7 Duet (Дуэт)
Allegro moderato
Тихо луна взойдет
Tikho luna vzoydet
No. 8 Duet (Дуэт)
Allegro
Хочу увидеть милого
Khochu uvidet milogo
No. 9 Scene (Сцена)
Allegro vivo
Тише! Идут
Tishe! Idut
Chorus (Хор)
Allegro comodo
За двором лужок зеленешенек
Za dvorom luzhok zeleneshenek
Act III Entr'acte (Антракт)
Moderato
No. 1 Scene (Сцена)
Andante non troppo
Душа живая здесь нас не услышит
Dusha zhivaya zdes nas ne uslyshit
Dubrovin's Aria (Ария Дубровин)
Andante
Заныло сердце ретивое
Zanylo serdtse retivoye
No. 2 Scene (Сцена)
Andante non troppo
Кажись идут
Kazhis idut
No. 3 Quartet (Квартет)
Andante cantabile
Темная ночка, тихая ночка
Temnaya nochka, tikhaya nochka
No. 4 Scene (Сцена)
Andante
Что же ты, Олена, плачешь?
Chto zhe ty, Olyona, plachesh?
No. 5 Duet (Дуэт)
Allegro moderato
Милый, верь мне, я невина
Mily, ver mne, ya nevina
No. 6 Scene (Сцена)
Andante non troppo
Идет с боярышней боярын
Idet s boyaryshney boyaryn
Quartet (Квартет)
Andante
Темная ночка, тихая ночка
Temnaya nochka, tikhaya nochka
No. 7 Scene (Сцена)
Allegro vivo
Накрыл я вас, злодеи, воры!
Nakryl ya vas, zlodey, vory!
No. 8 Quintet (Квинтет)
Moderato assai
Ты прости, прошай
Ty prosti, proshay
No. 9 Quintet with Chorus (Квинтет с хором)
Moderato
Сила злая одолела
Sila zlaya odolela
Scene (Сцена)
Allegro moderato
Держите их!
Derzhite ikh!
No. 10 Scene (Сцена)
Moderato
Остановись!
Ostanovis!
No. 11 Finale (Финал)
Allegro non troppo e maestoso
Слава! Слава!
Slava! Slava!

A complete performance of the opera lasts around 160 minutes.

Libretto

The libretto was compiled by the composer and Aleksandr Ostrovsky (1823–1886), after the latter's play A Dream on the Volga (Сон на Волге) (1865).

The first reference to the idea of the opera The Voyevoda appears in Tchaikovsky's letter to Anatoly Tchaikovsky of 8/20 November 1866: "I'm now busy revising the symphony and then, perhaps, I can eventually make a start on an opera. There is hope that Ostrovsky himself will write me a libretto from The Voyevoda" [2].

The libretto for the opera's first act was received from Aleksandr Ostrovsky in March 1867. In the copybook containing sketches for the opera, Tchaikovsky made the following note: "Received from A. N. Ostrovsky 1st Act libretto. 5 March 1867. Started to write on the 8th" [O.S.] [3].

In late April/early May, Tchaikovsky lost the libretto, as he wrote to Anatoly Tchaikovsky on 22 May/3 June [4], and he was forced to ask Ostrovsky to provide another copy of the text. It is not clear exactly how much Tchaikovsky had lost, but in the composer's archive there is a manuscript by Ostrovsky containing the reconstructed libretto for the whole of the first act, and for the first scene of Act II [5].

Before leaving Moscow for his summer holidays, Tchaikovsky went to visit Aleksandr Ostrovsky, but could not find him, as he informed the writer from Hapsal on 10/22 June 1867: "You were already in the country. I was very upset leaving for the summer without having had a single line of the libretto, but now I am even rather glad that this happened, because I suppose that you have not even begun the second act, and this might allow me to suggest that you might consider the following new plan for the second act. After the duet for Dubrovin and Bastryukov, I would very much like to introduce Olyona into this act, with the following factors serving as the motive for her appearance:

Indignant at the Voyevoda's insolent treatment of her new mistress, and seeing a clear analogy between the young lady's situation and her own, she arrives to tell Dubrovin that it is impossible to put up with all this any longer, that it is time to act, and that, joining forces with Bastryukov, he should take advantage of the Voyevoda's absence, enter the tower-chamber and rescue them both. Then the three of them (Dubr[ovin], Bastr[iukov], Olyona) agree on their plan of action (here there is a trio) and, on learning that the Voyevoda, who is about to leave on a pilgrimage, is approaching, they part. After that the act continues in accordance with the earlier outline.

If you are agreeable to these changes, then perhaps we could do without the first scene of the second act".

At the end of his letter, Tchaikovsky cautioned Aleksandr Ostrovsky: I am not asking you to hurry: I will spend this summer finishing off and orchestrating the first act; then during the winter and the coming summer I hope to write the remaining three" [6].

It follows from this letter that the opera was planned in four acts, and that the composer already had the libretto of Act I.

Aleksandr Ostrovsky's diary refers to his work on copying out the libretto [7]. He began this task on 4/16 June 1867, and on 8/20 June Act I was finished. Work was continually interrupted, since at the same time Ostrovsky was writing a libretto for Aleksandr Serov's opera The Power of Evil. From his diary it would appear that he was much more enthusiastic about his work on the latter project than on The Voyevoda, and he concentrated on this other plan. On 17/29 June, Ostrovsky sent Tchaikovsky the portion of the libretto that he had prepared, with a covering letter: "I am sorry for delaying your libretto, I have had a lot of work to do. I am sending all that I have managed to do, and the remainder will follow shortly... Have no fear, kind sir, I shall certainly keep my promise" [8]. Nevertheless, to judge from his diary entries, by late August/early September, Ostrovsky had done no significant work on the libretto of The Voyevoda

On his return to Moscow on 31 August/12 September, Tchaikovsky once again called on Aleksandr Ostrovsky, and that same day he wrote to Anatoly Tchaikovsky: "Ostrovsky continues to confound me; in Petersburg I read in the newspapers that he'd finished my libretto, but this turned out to be utterly false news, and I struggled to prise half of the old act from him" [9]. Evidently, this was the libretto of the first scene of Act II. In an undated latter, probably written in September 1867, Tchaikovsky again asked Ostrovsky for the libretto: "For the sake of all that's holy — find a spare moment and finish off what you promised me. I am quite forlorn without the missing scenes from the second act" [10]. But by 28 September/9 October, work on the opera had resumed: "The opera is gradually taking shape; Ostrovsky has left for Petersburg for a while; when he comes back from there I shall pounce on him" [11].

However, Tchaikovsky's collaboration with Aleksandr Ostrovsky on The Voyevoda was over. In 1882, the composer wrote to Sergey Taneyev about this: "This most kind man [Ostrovsky]... wrote the first act and the first scene of the second act for me himself. I began to compose, but having written the first act, I became disillusioned with the subject and the music I had written and decided to abandon composition, so after that I did not further trouble Ostrovsky. But it so happened that the singer Menshikova wanted a new opera for her benefit, and she prevailed upon me to finish the opera, so I somehow cobbled together the remainder (both the libretto and the music)" [12].

Synopsis

The story is set in a town on the River Volga during the mid-seventeenth century:

Act I. In the garden of Vlas Diuzhoy, a wealthy merchant, his daughters Marya and Praskovya contemplate the latter's wedding to the Voyevoda Shalygin. After all have departed, Marya's suitor Bastryukov secretly enters the garden and serenades her. They are interrupted and hide when the Voyevoda arrives, accompanied by Marya's parents and servants. Marya is discovered hiding in the bushes, and the Voyevoda is immediately attracted to her. He declares that he will marry her instead of Praskovya. Bastryukov tries in vain to save his beloved.

Act II. In Bastryukov's house (Scene 1) his servants await his return from hunting. He enters, followed by a stranger, Dubrovin, who reveals that his wife Olyona has also been seized by the Voyevoda. The two men agree to join forces and rescue Marya and Olyona. In the Voyevoda's house (Scene 2) Marya is lamenting her fate. Olyona enters to tell her that Bastryukov will be waiting for her in the garden after dark. They are interrupted by Marya's nurse Nedviga and her maids, who try to comfort Marya by singing and dancing.

Act III. In a courtyard outside the Voyevoda's home, Bastryukov and Dubrovin have plied the guards with drink, and anxiously await the arrival of their lovers. Marya and Olyona arrive, and all join in a joyful quartet. This is interrupted by the arrival of the Voyevoda and his servants, who seize the couples. When Marya again declares her love for Bastryukov, the Voyevoda angrily carries her offstage. She escapes again, just as the New Voyevoda enters. He has been sent by the Tsar who has learned of Shalygin's crimes. The latter is arrested, and the couples are reunited [13].

Composition

According to Tchaikovsky's sketches, he began to write the music for Act I on 8/20 March 1867, and completed this during April. In May, Tchaikovsky reworked his Characteristic Dances, written in 1865, which were used to open the opera's second act as Dances of the Chambermaids, and then while on holiday at Hapsal between June and August he orchestrated them, along with Act I of the opera [14].

The composer's difficulties in extracting the rest of the libretto from Aleksandr Ostrovsky were an obstacle to any significant progress during the autumn, until Tchaikovsky took the decision to finish the rest of the opera by himself. On 25 November/7 December 1867 he told his brother Modest: "The opera's now going quite well; I've written the whole of the 3rd act; the dances from it, which I orchestrated at Hapsal, will be performed at the next concert" [15].

It is impossible to establish how much work had been done during the winter of 1868, but in mid/late February 1868, Tchaikovsky was engaged in orchestrating Act III, as he wrote to Anatoly Tchaikovsky: "Over the last few days I have made a start on orchestrating the third act. I really want to finish the opera by the summer" [16].

In mid/late June, Tchaikovsky left for Paris. Here he orchestrated the overture, as is indicated by the date on the manuscript: "Paris, 28 July 1868" [N.S.].

Arrangements

The Entr'acte & Dances of the Chambermaids (Act II, No. 4) were arranged for piano duet and solo piano by Tchaikovsky in 1867 or 1868.

Performances

Tchaikovsky himself conducted a concert performance of the Entr'acte & Dances of the Chambermaids (Act II, No. 4) from The Voyevoda at a charity concert in Moscow on 19 February/2 March 1868 [17].

The first production of the opera was originally scheduled for 11/23 October 1868, and the rehearsals began in early/mid-September [18]. Tchaikovsky, who was obliged to attend, did not consider it possible to learn the opera so quickly. On 25 September/7 October, he told Anatoly Tchaikovsky that the premiere had been postponed: "You already know that my opera was due to be put on in October; the parts had been copied out and rehearsals had started, which I am supposed to attend. Of course, this was merely going through the motions. Seeing that it was not possible to produce the opera in such a short time, I pointed out to the local director that the current presence of the Italian Opera was distracting the chorus and orchestra, and so I would not give them the full score... In the circumstances rehearsals have been suspended, and the opera postponed until the Italians have left" [19].

A new date for the premiere was set for December 1868 [20], but the opera was further postponed. The first performance took place on 30 January/11 February 1869 at the Bolshoi Theatre, at the benefit for the artist Aleksandra Menshikova, conducted by Eduard Merten, with soloists: Ludovico Finocchi (Voyevoda), Platon Radonezhesky (Dyuzhoy), Anna Annenskaya (Nastasya), Aleksandra Menshikova (Marya), Zinayda Kronenberg (Praskovya), Aleksandr Rapport (Bastryukov), Stepan Demidov (Dubrovin), Anna Ivanova (Olyona), Konstantin Bozhanovsky (Rezvy), Aleksandr Lavrov (Jester), Yelena Rozanova (Nedviga) and Ivan Korin (New Voyevoda). After further performances on 4/16 February, 11/23 February, 16/28 February, 25 February/9 March (Act II only), and 2/14 March 1869, the opera was withdrawn from the repertoire [21].

Nevertheless, the Entr'acte & Dances of the Chambermaids (Act II, No. 4) continued to be given separate concert performances, including:

  • Hannover, Royal Theatre, 17 February/1 March 1879, conducted by Hans von Bülow.
  • Saint Petersburg, Ozerki, 31 July/12 August 1890, conducted by Moritz Keller.
  • Moscow, Aleksandr Ziloti's concert, 6/18 November 1891, conducted by Tchaikovsky [first performance of the revised version?]
  • Kiev, Russian Musical Society concert, 21 December 1891/2 January 1892, conducted by Tchaikovsky.
  • Kiev, Russian Musical Society concert, 22 December 1891/3 January 1892, conducted by Tchaikovsky [22].
  • Manchester, Free Trade Hall, 23 February/8 March 1894, conducted by Charles Hallé.
  • London, Queen's Hall on 2/14 September 1898, conducted by Henry Wood.

The Overture to the opera was also premiered in London at the Queen's Hall by Henry Wood on 3/15 May 1897.

On 28 September 1949, a reconstructed version of the opera was produced on the stage of the Maly Opera Theatre in Leningrad. For this production the missing pages from the full score were completed by Yury Kochurov. The conductor was Eduard Grikurov, and the soloists: Nikolay Butyagin (Voyevoda), Arkady Guryevich (Dyuzhoy), Frederika Zass (Nastasya), Vera Kudyavtseva (Marya), Fyodor Andrukovich (Bastryukov), Lev Petrov (Dubrovin), Vera Ovcharenko (Olyona), Dmitry Silvestrov (Rezvy), Fyodor Barayev (Jester) and Kseniya Komissarova (Nedviga). The opera became established in the theatre's repertoire in this performing version.

Critical Reception

Although Vladimir Odoyevsky noted in his diary: "This opera guarantees a great future for Tchaikovsky" [23], The Voyevoda was not warmly received by his fellow critics. Tchaikovsky came to concur with their verdict—mainly that its structure was inadequate, and unsuitable for a stage performance. Thus, in a letter to Nadezhda von Meck of 27 November/9 December 1879, the composer wrote "The Voyevoda is without any doubt a bad opera. At the time I considered the music to be more than just adequate, but by common consent it was considered to be a mediocre opera. In the first place, the subject was not suitable, i.e. it was devoid of dramatic interest and plot development; secondly, the opera was written too quickly and without much thought; because of this it did not translate into opera, and was not suited to the literary stage; I had simply tried to write music to a given text; somehow I had in mind something between opera and symphonic styles. In composing an opera, the author should keep the stage in mind, that is to remember that the theatre presents difficulties not only of melody and harmony, but also in action; this should not bore the opera audience, who have not only to listen, but also to watch; and, lastly, that the style of theatrical music should match the style of the scenery, and therefore be simple, clear and colourful... In The Voyevoda I concerned myself too much with fine details, and completely forgot the scene and all its words. It might be said that the concerns of the author paralysed the musical inspiration to some degree, and that is why symphonic and chamber music styles are so different to opera. In a symphony or a sonata I have freedom, with no constraints whatsoever. But for opera one has in the main address the musical language of the masses. And one more thing—opera has to be played a number of times during the course of a season, which is a basic difference from a symphony, which might be performed once in ten years!!!... But I took issue with the critics of The Voyevoda with regard to its third failing—the predominance of the orchestral textures over the voices. All these failings arose as a result of inexperience. It is necessary to go through a number of attempts in order to achieve a degree of success, and I am not in the least ashamed of my operatic failures. They have been very useful lessons and pointers for me" [24].

In a letter to Sergey Taneyev of 29 October/10 November 1882, in response to the news that Anton Arensky was working on an opera on the same subject, Tchaikovsky wrote: "I am so glad that henceforth I shall cease once and for all to be the author of The Voyevoda! Remembering this opera, and also The Oprichnik, is like recalling some criminal offences I committed long ago" [25].

Autographs

Tchaikovsky destroyed the full score of most of the opera in the 1870s.

However, the full scores of the Overture (ф. 88, No. 6) [view], and Entr'acte and Dances of the Chambermaids (ф. 88, No. 3) [view] are preserved in the Russian National Museum of Music in Moscow, together with the composer's arrangement for piano duet of the Entr'acte and Dances of the Chambermaids (ф. 88, No. 5) [view].

A manuscript copy of the Entr'acte and Dances of the Chambermaids (Act II, No. 4), with only the title page written by Tchaikovsky, is also preserved in the Russian National Museum of Music (ф. 88, No. 4) [view], and a fragment from Tchaikovsky's solo piano arrangement of the same number is held by the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (lr, No. 1).

The Russian National Museum of Music also have a manuscript copy of the vocal-piano reduction of Act III, with Tchaikovsky's annotations (ф. 88, No. 6) [view].

Publication

In 1873, Pyotr Jurgenson published the full score of the Entr'acte & Dances of the Chambermaids. In June 1890, the composer made some changes to the finale of this number for a new edition by Jurgenson [26], which appeared in 1891 along with the orchestral parts. In 1892 and 1893, Jurgenson brought out the full score and orchestral parts respectively of the Overture. These were the only parts of the opera to be published during the composer's lifetime.

In the 1930s, Sergey Popov used the surviving parts from the first performances to reconstruct the opera, and in the 1940s a performing version was realised by Pavel Lamm, with the assistance of Vissarion Shebalin and Boris Asafyev, with a revised libretto by Sergey Spassky. The opera was published for the first time in 1953 in this version (full score and vocal-piano reduction) in volume 1 of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works, edited by Pavel Lamm.

Related Works

Much of the music from The Voyevoda was either borrowed from or re-used in other works:

  • Act I, No. 1. The opening chorus includes the folk tune 'A Little Duckling Swan on the Sea' (На море утушка купался), which Tchaikovsky later arranged as No. 23 of Fifty Russian Folksongs (1868-69). This whole section was re-used in Act I (No. 2) of the opera The Oprichnik (1870-72).
  • Act I, No. 2. The ending of the Duet (from bar 130) was re-used in Act I (No. 3) of The Oprichnik
  • Act I, No. 3. Music for this Scena was re-used in Act I (No. 4) of The Oprichnik
  • Act I, No. 4. Part of Bastryukov's Aria (bars 13–33) is based on a short episode from the overture to The Storm (1864)
  • Act I, No. 5. The Andante non troppo episode (from bar 47) is based on part of movt. III from the cantata Ode to Joy (1865)
  • Act I, No. 7. The opening Allegretto comodo section was reworked in the opening scena (Act I, No. 1) of The Oprichnik
  • Act I, No. 7. Bars 127–198 are based on part of the Overture in C minor (1865)
  • Act I, No. 9. Part of Bastryukov's Song (bars 89–105) was reworked in Act IV (No. 16) of The Oprichnik
  • Act II, Introduction. The first 24 bars are taken directly from the opening of the Overture in C minor, and were also used in The Storm
  • Act II, No. 2. Bastryukov's Aria was re-used with different words in Act II (No. 8) of The Oprichnik
  • Act II, No. 3. The first part of this Scena was used in Act II (No. 8) of The Oprichnik
  • Act II, No. 4. The Dances of the Chambermaids are based on the Characteristic Dances for orchestra (1865)
  • Act II, No. 5. Marya's Song was reworked as Natalya's Song (Act I, No. 2) from The Oprichnik. The song uses the folk tune 'I Wear My Hair in a Plaid' (Коса ль моя косынка), which Tchaikovsky heard in Kuntsevo in September 1867, and noted down himself [27]. He also later arranged the tune as No. 24 of Fifty Russian Folksongs
  • Act II, No. 8. The opening theme of this number was re-used in The Year 1812 (1880)
  • Act II, No. 9. The Khorovod was used in Act I (No. 6) of The Oprichnik. It includes the folk tune 'Beyond My Yard is a Green Meadow' (За двором лужок зеленешек, which Tchaikovsky later arranged as No. 25 of Fifty Russian Folksongs
  • Act III, Entr'acte. Re-used as the Entr'acte to Act IV of Swan Lake [28]
  • Act III, No. 2. The Andante section (bars 10–35) was reworked as the opening of the Finale (Act IV, No. 29) from the ballet Swan Lake (1875-76)

In 1868, Tchaikovsky compiled a Potpourri on themes from the opera, for solo piano, which was published under the pseudonym "H. Cramer".

For the revival of Ostrovsky's play A Dream on the Volga in 1886, under its new title of The Voyevoda, Tchaikovsky wrote a short melodrama for one scene, but this has no musical connection to his earlier opera.

Recordings

See: Discography

External Links

Notes and References

  1. Entitled The Voevoda in TH.
  2. Letter 96 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 8/20 November 1866.
  3. Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve (a1, No. 1). See also Letter 2148 to Sergey Taneyev, 29 October/10 November 1882.
  4. Letter 98 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 2/14 May 1867.
  5. Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve (a1, No. 3).
  6. Letter 99 to Aleksandr Ostrovsky, 10/22 June 1867.
  7. See A. N. Ostrovsky. Полное собрание сочинений, том XIII (1953), pp. 263–265.
  8. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum in Moscow.
  9. Letter 102 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 31 August/12 September 1867.
  10. Letter 103 to Aleksandr Ostrovsky, by 20 September/2 October 1867.
  11. Letter 104 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 28 September/10 October 1867.
  12. Letter 2148 to Sergey Taneyev, 29 October/10 November 1882.
  13. From The Tchaikovsky Handbook. A guide to the man and his music, vol. 1 (2002), p. 12–13.
  14. See note on the full score of the Entr'acte and Dances of the Chambermaids.
  15. Letter 109 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 25 November/7 December 1867.
  16. Letter 113 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, written between 12/24 and 17/29 February 1868.
  17. The Dances were also heard at the 2nd Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow on 2/14 December 1868, conducted by Nikolay Rubinstein, and at the 5th RMS symphony concert in Saint Petersburg on 25 January/6 February 1869, with Anton Rubinstein conducting.
  18. Letter 119 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 13/25 September 1868.
  19. Letter 121 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 25 September/7 October 1868.
  20. See Letter 120 to Aleksandra Davydova, 24 September/6 October 1868.
  21. On 16/28 March 1871 the Duet (Act II, No. 7) was performed at an all-Tchaikovsky concert in the Little Hall of the Nobles' Society in Moscow, by Aleksandra Aleksandrova-Kochetova (Marya) and V. Baykova (Olyona), with piano accompaniment.
  22. Theodore Thomas conducted "Airs de Ballet by Tschaikowsky" at a concert in Boston on 8/20 November 1876, and again (as "Air de Ballet") at the Moody Tabernacle in Chicago on 20 April/2 May 1877. These were perhaps the Dances of the Chambermaids from Act II of The Voyevoda, which had been published for piano duet as Scène et Air de Ballet de l'Opéra Voyevode in 1868; however, the full score was not printed until 1878, and the orchestral parts not until 1892, so Thomas would have required a manuscript copy of the dances; one such copy (with only the title page in Tchaikovsky's hand) is now preserved in the Russian National Museum of Music in Moscow (ф. 88, No. 4). See also Dwight's Journal of Music (9 December 1876), p. 350-351 and The Chicago Tribune (5 August 1877), p. 12.
  23. See the journal Литературное наследство (Literary heritage) (1935), No. 22–24, p. 251.
  24. Letter 1356 to Nadezhda von Meck, 26 November/8 December–27 November/9 December 1879.
  25. Letter 2148 to Sergey Taneyev, 29 October/10 November 1882.
  26. See Letter 4152 to Pyotr Jurgenson, 19 June/1 July 1890.
  27. See Letter 104 to Anatoly Tchaikovsky, 28 September/10 October 1867.
  28. The theme of this entr'acte is based on the opening of the earlier duet "Tikho luna vzoydet" (Act II, No. 7).