26 June 2012Bolshoi to return ‘forgotten’ Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, The EnchantressBolshoi to return ‘forgotten’ Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, The Enchantress
“…I have never toiled so hard as on The Enchantress. I know that one day it will come into its own…”
Ippolit Shpazhinsky’s tragedy The Enchantress, based on an old Nizhny Novgorod 15th century legend, got its first production in 1884, at the Maly Theatre, and soon, in terms of number of performances, it had overtaken all other plays in Moscow and Petersburg. In the main role of Nastasya, nicknamed "Kuma", the great actresses Maria Ermolova and Maria Savina gave brilliant performances. Modest Tchaikovsky, who himself was a dramatist, was very impressed by one of the scenes in the tragedy and he pointed it out to his brother: having come to Kuma, who is secretly in love with him in order, on his mother’s instructions to murder her, the Prince first likes her and then falls for her. And it was with this scene that work on the opera started: Tchaikovsky composed a splendid duet. And before long he suggested to Shpazhinsky that he write an opera libretto on the basis of the tragedy.
By spring 1887, Tchaikovsky had completed his work on The Enchantress. The premiere took place at the Mariinsky Theatre on 20th October of the same year (Tchaikovsky conducted). The opera was not particularly successful. In part the blame lay on the interpreter of the main role who, by this time, had virtually lost her voice. In part the libretto itself was to blame which, in places was long and tedious. Tchaikovsky realized this and was subsequently to cut it. After one season, the opera was dropped from the repertoire. And the costumes and sets were dispatched to Moscow.
The third and most notable production at the Bolshoi Theatre was in 1958. The production team was composed of the still very young Evgeny Svetlanov (this was the maestro’s second Bolshoi production) and the eminent producer Leonid Baratov (for the latter, on the contrary, it was his last production). The Enchantress was given 49 performances and stayed in the repertoire till 1965.
Despite his international reputation, a major part of Alexander Lazarev’s professional career has been linked to the Bolshoi Theatre where he was music director from 1987-95. Last season, the maestro renewed his cooperation with the Bolshoi under the umbrella of the Theatre’s philharmonic subscription concerts at the Conservatoire. This season the cooperation will take the form of engagements at the Theatre itself. As Bolshoi conductor, Alexander Lazarev has more than once returned ‘forgotten’ titles to the repertoire – for instance, Mlada, Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera-ballet, and Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans. These operas aroused firm interest with the public and became part of the Bolshoi Theatre’s glorious 20th century history. Submitted on 22 March 2012, Thursday
Main Stage
1 Teatralnaya ploschad (1 Theatre Square), Moscow, Russia
New Stage
Bol'shaya Dmitrovka Street, 4/2, Moscow, Russia
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