Potpourri from the opera "The Queen of Spades" by P. Tchaikovsky
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Opera in three acts and seven scenes; libretto by M.I.Tchaikovsky based on the story of the same name by A.S. Pushkin. First production: St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theater, December 19, 1890.
Characters:
Herman (tenor), Count Tomsky (baritone), Prince Eletsky (baritone), Chekalinsky (tenor), Surin (bass), Chaplitsky (tenor), Narukov (bass), Countess (mezzo-soprano), Liza (soprano), Polina (contralto), governess (mezzo-soprano), Masha (soprano), boy-commander (without singing). Characters in the sideshow: Prilepa (soprano), Milovzor (Polina), Zlatogor (Count Tomsky). Nurses, governesses, nurses, strollers, guests, children, players.
The action takes place in St. Petersburg at the end of the 18th century.
First action. Scene one
Summer garden in spring. Two officers, Chekalinsky and Surin, are concerned about the fate of their friend German, who visits gambling houses every evening, although he does not play himself, as he is very poor. Herman appears, accompanied by Count Tomsky, to whom he tells about the reason for his strange behavior: he is in love with a girl, with a stranger, and wants to win a large sum of money in order to marry her (“I don’t know her name”). Chekalinsky and Surin congratulate Prince Yeletsky on the upcoming wedding. An old countess walks through the garden, accompanied by the very girl Herman loves. Learning that this is the prince's bride, Herman is deeply shocked. Women are frightened by his appearance ("I'm afraid" quintet). Tomsky tells the story of an old countess who once lost her entire fortune in Paris. Then the Comte Saint-Germain showed her three win-win cards. The officers, laughing, advise Herman to try his luck. A thunderstorm begins. Herman vows to fight for his love.
Scene two
Lisa's room. She sings with her friend Polina ("Evening is already"). Left alone, Liza reveals her feelings: the prince loves her, but she cannot forget the fiery gaze of the stranger in the garden ("Where are these tears from?"; "Oh, listen, night"). As if hearing her call, Herman appears on the balcony. He threatens to kill himself, because Liza is promised to another, but only he loves her so dearly ("Forgive the heavenly creature"). The Countess enters and the girl hides her lover. Herman, like a haunted vision, begins to haunt three cards. But left alone with Lisa, he feels that he is happy only with her.
Second action. Scene one
A masquerade ball in the house of a wealthy dignitary. Yeletsky assures Lisa of his love ("I love you"). Herman is haunted by the idea of three cards. The musical interlude-pastoral begins ("My dear friend"). Upon its completion, Lisa gives Herman the key to a secret door through which he can enter her room.
Scene two
Bedroom of the Countess. Night. Near the bed is a portrait of her in her youth in the costume of the Queen of Spades. Herman enters cautiously. He vows to snatch the secret from the old woman, even if hell threatens him. Footsteps are heard, and Herman hides. Enter the servants, then the Countess, who is being prepared for bed. Having sent the servants, the Countess falls asleep in an armchair. Suddenly, Herman appears in front of her ("Do not be alarmed! For God's sake, do not be alarmed!"). He begs her on his knees to name three cards. The Countess, getting up from her chair, is silent. Then Herman points a pistol at her. The old woman falls. Herman becomes convinced that she is dead.
Third action. Scene one
Herman's room in the barracks. Lisa wrote to him that she was ready to forgive him. But Herman's mind is occupied with something else. He recalls the countess's funeral (“All the same thoughts, the same nightmare”). Her ghost appears in front of him: out of love for Lisa, she calls him three magic cards: three, seven, ace.
Scene two
On the banks of the Winter Canal, Liza is waiting for Herman ("Ah, I'm tired, I'm tired"). From his words, she understands that he is guilty of the death of the countess, that he is insane. Lisa wants to take him with her, but he pushes her away and runs away (duet "Oh yes, the suffering is over"). Lisa throws herself into the river.
Scene three
Gambling house. Herman triumphs over the victory ("What is our life? A game!"). The old woman was right: the cards are truly magical. But happiness betrays Herman: Prince Yeletsky enters the game with him. Herman reveals the card: the queen of spades. The game is lost, the ghost of the Countess is sitting at the table. In horror, Herman stabs himself and dies, asking Lisa for forgiveness.
G. Marchesi (translated by E. Greceanîi)
THE LADY OF PEAK - opera by P. Tchaikovsky in 3 acts (7 k.), Libretto by M. Tchaikovsky based on the story of the same name by A. Pushkin. Premieres of the first productions: St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theater, December 7, 1890, under the baton of E. Napravnik; Kiev, December 19, 1890, under the direction of I. Pribik; Moscow, Bolshoi Theater, November 4, 1891, under the direction of I. Altani.
The idea of The Queen of Spades came to Tchaikovsky in 1889 after he got acquainted with the first paintings of the libretto written by his brother Modest for the composer N. Klenovsky, who began composing music, but for some reason did not complete the work. During a meeting with the director of the imperial theaters I. Vsevolozhsky (December 1889), it was decided that instead of the Alexander era, the action would be transferred to Catherine's. At the same time, changes were made to the ball scene and the scene at the Winter Canal was outlined. Work on the opera developed with such intensity that the librettist could not keep up with the composer, and in a number of cases Pyotr Ilyich created the text himself (dance song in the 2nd category, the chorus in the 3rd, Yeletsky's aria "I Love You", Liza's arias in the 6th room, etc.). Tchaikovsky composed in Florence from January 19 to March 1890. The music was roughly written in 44 days; by the beginning of June the score had also been completed. The whole opera came about in less than five months!
The Queen of Spades is the pinnacle of Tchaikovsky's operatic creativity, a work that summarizes his highest achievements. It differs significantly from Pushkin's story not only in the plot, but also in the interpretation of the characters, the social status of the heroes. In the story, both Liza, the Countess's poor pupil, and the engineer officer Hermann (Pushkin has this surname, and it is spelled that way) are on the same rung of the social ladder; in the opera, Lisa is the granddaughter and heiress of the Countess. Pushkin Hermann is an ambitious man obsessed with wealth mania; for him Lisa is only a means to wealth, an opportunity to master the secret of the three cards. In the opera, mystery and wealth are not an end, but a means by which a poor officer dreams of overcoming the social abyss separating him from Lisa. During the struggle of the operatic Herman for the secret of the three cards, his consciousness is seized by the thirst for profit, the means replaces the goal, the excitement distorts his moral nature, and only by dying is he freed from madness. The denouement has also been changed. In Pushkin, the hero, having failed, loses his mind - in the opera he commits suicide. Liza in the story gets married and herself acquires a pupil - in the opera she commits suicide. The librettist and composer introduced new characters (the governess, Prince Yeletsky), changed the character of some scenes and the atmosphere of the action. Fiction in the story is given somewhat ironically (the ghost of the Countess shuffles her shoes) - in the opera, fiction is full of horror. There is no doubt that the images of Pushkin have been transformed, acquired the features of profound psychologism.
Attempts were repeatedly made to bring the music of The Queen of Spades closer to the spiritual atmosphere of Dostoevsky's novels. This convergence is not entirely accurate. The Queen of Spades is a psychological and social drama in which true love comes into conflict with social inequality. The happiness of Liza and Herman is unrealizable in the world in which they live - only in the pastoral poor shepherdess and shepherd boy unite against the will of Zlatohor. The Queen of Spades continues and enriches the principles of the lyrical drama created in Eugene Onegin, translating it into a tragic plan. One can notice the kinship of the images of Tatiana and Liza, and to some extent Herman (1st class) with Lensky, the closeness of genre scenes of the 4th episode of Onegin with some episodes of the 1st episode of The Queen of Spades.
However, there are more differences than similarities between the two operas. The Queen of Spades is associated with the moods of Tchaikovsky's last three symphonies (preceding the Sixth). It features, albeit in a different guise, the theme of rock, an evil force that destroys a person, which plays an essential role in the musical drama of the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. In the last years of Tchaikovsky's life, as before Turgenev, he was disturbed and frightened by a black abyss, nothingness, which meant the end of everything, including creativity. The thought of death and the fear of death haunt Herman, and there is no doubt that the composer here conveyed his own feelings to the hero. The theme of death bears the image of the Countess - it is not for nothing that Herman is embraced by such horror when meeting her. But he himself, associated with her "secret power", is terrible to the Countess, because he brings her death. And although Herman commits suicide, he seems to obey someone else's will.
In the embodiment of dark and ominous images (their culmination in the 4th and 5th stages), Tchaikovsky reached heights that world music does not know. With the same power, the light beginning of love is embodied in music. The Queen of Spades is unsurpassed in purity and penetration, spirituality of the lyrics. Despite the fact that Liza's life is ruined, as was the life of her involuntary killer, death is powerless to destroy the love that triumphs at the last moment of Herman's life.
The brilliant opera, in which all the elements are fused into an indissoluble vocal and symphonic whole, was not fully revealed in the first performances during his lifetime, although the Mariinsky Theater gave the Queen of Spades the best strength. The performers headed by N. Figner had great success, who, in his characteristic brightly theatrical, emphatically expressive, dramatized manner, convincingly and impressively performed the part of Hermann, laying the foundations of its stage tradition. Equally expressive was the performance of this role by M. Medvedev (Kiev, Moscow), although somewhat melodramatic (from Medvedev, in particular, there is Herman's hysterical laughter in the finale of the 4th grade). In the first productions, in St. Petersburg and in Moscow, A. Krutikova and M. Slavin achieved outstanding success in the role of Countess. However, the general structure of the performances - elegant, magnificent - was far from the composer's intention. And the success also seemed external. The greatness, grandeur of the tragic concept of the opera, its psychological depth were revealed later. The critics' assessment (with some exceptions) indicated a lack of understanding of the music. But this could not affect the stage fate of the great work. It was more and more imperiously included in the repertoire of theaters, on par with Eugene Onegin in this respect. The glory of "The Queen of Spades" has crossed the line. In 1892 the opera was staged in Prague, in 1898 - in Zagreb, in 1900 - in Darmstadt, in 1902 - in Vienna under the direction of G. Mahler, in 1906 - in Milan, in 1907 - m - in Berlin, in 1909 - in Stockholm, in 1910 - in New York, in 1911 - in Paris (by Russian artists), in 1923 - in Helsinki, in 1926 - in Sofia , Tokyo, in 1927 - in Copenhagen, in 1928 - in Bucharest, in 1931 - in Brussels, in 1940 - in Zurich, Milan, etc. there has never been an opera house without The Queen of Spades in its repertoire. The last production abroad was staged in New York in 2004 (conductor V. Yurovsky; P. Domingo - Herman, N. Putilin - Tomsky, V. Chernov - Yeletsky).
In the first fifteen years of the XX century. in Russia, first-class performers of the main parts of this opera came to the fore, among them A. Davydov, A. Bonachich, I. Alchevsky (German), who rejected the melodramatic exaggerations of their predecessors. S. Rachmaninov achieved outstanding results in his work on the score when he was a conductor of the Bolshoi Theater. His successors in the interpretation of The Queen of Spades were V. Suk (who directed the performance of the opera until the 1920s), E. Cooper, A. Coates, V. Dranishnikov and others. Among foreign conductors, G. Mahler and B. Walter. The production was performed by K. Stanislavsky, V. Meyerhold, N. Smolich and others.
There were, along with good luck and controversial work. These include the 1935 performance at the Leningrad Maly Opera Theater (directed by V. Meyerhold). The new libretto created for him was aimed at "getting closer to Pushkin" (an impossible task, since Tchaikovsky had a different concept), for which the score was reworked. In the previous production of the Bolshoi Theater (1927, director I. Lapitsky), all events turned out to be visions of Herman's crazy imagination.
The best productions of The Queen of Spades are imbued with respect for the brilliant opera and give a deep interpretation of it. Among them are performances staged by the Moscow Bolshoi Theater in 1944 (directed by L. Baratov) and 1964 (staged by L. Baratov in a new version by B. Pokrovsky; in the same year she was shown on tour at La Scala), Leningrad Theater. Kirov in 1967 (under the direction of K. Simeonov; V. Atlantov - Herman, K. Slovtsova - Liza). Among the performers of the opera for its long life are the largest artists: F. Chaliapin, P. Andreev (Tomsky); K. Derzhinskaya, G. Vishnevskaya, T. Milashkina (Liza); P. Obukhova, I. Arkhipova (Polina); N. Ozerov, N. Khanaev, N. Pechkovsky, Y. Kiporenko-Damansky, G. Nelepp, 3. Andzhaparidze, V. Atlantov, Y. Marusin, V. Galuzin (German); S. Preobrazhenskaya, E. Obraztsova (Countess); P. Lisitsian, D. Hvorostovsky (Yeletsky) and others.
The most interesting productions of recent years are at the Glyndebourne Festival (1992, director G. Wieck; Y. Marusin - German), at the Moscow Novaya Opera Theater (1997, conductor E. Kolobov, director Y. Lyubimov), at the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater ( 1998, conductor V. Gergiev, director A. Galibin; premiere - 22 August in Baden-Baden).
The opera was filmed in 1960 (directed by R. Tikhomirov).
An opera by F. Halevy was written based on the plot of Pushkin's story, though very freely interpreted.
History of creation
Tchaikovsky was repeatedly offered to write an opera based on Pushkin's plot, even, as the composer recalled, “they pestered for two years,” but he did not see the proper scenic character in Pushkin's story, and was not particularly keen on its heroes. Indeed, the story is written in a rather detached language and has a protagonist who does not evoke heartfelt sympathy. Pushkin's German is cold and calculating, he will never “sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous,” Liza for him is only a means on the path to enrichment - it is easy to agree that such a character could not captivate Tchaikovsky, who always needed to love his hero. And only when, in his own words, he appreciated that "the scene in the countess's bedroom is magnificent," the creation of the opera "went on and on."
Much in the opera does not correspond to Pushkin's story: the timing of the action, the characters of the heroes. Tchaikovsky's Herman is an ardent, romantic hero with strong passions and fiery imagination; he loves Lisa, and only gradually the mystery of the three cards displaces her image from Herman's consciousness. Tchaikovsky's Liza is not a poor pupil, Lizaveta Ivanovna, she is the granddaughter and heiress of the Old Countess - and this is already a social conflict. The events of the opera take place during the time of Catherine II (the director of the Imperial Theaters insisted on this, worried about the splendor of the production), but Tchaikovsky's heroes are not people of the 18th century, they are not even contemporaries of Pushkin, they are contemporaries of the composer himself, especially Herman, who was literally born of the spirit years when the opera was created.
The Queen of Spades was written in an unusually short time, in just 44 days, and is one of those great works in which the author managed to express himself and his time.
Characters
- Herman -
- Count Tomsky -
- Prince Yeletsky - baritone
- Chekalinsky - tenor
- Surin -
- Chaplitsky - tenor
- Arumov - bass
- Manager - tenor
- Countess -
- Lisa -
- Pauline -
- Governess - mezzo-soprano
- Masha - soprano
- Boy Commander - No Singing
Characters in the sideshow:
- Prilepa - soprano
- Milovzor (Polina) - Konralto
- Zlatogor (Count Tomsky) - baritone
Nurses, governesses, strollers, ball manager, guests, children, players.
Summary
The opera takes place in St. Petersburg at the end of the 18th century.
First act
First picture... Sunny Summer Garden, filled with a walking crowd. Officers Surin and Chekalinsky share their impressions of the strange behavior of their friend Herman: he spends the night in a gambling house, but does not even try his luck. Soon Herman himself appears, accompanied by Count Tomsky. Herman admits that he is passionately in love, although he does not know the name of his chosen one. Prince Yeletsky, who joined the company of officers, talks about his imminent marriage: "The bright angel agreed to combine his fate with mine!" Herman learns in horror that the prince's bride is the object of his passion, when the Countess walks by, accompanied by her granddaughter, Lisa.
Both women, who noticed the burning gaze of the unfortunate Herman, are seized with heavy forebodings. Tomsky tells his friends a secular anecdote about the countess, who, being a young Moscow "lioness", lost her entire fortune and "at the cost of one rendezvous", having learned the fatal secret of three always winning cards, overcame fate: "Since she named those cards to her husband, another time their young handsome man I found out, but on the same night, only one was left, a ghost appeared to her and threateningly said: “You will receive a fatal blow from a third person who, passionately, passionately in love, will come to learn from you three cards, three cards, three cards ! ”" Herman listens to the story with special tension. Friends make fun of him and offer to find out the secret of the cards from the old woman. A thunderstorm begins. The garden is empty. In the midst of the raging elements, Herman exclaims: "No, prince! As long as I live, I will not give it to you, I do not know how, but I will take it away! "
Second picture... Dust. The girls are trying to cheer up the saddened Lisa. Left alone, Liza confides her secret to the night: "And my whole soul is in his power!" - she confesses her love for a mysterious stranger. Suddenly, Herman appears on the balcony. His passionate explanation captivates Lisa. The knock of the awakened Countess interrupts them. Herman, hiding behind the curtain, is excited by the very sight of the old woman, in whose face he fancies a terrible ghost of death. Unable to hide her feelings any longer, Lisa surrenders to the power of Herman.
Second action
First picture... Ball. Yeletsky, alarmed by Liza's coldness, assures her of his love. Friends in masks mock Herman: "Aren't you the third one who, with passionate love, will come to learn from her three cards, three cards, three cards?" Herman is thrilled, their words stir his imagination. At the end of the Shepherdess's Sincerity side-show, he runs into the Countess. Having received the keys to the Countess's secret door from Lisa, Herman takes this as an omen. Tonight he learns the secret of the three cards.
Second picture... Herman sneaks into the Countess's bedroom. With trepidation, he peers at her portrait in his youth. The Countess herself appears, accompanied by her hangers-on. She remembers the past with longing and falls asleep in an armchair. Suddenly, Herman appears in front of her, begging to reveal the secret of three cards: "You can make up the happiness of a whole life, and it will cost you nothing!" But the Countess, numb with fright, is motionless. Enraged Herman threatens with a pistol. The old woman falls. “She is dead, but I haven’t learned the secret,” laments Herman, who is close to insanity, in response to the reproaches of Liza who came in.
Third action
First picture... Herman in the barracks. He reads a letter from Lisa, where she makes an appointment with him on the embankment. The pictures of the old woman's funeral arise in the imagination, the funeral singing is heard. The ghost of the Countess in a white burial shroud broadcasts: “Save Lisa, marry her, and three cards will win in a row. Remember! Troika! Seven! Ace!" "Three ... Seven ... Ace ..." - Herman repeats like a spell.
Second picture... Lisa is waiting for Herman on the embankment at the Winter Canal. She is torn apart by doubts: "Ah, I am exhausted, I am exhausted." When the clock strikes midnight and Lisa finally loses hope, Herman appears, at first repeating the words of love after Lisa, but already possessed by a different idea. Lisa is convinced that Herman is the culprit in the Countess's death. He screams and runs to the gambling house. Liza throws herself into the water in despair.
Third picture... Players are having fun at the card table. Tomsky entertains them with a playful song. In the midst of the game, an agitated Herman appears. He wins twice in a row by offering big bets. “The devil himself plays with you,” the audience exclaims. The game continues. This time Prince Eletsky is against Herman. And instead of a win-win ace, the queen of spades is in his hands. Herman sees the features of a dead old woman on the map: “Damned! What do you need! My life? Take it, take it! " He is stabbed. The image of Lisa appears in the cleared consciousness: “Beauty! Goddess! Angel!" With these words, Herman dies.
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P.I. Tchaikovsky(1840-1893)
"PEAK LADY"
(op. 68, 1890)
Opera in 3 acts, 7 scenes
The plot is borrowed from the story of the same name by A.S. Pushkin
Libretto by M.I. Tchaikovsky
The action takes place in St. Petersburg at the end of the 18th century.
Characters and performers:
Hermann- Z. Andzhaparidze, tenor
Count Tomsky- M. Kiselev, baritone
Prince Yeletsky- Y. Mazurok, baritone
Chekalinsky- A. Sokolov, tenor
Surin- V. Yaroslavtsev, bass
Chaplitsky- V. Vlasov, tenor
Narumov- Yu. Dementyev, bass
Steward- A. Mishutin, tenor
Countess- V. Levko, mezzo-soprano
Lisa- T. Milashkina, soprano
Pauline- I. Arkhipova, contralto
Governess- M. Mityukova, mezzo-soprano
Masha- M. Miglau, soprano
Characters in the sideshow " Sincerity of the shepherdess»:
Prilepa- V. Firsova, soprano
Milovzor- I. Arkhipova, contralto
Zlatogor- V. Nechipailo, baritone
Nurses, governesses, nurses, strollers, guests, children, players, etc.
Choir, children's choir and orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater
Choirmaster - A. Rybnov
Children's choir director - I. Agafonnikov
Conductor - B. Khaikin
Recorded 1967
Sound engineer - A. Grossman
Remastering - E. Barykina
The opera takes place in St. Petersburg at the end of the 18th century.
First act
First picture... Sunny Summer Garden, filled with a walking crowd. Officers Surin and Chekalinsky share their impressions of the strange behavior of their friend German: he spends all night in a gambling house, but never takes cards in his hands. Soon, accompanied by Count Tomsky, Herman himself appears. He admits that he is passionately in love, but does not know the name of his chosen one. Meanwhile, Prince Yeletsky, who has joined the company of officers, shares his joy in connection with his imminent marriage: "The bright angel agreed to combine his fate with mine!" Herman learns in horror that the subject of his passion is the prince's bride when the Countess walks by, accompanied by her granddaughter, Lisa. Both women, who noticed Herman's burning gaze, are seized with heavy forebodings.
Tomsky tells his friends a secular anecdote about a countess who, as a young "Venus of Moscow", lost her entire fortune. “At the cost of one rendezvous,” she learned from the Comte Saint-Germain the fatal secret of three always winning cards in order to get her money back. From that moment on, her further fate was firmly connected with this secret: “Since she named those cards to her husband, another time the handsome young man recognized them, but on the same night, only one remained, a ghost appeared to her and threateningly said:“ You will receive a deadly the blow you will come to learn from you by force three cards, three cards, three cards! "". After this story, Surin and Chekalinsky make fun of Herman and offer to find out the secret of the cards from the old woman, but Herman's thoughts are focused on Liza. A thunderstorm begins. The garden is empty. Among the raging elements, Herman exclaims: “I am not afraid of the storm! In myself, all passions woke up with such a deadly force that this thunder is nothing in comparison! No, prince! As long as I live, I will not give it to you, I do not know how, but I will take it away! ... She will be mine, mine, or I'll die! "
Second picture... Dust. The girls try to cheer up the saddened Lisa, but she hides her thoughts. Only left alone, Lisa confesses her dark secret of the night. She feels love for a mysterious stranger, he is beautiful "like a fallen angel", in his eyes "the fire of burning passion." Suddenly, Herman appears on the balcony. He reveals his love to Lisa and begs her to accept this confession, because otherwise he is ready to part with his life. Tears of compassion become her answer. They are interrupted by a knock on the door. The Countess enters the room, and Herman, hiding behind the curtain, at the sight of her, suddenly recalls the terrible secret of the three cards. In the face of the old woman, he imagines a terrible ghost of death. But she leaves and Herman's impetuous explanation ends with Lisa's reciprocal confession.
Second action
First picture. Ball. Yeletsky, alarmed by Liza's coldness, assures her of his love, but at the same time nobly gives her freedom. Surin and Chekalinsky in masks mock Herman: "Aren't you the third one who, with passionate love, will come to learn from her three cards, three cards, three cards?" Herman is frightened by these words. At the end of the Shepherdess's Sincerity side-show, he runs into the Countess. Having received the keys to the Countess's secret door from Lisa, Herman takes this as a fatal omen. Tonight he learns the secret of the three cards.
Second picture... Herman sneaks into the Countess's bedroom. With trepidation, he peers at her portrait in his youth and feels a secret fatal force connecting him with her: "I look at you and hate you, but I can't see enough." The Countess herself appears, accompanied by her hangers-on. She squeamishly recalls the past and gradually falls asleep in the chair. Suddenly, Herman appears in front of her, begging to reveal the secret of the three cards: "You can make up the happiness of a whole life, and it will cost you nothing!" But the Countess, numb with fright, is motionless. Enraged Herman threatens with a pistol and the old woman falls dead. The prophecy came true, but the secret remained unknown to Herman. Lisa comes to the noise and sees Herman in a state of madness. She realizes that Herman needed the secret of the three cards.
Third action
First picture... Herman in the barracks. He reads a letter from Lisa, where she makes an appointment with him on the embankment. He goes over the past in his memory and in his imagination there are pictures of the old woman's funeral, ghostly funeral singing is heard. There is a knock on the window. The candle goes out. Horrified Herman sees the ghost of the Countess and hears her words: “I came to you against my will. But I have been ordered to fulfill your request. Save Lisa, marry her, and three cards will win in a row. Remember! Troika! Seven! Ace!" "Three ... Seven ... Ace ..." - Herman repeats like a spell.
Second picture... Lisa is waiting for Herman on the embankment at the Winter Canal. She experiences a terrible torment of doubt: "Ah, I am exhausted, I am exhausted." When the clock strikes midnight and Lisa finally loses hope, Herman appears, at first repeating the words of love after Lisa, but already possessed by a different idea. Lisa is convinced that Herman is the culprit in the Countess's death. His madness intensifies, he does not recognize it, his thoughts are only about the gambling house: "There are heaps of gold, and they are mine, they belong to me alone." He runs away to a gambling house, and Lisa, driven to despair, throws herself into the water.
Third picture... Players are having fun at the card table. Tomsky entertains them with a playful song. In the midst of the game, an agitated Herman appears. He wins twice in a row by offering big bets. “The devil himself plays with you,” the audience exclaims. The game continues. This time against Herman, Prince Yeletsky. And instead of a win-win ace, the queen of spades is in his hands. Herman sees the features of a dead old woman on the map: “Damned! What do you need! My life? Take it, take it! " and he is stabbed. A beautiful image of Lisa appears in the mind of the dying hero: “Beauty! Goddess! Angel!" With these words, Herman dies.
LIBRETTO
The Queen of Spades
ACTION ONE
PICTURE ONE
A playground in the Summer Garden bathed in the spring sun. Nurses walking or sitting on benches, governors and nurses. Children play with torches, jump over ropes, throw balls.
Burn, burn clearly
So that it does not go out
One two Three!
(Laughter, exclamations, running around.)
Chorus of nannies
Have fun, cute kids!
Rarely the sun, dear ones,
Pleasing with joy!
If, darlings, you are on the loose
You are playing games, pranks,
Little by little your nannies
Then you bring peace.
Warm up, run, dear children,
And have fun in the sun!
Choir of governesses
God bless,
You can rest a little,
Breathe spring air
See anything!
Do not shout, spend time without remarks,
To forget about suggestions, punishments, about a lesson.
Chorus of nannies
Warm up!
Run, dear children
And have fun in the sun!
Choir of nurses
Buy, buy, buy!
Buy, buy, buy!
Sleep, darling, sleep!
Don't open your clear eyes!
(Behind the stage, drumming and trumpets are heard.)
A choir of nannies, nurses and governesses.
Here are our soldiers coming, soldiers.
How slim!
Step aside!
Places! Places!
One, two, one, two
One, two, one, two!
Boys enter in toy weapons, depicting soldiers; in front of the boy-commander.
Boys choir
One, two, one, two!
Left, right, left, right!
Friendly, brothers!
Don't get lost!
Boy Commander
Right shoulder forward! One, two, stop!
(The boys stop.)
Listen! Musket in front of you!
Take the muzzle! Musket to the leg!
(The boys execute the command.)
Boys choir
We are all gathered here
For fear of the enemies of Russia.
Evil foe beware
And with a villainous thought
Run or submit!
Hurray, hurray, hurray!
To save the fatherland
It fell to us
We will fight
And enemies in captivity
Take away without an account!
Hurray, hurray, hurray!
Long live the wife
Wise queen,
She is our mother to all,
Empress of these countries
And pride and beauty!
Hurray, hurray, hurray!
Boy Commander. Well done boys!
Boys.
We are glad to try, your honor!
Boy Commander
Listen! Musket in front of you!
Right! On guard! March!
(The boys leave, drumming and trumpeting.)
Choir of nannies, nurses and governesses
Well, good fellows are our soldiers!
And indeed they will unleash fear on the enemy.
Well, well done! How slim!
Well, well done!
Other children follow the boys. The nannies and governesses disperse, making way for other strollers. Enter Chekalinsky and Surin.
CHEKALINSKY. How did the game end yesterday?
SURIN. Of course, I blown myself terribly! I'm out of luck.
CHEKALINSKY. Did you play again until morning?
SURIN. Yes, I'm terribly tired of ... Damn it, I could win at least once!
CHEKALINSKY. Was Herman there?
Was. And, as always, from eight to eight in the morning,
Chained to the gambling table, he sat and blew wine in silence.
CHEKALINSKY. But only?
SURIN. Yes, I looked at the game of others.
CHEKALINSKY. What a strange man he is!
SURIN. As if he had at least three evil deeds on his heart.
CHEKALINSKY. I heard that he is very poor ..
SURIN. Yes, not rich.
Herman enters, pensive and gloomy; Count Tomsky is with him.
SURIN. Here it is, look. Like a demon of hell, gloomy ... pale ...
Surin and Chekalinsky pass by.
TOMSKY. Tell me, Herman, what's wrong with you?
HERMANN. With me? .. Nothing ...
TOMSKY. You are sick?
HERMANN. No, I'm healthy.
You have become a different kind ... You are dissatisfied with something ...
It used to be: restrained, thrifty,
You were cheerful, at least;
Now you are gloomy, silent
And, - I can't believe my ears:
You, a new passion of grief,
As they say, right up until the morning
You spend your nights playing.
Yes! To the goal with a firm foot
I cannot go as before,
I myself don't know what's wrong with me
I'm lost, resenting weakness
But I can't control myself anymore ...
I love! I love!
TOMSKY. How! Are you in love? in whom?
I don't know her name
And I don't want to know
Earthly name not wishing
To name it ...
(With enthusiasm.)
Comparisons sorting out everything,
I don’t know with whom to compare ...
My love, the bliss of paradise,
I would like to keep it for a century!
But a jealous thought that she
To another to possess,
When I don't dare to trace my foot
Kiss her
It torments me; and earthly passion
I want to calm down in vain
And then I want to hug everything,
And all I want to hug my saint then ...
I don't know her name
And I don’t want to know!
And if so, get down to business!
Find out who she is, and there
And make an offer boldly
And - business from hand to hand ...
Oh no, alas!
She is noble and cannot belong to me!
That's what torments and gnaws me!
TOMSKY. Let's find another ... Not one in the world ...
You do not know me!
No, I can't stop loving her!
Ah, Tomsky! You do not understand!
I could only live in peace
While passions were dormant in me ...
Then I could control myself
Now that the soul is in power
One dream - goodbye peace
Goodbye peace!
Poisoned like drunk
I'm sick, sick
I'm in love!
Is it you, Herman? I confess
I would not believe anyone that you are capable of loving so much!
German and Tomsky pass by. Walkers fill the stage.
The general chorus of all the walking.
Finally God has sent us
Sunny day!
What air! What a heaven!
Precisely May is with us!
Oh, what a delight, really,
All day long to walk!
You can't wait for a day like this
Long time for us again.
For many years we have not seen such days
And, it happened, we often saw them.
In the days of Elizabeth - a wonderful time -
Better were summer, autumn and spring!
Old women (at the same time with the old people).
We used to live better, and such days
Every year there were early spring.
Yes, every year there were!
And now they are rare
Sunny in the morning
It got worse, really, it got worse,
Really, it's time to die!
What a joy! What happiness!
How gratifying, how gratifying to live!
How nice it is to walk to the Summer Garden,
It's lovely how nice it is to walk to the Summer Garden!
Look, look,
How many young people
Both military and civilian
Wanders a lot along the alleys,
Look, look,
How many people wander around here,
Both military and civilian
How graceful, how beautiful, how beautiful!
Look, look!
Young people (at the same time with the young ladies).
Sun, sky, air, nightingale chant
And a bright blush on the girls' cheeks -
That spring bestows, with it and love
Young blood thrills sweetly!
The sky, the sun, the air is clean,
Sweet nightingale chant
The joy of life and a scarlet blush on the girls' cheeks -
Either the gifts of a beautiful spring, then the gifts of spring!
Happy day, beautiful day, how good
Oh joy, spring brings us love and happiness!
The general chorus of all the walking.
Finally God has sent us
Sunny day!
What air! What a heaven!
Precisely May is with us!
Oh, what a delight, really,
All day long to walk!
You can't wait for a day like this
Long time for us again!
Enter GERMAN and TOMSKY.
Are you sure she doesn't notice you?
I bet I'm in love and misses you ..
When would a gratifying doubt
I lost
Then how could I endure the torment
My soul?
You see I live, I suffer
But in the terrible moment when I find out
That I was not destined to take possession of her,
Then there will be one thing ...
TOMSKY. What?
HERMANN. Die!..
Prince Yeletsky enters. Chekalinsky and Surin approach him.
CHEKALINSKY (Yeletsky). Can I congratulate you?
SURIN. They say you are the groom?
Yes, gentlemen, I am getting married;
The bright angel gave consent
Combine your fate with mine forever!
CHEKALINSKY. Well, good hour!
SURIN. I am glad with all my heart. Be happy, prince!
TOMSKY. Yeletsky, congratulations!
ELETSKY. Thank you friends!
ELETSKY (with feeling)
WITH frequent day,
I bless you!
How it all came together
To rejoice together with me!
Reflected everywhere
The bliss of unearthly life ...
Everything smiles, everything shines,
As in my heart,
Everything trembles cheerfully,
Beckoning to heavenly bliss!
What a happy day
I bless you!
HERMANN (to himself, simultaneously with Yeletsky).
Unhappy day
I curse you!
As if it all came together
To join the fight with me!
Joy reflected everywhere
But not in my soul the patient.
Everything smiles, everything shines,
When in my heart
The infernal vexation trembles.
The infernal vexation trembles,
Some torture promises.
Oh yes, only torment, I promise torment!
TOMSKY. Tell me who will you marry?
HERMANN. Prince, who is your bride?
Enter Countess and Liza.
ELETSKY (pointing to Lisa). There she is.
HERMANN. She?! She is his bride! Oh my God! Oh my God!
LISA., GRAPHINE. He's here again!
TOMSKY (To Herman)... So that's who your nameless beauty is!
I'm scared!
He's in front of me again,
A mysterious and gloomy stranger!
In his eyes, a dumb reproach
Has replaced the fire of insane, burning passion ...
Who is he? Why haunt me?
I'm scared, scared, like I'm in power
His eyes of ominous fire!
I'm scared! I'm scared!
I'm scared!
CARAFE (simultaneously).
I'm scared!
He's in front of me again,
A mysterious and scary stranger!
He is a fatal ghost,
Embraced all by some wild passion.
What does he want by chasing me?
Why is he in front of me again?
I'm scared like I'm in power
His eyes of ominous fire!
I'm scared! I'm scared!
I'm scared!
HERMANN (simultaneously).
I'm scared!
Here again in front of me
Like a fatal ghost,
A gloomy old woman appeared ...
In her terrible eyes
I read my own sentence, mute!
What does she want?
What does she want, what does she want from me?
As if I'm in power
Her eyes of ominous fire!
Who, who is she!
I'm scared! I'm scared!
I'm scared!
ELETSKY (simultaneously).
I'm scared!
My God, how confused she is!
Where does this strange excitement come from?
There is longing in her soul,
There is a kind of dumb fear in her eyes!
They have a clear day for some reason
The bad weather has come to change.
What with her? She's not looking at me!
Oh, I'm scared, as if close
Some unexpected misfortune is threatening
I'm scared, scared!
TOMSKY (simultaneously).
That's who he was talking about!
How embarrassed he is by the unexpected news!
I see fear in his eyes
The dumb fear was replaced by the fire of insane passion!
What about her, what about her? How pale! How pale!
Oh, I'm scared for her, I'm scared!
I'm scared for her!
Tomsky approaches the Countess, Yeletsky approaches Liza. The Countess looks intently at Herman.
TOMSKY. Countess! Let me congratulate you ...
CARAFE. Tell me who is this officer?
TOMSKY. Which the? This? Herman, my friend.
CARAFE. Where did he come from? How terrible he is!
Tomsky sees her off and returns.
ELETSKY (giving his hand to Lisa).
Heaven's enchanting beauty
Spring, marshmallows light rustle,
The fun of the crowd, hello friends
They promise many years to come
We are happy!
Liza and Yeletsky leave.
Rejoice, buddy! You forgot
That there is a thunderstorm behind a quiet day,
That the creator gave happiness to tears, to the bucket of thunder!
A distant thunderclap is heard. Herman sits down on the bench in gloomy thought.
SURIN. What a witch this Countess is!
CHEKALINSKY. Scarecrow!
No wonder she was nicknamed "The Queen of Spades"!
I can't comprehend why she doesn't understand.
SURIN. How! An old woman? What are you ?!
CHEKALINSKY. The octogenarian hag! Ha ha ha!
TOMSKY. So you don't know anything about her?
SURIN. No, really, nothing!
CHEKALINSKY. Nothing!
Oh, so listen!
The Countess had a reputation for beauty in Paris many years ago.
All the young people were crazy about her,
Calling "Venus of Moscow".
Count Saint-Germain among others,
Then still a handsome man, was captivated by her,
But unsuccessfully he sighed for the countess:
All night long the beauty played
And - alas! - preferred "Pharaoh" * to love.
Once at Versailles "Ai jeu de la Reine" **
"Venus Moskovite" *** was played to the ground.
Among those invited was the Count Saint-Germain;
Watching the game, he heard her
Whispering in the midst of excitement:
"Oh my God! Oh my God!
Oh god, I could play it all
When would it be enough to put it again
Count, having chosen the right moment when
Stealthily leaving the full hall of guests,
The beauty sat alone in silence,
He whispered in love over her ear
Words sweeter than the sounds of Mozart:
“Countess, Countess!
Countess, at the cost of one "rуndez-vous" ****
If you want, I’ll tell you
Three cards, three cards, three cards? "
The Countess flared: "How dare you ?!"
But the count was not a coward. And when every other day
The beauty has appeared again, alas,
Penniless, "Ai jeu de la Reine"
She already knew three cards ...
Boldly placing them one after another,
She returned her ... but at what cost!
Oh cards, oh cards, oh cards!
Since she told her husband those cards,
Another time, the young handsome man recognized them.
But on the same night, only one was left,
A ghost appeared to her and said menacingly:
“You will receive the killing blow,
From the third, who, ardently, passionately loving,
Three cards, three cards, three cards
Three cards! "
CHEKALINSKY. Se non e ver`e ben trovato. *****
Lightning flashes, thunder is heard approaching. A thunderstorm begins.
* "Pharaoh" - a card game that was in vogue at the court of the French queen.
** In the royal game (fr.)
*** Venus of Moscow (fr.)
**** Date (fr.)
***** "If not true, well said." Latin proverb.
It's funny! .. But the Countess can sleep peacefully:
It is difficult for her to find an ardent lover!
CHEKALINSKY.
Listen, Herman!
Here is a great opportunity for you to play without money.
(Everyone laughs.) Think, think!
CHEKALINSKY, SURIN.
“From the third, who, passionately, passionately loving,
Will come to learn by force from you
Three cards, three cards, three cards! "
Chekalichsky, Surin and Tomsky leave. There is a strong thunderclap. The thunderstorm is playing out. Walkers hurry in different directions.
Chorus of people walking.
How quickly the storm came
Who would have expected what passions!
Blow after blow louder, worse!
Run quickly!
Hurry to get to the gate!
Hurry home!
Everyone scatters. The thunderstorm is getting worse. From afar, the voices of those walking can be heard.
Hurry home! Oh my god! Trouble! Hurry to the gate! Run here! Hurry!
Heavy thunderclap.
HERMANN (thoughtfully).
"You will receive the killing blow
From the third, who, ardently, passionately loving,
Will come to learn by force from you
Three cards, three cards, three cards! "
Oh, what's in them
Even though I had them!
Everything is lost now ...
I was the only one left.
The storm is not terrible for me!
In myself, all passions awoke
With such killing power
That this thunder is nothing in comparison!
No, prince!
As long as I'm alive, I won't give it to you,
I don’t know how, but I’ll take it away!
Thunder, lightning, wind!
In your presence, I solemnly take an oath:
She will be mine
She will be mine, mine,
My il will die!
(Runs away.)
PICTURE SECOND
Lisa's room. Lisa is sitting at the harpsichord. There are friends around her, among them Polina.
LIZA, Polina.
It's already evening ... the edges have faded, *
The last ray of dawn on the towers dies;
The last flying stream in the river
With an extinct sky fades away.
Everything is quiet ... The groves are sleeping, peace reigns around,
Stretched out on the grass under a bent willow,
I listen to how it murmurs, merging with the river,
Stream shaded by bushes.
As the scent is fused with the coolness of plants,
How sweet is the splashing in the silence by the shore,
How quietly the air blows over the waters
And the lithe willow flutter.
Choir of girlfriends.
Fascinating! Charming!
Wonderful! Delightful!
Ah, wonderfully good!
Also, mesdames. Also, mesdames. More more!
LISA. Sing, Fields, we are alone!
Pauline. One? but what to sing?
Choir of girlfriends.
Please what do you know
Ma shere **, dove, sing us something:
I will sing you Lisa's favorite romance.
(Sits down at the harpsichord.) Wait ... How is it?
(Preludes.) Yes! remembered.
(Sings with deep feeling.)
Friends are cute, friends are cute, ***
In playful carelessness,
You frolic in the meadows to the song of the dance.
And I, like you, lived happy in Arcadia,
And I am on the morning of days in these groves and fields
I tasted a minute of joy
I tasted a minute of joy.
Love in the dreams of the golden
She promised me happiness;
__________________
* Poems of Zhukovsky
** My dear (fr.).
*** Poems of Batyushkov.
But what did I get in these joyful places,
In these joyful places?
Grave, grave, grave! ..
(Everyone is touched and excited.)
So I decided to sing a song,
Such a tearful! Well, why?
And without that you are sad, Liza,
On such and such a day, think about it!
After all, you are engaged, ay-ay-ay!
(To her friends.)
Well, why are you all hanging up?
Let's merry, yes Russian,
In honor of the bride and groom!
Well, I'll start, And you sing along with me!
Choir of girlfriends. And really, let's have a fun, Russian!
Girlfriends clap their hands. Lisa, not taking part in the fun, stands pensively by the balcony.
Come on, little light Mashenka,
You sweat, dance!
Polina and the choir of friends.
Ay, lyuli, lyuli, lyuli,
You sweat, dance!
Its white little hands
Pick it up under your sides!
Polina and the choir of friends
Ay, lyuli, lyuli, lyuli,
Pick it up under your sides!
Your little legs
Do not be sorry, please!
Polina and the choir of friends
Ay, Lyuli, Lyuli, Lyuli, Do not be sorry, please!
(Polina and her friends start dancing.)
If mamma asks - "Merry!" - speak.
Polina and the choir of friends
Ay, lyuli, lyuli, lyuli - "Fun!" - speak.
And to the answer, tatya -
Like, "I drank until dawn!"
Polina and the choir of friends.
Ay, lyuli, lyuli, people -
Like, "I drank until dawn!"
Pauline. "Go away, go away!"
Polina and the choir of friends.
Ay, lyuli, lyuli, lyuli,
"Go away, go away!"
Enter the Governess.
Governess.
Mesdemoiselles, what is your noise here?
The Countess is angry ...
Ah ah ah! Aren't you ashamed to dance in Russian?
Fi, quel genre, mesdames *
To the ladies of your circle
You need to know decency!
You should have each other
To inspire the rules of light.
In girls only get mad
You can, not here, mes mignones, **
Can't you have fun
Not forgetting the bonton?
To the ladies of your circle
You need to know decency
You should have each other
To inspire the rules of light!
It's time to disperse.
They sent you to call me to say goodbye.
The young ladies disperse.
Pauline (going up to Liza). Lisa, why are you so boring?
I am boring? Not at all!
Look what a night
As after a terrible storm
Everything was renewed suddenly.
Look, I will complain about you to the prince,
I'll tell him that on the day of your engagement you were sad.
LISA. No, for God's sake, don't tell me!
Then if you please smile now.
Like this! Now goodbye!
(They kiss.)
LISA. I will take you ...
Polina and Liza leave. Masha enters and puts out the candles, leaving only one.
While she comes to the balcony to close it, Lisa returns.
* Fi, what a genre6, young ladies. (fr)
** My darlings (fr.).
LISA. No need to shut it up, leave it.
Masha. Wouldn't catch a cold, young lady!
LISA. No, Masha, the night is so warm, so good!
Masha. Would you like to help to undress?
LISA. No I myself. Go to sleep!
Masha. It's too late, young lady ...
LISA. Leave me, go!
Masha leaves. Lisa stands deep in thought and then cries quietly.
Where do these tears come from?
Why are they?
My girlish dreams
You cheated on me
My girlish dreams
You cheated on me!
Here's how you came true in reality!
I have given my life to the prince,
Chosen by heart, in essence,
Mind, beauty, nobility, wealth
A worthy friend is not like me.
Who is noble, who is handsome, who is stately, like him?
Nobody! And what?
I'm full of longing and fear,
I tremble and cry!
Where do these tears come from?
Why are they?
My girlish dreams
You cheated on me
My girlish dreams
You cheated on me!
You cheated on me!
(Cries.)
Both hard and scary!
But why deceive yourself?
I am here alone, everything is quietly sleeping around ...
(Passionately, enthusiastically.)
Oh listen, night!
You alone can believe the secret
My soul.
She's dark like you, she's sad
Like the gaze of the eyes
Peace and happiness that took away from me ...
Queen of the night!
How are you, beauty, like a fallen angel,
He is beautiful
There is a fire of burning passion in his eyes,
Like a wonderful dream
He beckons me, and my whole soul is in his power!
Oh night! oh night! ..
Herman appears at the door of the balcony. Lisa retreats in mute horror. They look at each other in silence. Lisa makes a movement to leave.
HERMANN. Stop, I beg you!
LISA. Why are you here, mad man? What do you want?
HERMANN. Say goodbye!
(Lisa wants to leave.)
Don't go away! Stay!
I'll leave myself now
And I will not return here again ...
One minute! .. What are you worth?
A dying man calls out to you.
LISA. Why, why are you here? Go away !.
HERMANN. No!
LISA. I will scream!
HERMANN. Shout! Call everyone!
(Takes out a pistol.)
I will die anyway, alone or in the presence of others.
(Lisa lowers her head and is silent.)
But if there is, beauty, in you
Though a spark of compassion
Wait, don't go!
LISA. Oh god, god!
After all, this is my last, death hour!
I learned my sentence today:
To another you, cruel, entrust your heart!
(Passionately.)
Let me die, blessing you,
And not a curse,
Can I live a day when someone else's
You are for me!
I lived by you; just one feeling
And a stubborn thought alone possessed me!
I will die.
But before you say goodbye to life,
Give me just one moment to be with you,
Together in the midst of the wonderful silence of the night,
Let me be drunk with your beauty!
Then let death and peace with it!
(Lisa stands looking sadly at Herman.)
Stay like this! Oh, how good you are!
Gorgeous! Goddess! Angel!
Sorry, lovely creature
That I disturbed your peace
I'm sorry but passionate
Do not reject the confession
Do not reject with longing!
Oh, have pity! I, dying,
I bring my prayer to you;
Look from the heights of heavenly paradise
To a mortal fight
A soul tormented by torment
Love you, oh take pity
And my spirit with caress, regret,
Warm me with your tear!
(Lisa is crying.)
You are crying! You!
What do these tears mean?
Do you not persecute and regret?
Takes her hand, which she does not take away.
Thank you! Gorgeous! Goddess! Angel!
Falls to Lisa's hand and kisses. At this time, the noise of steps and a knock on the door is heard.
CARAFE (Behind the door). Liza, open it!
LISA (confused). Countess! Good God! I am lost, run! .. Too late! Here!
The knock on the door is harder. Lisa points to the curtain to Herman, goes to the door and opens it. Enter the Countess in a dressing gown, surrounded by maids with candles.
CARAFE. What are you awake? Why are you dressed? What is this noise?
LISA (confused) I, grandmother, walked around the room ... I can't sleep ...
CARAFE (with a gesture orders to close the balcony)
Look you! Don't be silly! Go to bed now!
(He knocks with a stick.) Do you hear? ..
LISA. I, grandmother, now!
Can't sleep! .. Have you ever heard of it!
Well, the times! Can't sleep! .. Go to bed now!
LISA. I obey! .. Sorry!
CARAFE (leaving).
And I can hear the noise;
You're disturbing your grandmother!
(To the maids.) Come on!
(To Lisa.) And don’t you dare start foolishness here!
(He leaves with the maids.)
HERMANN (inwardly).
“Who, passionately loving,
Will come to probably learn from you
Three cards, three cards, three cards! "
A grave cold blew around!
Oh scary ghost
Death, I don't want you!
Liza, having closed the door behind the Countess, goes to the balcony, opens it and with a gesture tells Herman to leave.
Oh, spare me!
Death a few minutes ago
It seemed to me a salvation, almost happiness!
Now it’s not that: she’s scary to me, she’s scary to me!
You revealed to me the dawn of happiness,
I want to live and die with you!
LISA. Mad man, What do you want from me, What can I do? ..
HERMANN. Decide my destiny!
LISA. Have pity, you are ruining me! Go away, I ask you, I command you!
HERMANN. So, then, you pronounce the death sentence!
LISA. Oh god, I'm getting weak .. Go away, please!
HERMANN. Say then: die!
LISA. Good God!
HERMANN. Goodbye!
LISA. Heavenly Creator! (Herman makes a movement to leave.) No! Live!
Herman hugs Lisa; she puts her head on his shoulder.
HERMANN. Love you!
LISA. I'm yours!
HERMANN. Gorgeous! Goddess! Angel!
ACT TWO
PICTURE THREE
A masquerade ball at a rich dignitary. Large hall. Lodges are arranged on the sides, between the columns. Boys and girls in masquerade costumes are dancing country dance. Singers sing in the choirs.
Choir of singers.
Joyfully, cheerfully on this day *
Get together, friends!
Give up your lack of time
Download, dance boldly!
Download, dance boldly,
Throw you, you throw your lack of time,
Download, dance, dance more fun!
Clap your hands with your hands
Click your fingers loudly!
Move your black eyes
You are all talking about the camp!
Fart your hands on your hips,
Do light hops,
Chobot knock on chobot,
Whistle with a bold step!
Steward enters.
Steward.
The owner asks dear guests to welcome
Watch the lights shine!
All guests head to the garden terrace.
CHEKALINSKY.
Our Herman hung his nose again,
I guarantee you that he is in love
He was gloomy, then he became cheerful.
No gentlemen, he's infatuated
What do you think?
How? Hope to learn three cards.
CHEKALINSKY. What a weirdo!
I don't believe, you have to be ignorant
For this. He's not a fool!
SURIN. He told me himself ...
TOMSKY. Laughing!
CHEKALINSKY. (To Surin.)
Come on, let's go tease him! (Pass.)
However, he is one of those who, once conceived,
I must do it all! Poor fellow! Poor fellow!
(Tomsky passes. The servants are preparing the middle of the room for the interlude. Prince Eletsky and Liza enter.)
You are so sad dear
As if you have grief ...
Trust me!
LISA. No, later, prince, another time ... I beg you!
(He wants to leave.)
Wait a moment!
I must, I must tell you!
I love you, I love you immensely,
I can't imagine living a day without you.
And a feat of unparalleled strength
I'm ready to do it for you now,
But know: freedom of your heart
I don't want to embarrass anything,
Ready to hide to please you
And to calm the ardor of jealous feelings,
Ready for anything, for anything!
Not only a loving spouse,
Servant is helpful sometimes,
I wish I was your friend
And always a comforter.
But I can clearly see, now I feel
Where did he lure himself in dreams,
How little you trust me
How alien I am to you and how far away!
Ah, I am tormented by this distance,
I have compassion for you with all my soul,
I grieve your sorrow
And I cry with your tear ...
Ah, I am tormented by this distance,
I have compassion for you with all my heart!
I love you, I love you immensely,
I can't imagine living a day without you,
I am a feat of unparalleled strength
Ready to do it now for you!
Oh honey, trust me!
Prince Yeletsky and Liza pass by. Herman enters without a mask, in a suit, holding a note in his hand.
HERMANN (is reading).
"After the show, wait for me in the hall. I have to see ..."
I would rather see her and give up this thought ...
(Sits down.) Three cards! .. Three cards to know - and I'm rich! ..
And with her I can run away from people ...
Damn it! ..
This thought will drive me crazy!
Several guests return to the hall; including Chekalinsky and Surin. They point at Herman, sneak up and, bending over him, whisper.
SURIN, CHEKALINSKY.
Are you not the third one
Who, passionately loving,
Will come to learn from her
Three cards, three cards, three cards?
Are hiding. Herman gets up in fright, as if not realizing what is happening. When he looks around, Chekalinsky and Surin have already disappeared into the crowd of young people.
CHEKALINSKY, SURIN and several guests.
Three cards, three cards, three cards!
They laugh and mingle with the crowd of guests that gradually enters the hall.
What's this? Delirium or mockery? No! What if?! (Covers his face with his hands.)
I'm a madman, I'm a madman! (Thinks.)
Steward.
The owner asks dear guests To listen to the pastoral under the title: "Sincerity of the Shepherdess"! *
The guests sit down in the prepared places. Boys and girls, dressed in the costumes of shepherds and shepherdesses, go out to the meadow. They lead round dances, dance and sing. Prilepa alone does not take part in the dances and weaves a wreath in sad reverie.
Choir of shepherds and shepherdesses.
Under the thick shadow,
Near a quiet stream
Today we came in a crowd
Please yourself
______________
* The plot and most of the verses of this pastoral are borrowed from the poem of the same name by P. Karabanov.
Sing it, have fun
And round dances are news
Enjoy nature,
Floral wreaths weave.
The shepherds and shepherdesses retreat to the back of the stage.
My dear friend
Dear shepherd boy,
For whom I sigh
And I wish to open the passion,
Ah, I didn't come to dance,
Milovzor (entering).
I am here, but boring, languid,
Look how I lost weight!
I will not be humble anymore
I hid my passion for a long time,
I will not be humble anymore
I hid my passion for a long time.
I will not be humble
I hid my passion for a long time!
My dear friend
Dear shepherd boy,
How I miss you
How I suffer for you
Oh, I can't say!
Oh, I can't say!
I don’t know, I don’t know why!
Milovzor.
Loving you for a long time,
I missed you without you
You don't know that
And here you hide yourself
From my gaze, from my gaze.
I don’t know, I don’t know why,
I don’t know, I don’t know why!
The retinue of Zlatogor brings precious gifts by dancing. Zlatogor enters.
Zlatogor.
How sweet you are, beautiful!
Tell: of us,
Me or him
Do you agree to love forever?
Milovzor.
I agreed with my heart
I bowed down to love
Whom does it command
To whom it burns.
Zlatogor.
I am mountains of gold
And the stones are dear
I have it.
I promise to decorate
I am all of you
I have darkness
And gold and silver,
And all the best!
Milovzor.
My one property -
Love is unflattering heat.
And into eternal possession
Take it as a gift
And birds and branches,
And ribbons and wreaths
In place of the freaked
Precious clothes
I will bring
And give them to you!
I don't need any fiefdoms,
No rare stones
I'm with a sweetheart among the fields
And I'm glad to live in a hut,
And glad to live in the hut!
(To Zlatohor.)
Well, sir, good luck ...
(To Milovzor.)
And you be calm!
Here in solitude
Hurry to the reward
Such nice words
Bring me a bunch of flowers!
Prilepa and Milovzor.
The end of the torment has come
Love admiration
The hour will come soon
Love, conjugate us!
Choir of shepherds and shepherdesses
The end of the torment has come
Bride and groom
Worthy of admiration
Love, conjugate them!
Cupid and Hymen with their retinue enter to marry the young lovers. Prilepa and Milovzor are dancing hand in hand. The shepherds and shepherdesses imitate them, make round dances, and then they all leave in pairs.
Choir of shepherds and shepherdesses.
The sun is shining red
Marshmallows swept
You are with a beautiful young man,
Cleave, have fun!
The end of the torment has come
Bride and groom
Worthy of admiration
Love, conjugate them!
All leave in pairs. At the end of the interlude, some of the guests get up, others talk animatedly, remaining in their places. Herman approaches the stage.
HERMANN (thoughtfully).
"Who is passionately and passionately loving!"
Well? don't I love? Of course yes!
Turns around and sees the Countess in front of him. Both flinch, staring at each other.
SURIN (masked).
Look, your mistress!
(He laughs and hides.)
Who is this? .. Demon or people?
Why are they following me?
Damn it! Oh, how pathetic and ridiculous I am!
Lisa enters, wearing a mask.
LISA. Listen, Herman!
You finally!
How happy I am that you came!
I love you! .. I love you! ..
No place here ...
That's not why I called you!
Listen ... here's the key to the secret garden door ...
There is a staircase ... On it you will climb into grandmother's bedroom ...
HERMANN. How? to her bedroom? ..
She won't be there ...
There is a door to me in the bedroom near the portrait.
I'll be waiting!
You, you, I want to belong alone!
We need to decide everything!
Until tomorrow, My dear, welcome!
Hermann. No, not tomorrow, No, I'll be there today! ..
LISA (scared). But honey ...
HERMANN. I want!
LISA. Let it be! After all, I am your slave! Sorry...
(Hides.)
Now it's not me, fate itself wants it so
And I will know three cards!
(Runs away.)
Steward (agitated and in a hurry).
Her Majesty will now please ...
There is great excitement among the guests. The steward divides those present so that in the middle there is a passage for the queen.
Chorus of guests.
Queen! Her Majesty! Queen! Itself will arrive ...
What an honor, what happiness to the owner! ..
Everyone is happy to look at our mother.
And what a joy to us!
The French ambassador will be with her!
The Most Serene One will also deign!
Well, it's a real holiday!
What delight, what joy!
Well, it’s a holiday, it’s great.
Steward (singing). You, "Glory to this," immediately burst out-
Chorus of guests.
This is how the holiday turned out to be great!
Shoot "Glory to the Sim"!
Here, here, she is coming, she is coming, now our mother is coming!
Everyone turns towards the middle doors. The ordering officer makes a sign. singing to start.
Choir of guests and singers
Glory to this, Catherine,
Glory to our tender mother!
Vivat, vivat!
Men stand in a position of a low court tilt. Ladies squat deep. The pages enter in pairs, behind them, surrounded by her retinue, Catherine appears. *
PICTURE FOUR
Bedroom of the Countess, illuminated by lamps. Herman quietly enters through a secret door. He examines the room.
* In pre-revolutionary opera productions, this action ended with the release of pages preceding the appearance of Catherine II. This was caused by the prohibition to depict persons of the royal family on the stage.
Everything is just as she told me ...
What? Am I afraid, or what?
No! So it is decided, I will find out the secret from the old woman!
(Thinks.)
And if there is no secret?
And all this is just empty delirium of my sick soul!
Goes to Lisa's door. As he passes, he stops at a portrait of the Countess. Strikes midnight.
And, here it is - "the Venus of Moscow!"
By some secret power
I am connected with her by rock!
Whether from you to me, or from me to you,
But I feel that one of us
Perish by another!
I look at you and I hate you
And I can’t see enough!
I would like to run away, but I have no strength ...
The inquisitive gaze cannot tear away
From a terrible and wonderful face!
No, we cannot disperse without a fatal meeting!
Steps! They're coming here! .. Yes! ..
Oh, come what may!
Herman hides behind the curtain of the boudoir. The maid runs in and hastily lights the candles. Other maids and hangers-on run after her. The Countess enters, surrounded by bustling maids and housewives.
A chorus of hostesses and maids.
Our benefactress,
How did you go for a walk?
Light is our lady
He really wants to rest!
(They escorted the Countess to the boudoir.)
Tired of tea?
So what,
Who was better there?
Were maybe younger
But none is more beautiful!
(Behind the scenes.)
Our benefactor ...
Light is our lady ...
Tired, tea,
He really wants to rest!
Liza enters, followed by Masha.
LISA. No, Masha, follow me!
Masha. What's the matter with you, young lady - you're pale!
LISA. There is nothing...
Masha (guessing). Oh my god! Really? ..
Yes, He will come ...
Shut up! He, perhaps, is already there ... And he is waiting ...
Watch out for us, Masha, be my friend!
Masha. Oh, no matter how we got it!
He said so. I chose him as my husband ...
And the slave of the obedient, faithful herd of that,
Who was sent to me by fate!
Lisa. and Masha leave. The innkeepers and maids bring in the Countess. She is in a dressing gown and a nightcap. They put her to bed.
Choir of hostesses and maids
Benefactress,
Light is our lady,
Tired, tea,
He really wants to rest!
Benefactress,
Coloring beauty!
Lie in bed, tomorrow you will be more beautiful again
Morning dawn!
Lie in bed, tomorrow you will be more beautiful
Morning dawn!
Benefactress!
Lie on your bed
Take a rest, take a rest
Completely lie to you! .. Tired! .. I'm tired ... no urine ...
I don't want to sleep in bed!
(She is seated in a chair and covered with pillows)
Oh, this light hates me! Well, the times!
They really don't know how to have fun.
What manners! What a tone! And I wouldn't look ...
They don't know how to dance or sing!
Who are the dancers? Who sings? Girls!
And it happened: who danced? who sang?
Le duc d`Orlean, la duc d`Ayen, de Coigni, .. la comtesse d`Estrades,
La duchnesse de Brancas ... *
What names! ..
And even, sometimes, herself, the Marquise Pompadour herself! ..
I sang with them ...
Le duc de la Valliere ** praised me!
Once, I remember, in Chantili ***, at Rripse de Conde ****,
The King heard me!
I can see everything now ...
___________________
* Duke of Orleans, Duke d'Ayenne, Duke de Coigny, Countess d'Estrade, Duchess de Branca. (fr.).
** Duke de la Vallière (fr.)
*** Chantilly, - the royal castle near Paris (fr.)
**** Prince de Condé (fr.)
(Sings.)
Il me dit: "je vois fime"
Et je sens malgre moi
Mon Coeur qui bat ...
Je ne sais pas porqoui ... *
(As if waking up, she looks around.)
What are you standing here for? Go there!
The maids and the hangers-on, stepping carefully, disperse. The Countess is asleep and sings as if in a dream.
Je crains de lui parler la nuit
J`ecoute trop tout ce qu`il dit,
Il me dit: "je vois fime"
Et je sens malgre moi
Mon Coeur qui bat ...
Je ne sais pas porqoui ...
Herman goes out and stands against the Countess. She wakes up and silently moves her lips in mute terror.
Do not be alarmed!
For God's sake, do not be alarmed! ..
I will not harm you!
I have come to beg you for mercy alone!
The Countess silently looks at him as before.
You can make up the happiness of life's goals! And it won't cost you anything! You know three cards .. .
(The Countess stands up.)
For whom do you keep your secret?
Herman kneels down.
If ever you knew the feeling of love,
If you remember the ardor and rapture of young blood,
If at least once you smiled at the caress of a child,
If your heart ever beats in your chest,
Then I implore you with the feeling of a spouse, lover, mother,
To all that is sacred to you in life,
Tell me, tell me, tell me your secret!
What is it to you ?!
__________________
* I'm afraid to talk to him at night,
I listen too much to everything he says.
He says to me: I love you,
And I feel against my will
I can feel my heart
Which beats, which beats
I do not know why! (from fr.)
May be,
It is associated with a terrible sin,
With the bane of bliss,
With a devilish condition?
Think you're old, you won't live long,
And I am ready to take on your sin! ..
Open up to me! Tell!..
The Countess, straightening up, looks menacingly at Herman.
Old witch!
So I'll make you answer!
Herman takes out a pistol. The Countess nods her head, raises her arms to shield herself from the shot, and falls dead.
Fully childish!
Would you like to assign me three cards?
Yes or no?
Goes to the Countess, takes her hand. He sees with horror that the Countess is dead.
She is dead! Come true! ..
And I didn’t know the secret!
(Stands as if petrified.)
Dead! .. But I didn’t know the secret ...
Dead! Dead!
Lisa enters with a candle.
LISA. What is the noise here? (Seeing Herman.) Are you, are you here?
HERMANN (rushing towards her, fearfully).
Shut up! Shut up!
She is dead, but I did not find out the secret! ..
LISA. Who's Dead? What are you talking about?
HERMANN (pointing to the corpse).
Come true! She is dead, And I have not learned the secret! ..
LISA (rushes to the corpse of the Countess)
Yes! died! Oh my God! And did you do it?
(Sobs.)
HERMANN. I didn’t want her death, I only wanted to know three cards!
So that's why you're here!
Not for me!
You wanted to know three cards!
You didn't want me, but the cards!
Oh my god, my god!
And I loved him
She died because of him! ..
Monster! Killer! Monster!
Herman wants to speak, but she points with an imperious gesture to the secret door.
Away! Away! The villain! Away!
HERMANN. She is dead!
LISA. Away!
Herman runs away. Liza, with sobs, sinks onto the Countess's corpse.
ACTION THREE
PICTURE FIVE
Barracks. Herman's room. Winter. Late evening. Moonlight now illuminates the room through the window, then disappears. The howling of the wind is heard. The room is dimly lit by a candle on the table. A military signal sounds offstage. Herman is sitting at the table.
HERMANN (reads the letter).
"... I do not believe that you want the Countess's death ... I am exhausted by the consciousness of my guilt before you! Calm me down! Today I am waiting for you on the embankment, when no one can see us there. If you do not come before midnight, I will have to admit a terrible thought, which I drive away from myself. Forgive, forgive, but I suffer so much! .. "
Poor thing! Into what abyss I have lured her with me!
Ah, if only I could forget and fall asleep!
Sinks into a chair in deep thought and, as it were. slumbers. It seems to him that he again hears the church choir singing the funeral service for the deceased countess.
Chorus of singers (behind the scenes in the distance).
I pray to the Lord
To heed my sorrow,
For my soul is filled with evil
And I dread the captivity of hell,
Oh, look, God, at the suffering
You are your slave!
HERMANN (getting up frightened).
All the same thoughts
The same nightmare and gloomy pictures of the funeral
They stand up, as it were, alive before me ...
(Listens.)
Singing or howling of the wind?
I can't make out ...
(Distant funeral chant is heard.)
Just like there ... yes, yes, they are singing!
And here is the church, and the crowd, and the candles,
And censer, and sobs ...
(The chant is clearer.)
Here is the hearse, here is the coffin ...
And in that coffin there is an old woman without movement, without breathing
By some force drawn, I enter the black steps!
It's scary, but there is no strength to go back! ..
I stare at a dead face ...
And suddenly, squinting mockingly,
It blinked at me!
Away, terrible vision! Away!
(He sinks into a chair, covering his face with his hands.)
Choir of singers. Give her endless life!
For a moment, the howling of the storms dies down and in the silence there is a short knock on the window. Herman looks up and listens. There is a gust of wind again. A shadow flickers through the window. The knock on the window is repeated. A new gust of wind throws open the window and extinguishes the candle, and again a shadow appears in the window. Herman stands as if petrified.
I'm scared! Fearfully!
There ... there ... footsteps ... here they open the door ...
No, no, I can't stand it!
He runs to the door, but at that moment the ghost of the Countess in a white shroud appears in the doorway .. Herman steps back, the ghost approaches him.
The ghost of the Countess.
I came to you against my will
But I have been ordered to fulfill your request.
Save Lisa, marry her,
And three cards, three cards
Three cards will win in a row.
Troika! Seven! Ace! Three, seven, ace!
(Disappears.)
HERMANN (with an air of madness).
Three, seven, ace! Three ... Seven ... Ace ...
PICTURE SIX
Night. Winter Groove. In the back of the stage there is the embankment and the Peter and Paul Fortress, illuminated by the moon. Liza is standing all in black under the arch, in a dark corner.
It's already nearing midnight
But Herman is still not there, still not.
I know he will come and dispel suspicion.
He's a victim of chance
And a crime cannot, cannot commit!
Ah, I am exhausted, I am exhausted! ..
Ah, I was tired of grief ...
Whether at night, during the day, only about him
I tormented myself with a thought ...
Where are you, experienced joy?
Ah, I'm tired, I'm tired!
Life promised me only joy,
The cloud has found, the thunder has brought,
Everything that I have loved in the world
Happiness, hope broke!
Ah, I'm tired, I'm tired!
Whether at night, during the day, only about him,
Ah, I tortured myself with thought ...
Where are you, experienced joy?
A cloud came and brought a thunderstorm,
Happiness, hope broke!
I'm tired! I'm worn out!
Longing gnaws at me and gnaws ...
And if the clock strikes me in response,
That he is a murderer, a seducer?
Oh, scary, scary to me! ..
The clock strikes on the fortress tower.
Wait, he'll be here now ...
(With despair.)
Oh honey come take pity
Have pity on me
My husband, my lord!
So it's true! With the villain
I tied my destiny!
Murderer, monster forever
My soul belongs! ..
By his criminal hand
Both my life and my honor are taken,
By the will of heaven, I am fatal
Cursed with the killer!
Lisa wants to run away, but at this time Herman appears.
You are here, you are here! You are not a villain! Are you here!
The end of the torment has come
And again I became yours!
Away with tears, anguish and doubt!
You are mine again and I am yours!
Falls into his arms.
HERMANN. Yes, here I am, my dear! (Kisses her.)
LISA. Oh yes, the suffering is over, I am with you again, my friend!
HERMANN. I am with you again, my friend!
LISA. The bliss of a date has arrived!
HERMANN. The bliss of a date has arrived!
LISA. The end of our painful agony!
HERMANN. The end of our painful agony!
LISA. Oh yes, the suffering has passed, I am with you again!
HERMANN. Those were heavy dreams, the deception of a dream is empty.
LISA. Dream deception is empty.
Forgotten groans and tears!
I'm with you again
Yes, I'm with you again!
Passed our torment, suffering,
The blissful hour of goodbye has come,
Oh my angel, I am with you again!
LISA (simultaneously with Herman)
Forgotten groans and tears!
Oh my darling, desired
I'm with you again, again
Our sufferings have passed forever,
The agony is over
My dear, desired
I am with you again!
But, honey, we must not hesitate, The clock is running ...
Are you ready? Let's run!
LISA. Where to run? With you to the end of the world!
Where to run? .. Where? ..
To the gambling house!
LISA. Oh my God! What's the matter with you, Herman?
There heaps of gold lie
And they belong to me, to me alone!
Herman, what are you saying? Come to your senses!
Oh, I forgot, because you don't know yet!
Three cards, remember
What else did I want to find out from the old witch!
LISA. Oh my God! He's insane!
Stubborn! Didn't want to tell me!
After all, today I had it
And she told me three cards herself.
LISA. So you killed her?
Oh no! why?
I just raised my gun
And the old witch suddenly fell!
(He laughs.)
LISA. So it's true! Truth!
Yes! Yes! It's true, I know three cards!
Three cards to his killer,
She named three cards!
It was so destined by fate
Three cards at this cost
Only I could buy!
I had to do evil
So that at this terrible cost
I could recognize my three cards.
LISA (simultaneously with Herman).
So it's true! With the villain
I tied my destiny!
Murderer, monster forever
My soul belongs!
By his criminal hand
Both my life and my honor are taken,
By the will of heaven, I am fatal
Cursed with the killer,
With the killer in the place, I am also cursed!
But no, it can't be! Come to your senses, Herman!
HERMANN (ecstatic).
Yes! I am the third one who, passionately loving,
I came to learn from you by force
About three, seven, ace!
Whoever you are, I'm still yours!
Let's run, come with me, I'll save you!
Yes! I found out, I found out from you
About three, seven, ace!
(He laughs and pushes Lisa away.)
Leave me alone!
Who are you? I don't know you! Away! Away!
(Runs away.)
LISA. He died, died! And along with him and I!
Runs to the embankment and throws himself into the river.
PICTURE SEVEN
Gambling house.
Dinner. Some are playing cards.
Choir of guests and players.
Let's drink and have fun!
Let's play with life!
Youth does not last forever
Old age is not long to wait!
We won't have to wait long.
Let our youth drown
In bliss, cards and wine!
They have one joy in the world,
Life will rush through like a dream!
Let's drink and have fun!
Let's play with life!
Youth does not last forever
Old age is not long to wait!
We won't have to wait long.
SURIN (behind the cards). Dana! ..
Chaplitsky. Gnu passwords!
Narumov. Killed!
Chaplitsky. Passwords ne!
CHEKALINSKY (mosques). Is it good to put?
Narumov. Atande!
CHEKALINSKY. Ace!
Prince Yeletsky enters.
SURIN. I am mirandole ...
TOMSKY (Yeletsky).
How did you get here? I haven't seen you at the players before.
Yes! This is my first time here.
You know they say:
Unhappy in love - happy in the game.
TOMSKY. What do you want to say?
I'm not a groom anymore.
Do not ask me-
I'm in too much pain, friend-
I'm here to take revenge-
After all, happiness is in love
Leads misfortune with him in the game.
Explain what this means.
Choir of guests and players.
Let's drink and have fun!
ELETSKY. You'll see!
Choir of guests and players.
Let's play with life!
Youth does not last forever
Old age is not long to wait!
We won't have to wait long.
Players join the dinners.
CHEKALINSKY. Hey gentlemen! Let Tomsky sing to us!
Choir of guests and players.
Sing, Tomsky, sing, but something funny, funny!
TOMSKY. Something is not sung to me ...
CHEKALINSKY.
Eh, full of that nonsense! Drink and sing!
Tomsky's health, friends! Hooray!
Choir of guests and players.
Tomsky's health, friends! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
TOMSKY (sings).
If only lovely girls *
So they could fly like birds,
And sat on knots
I wish I was a bitch
To thousands of girls
Sit on my branches
Sit on my branches!
Choir of guests and players
Bravo! Bravo! Oh, sing another verse!
Let them sit and sing
Forged the nests and whistled,
* Verses of Derzhavin.
Bringing out the chicks!
Never would I bend
I would always admire them,
Was happier than all the bitches
Was happier than all the bitches!
Choir of guests and players.
Bravo! Bravo! That's the song! This is glorious! Bravo! Well done!
"I would never bend
I would always admire them,
Was happier than all the bitches! "
CHEKALINSKY. Now, as usual, friends, "Igretskaya"!
CHEKALINSKY. Chaplitsky, Narumov and Suri N.
Oh, where are those islands *
Where tryn grass grows, -
So on rainy days
They were going
Choir of guests and players.
So on rainy days
They met often.
They bent, God forgive them,
From fifty
Choir of guests and players.
They bent, God forgive them,
From fifty
CHEKALINSKY, Chaplitsky, Narumov and SURIN.
And won
And unsubscribed
Choir of guests and players.
And won
And unsubscribed
CHEKALINSKY, Chaplitsky, Narumov and SURIN.
So on rainy days
They were engaged
Choir of guests and players.
So on rainy days
They were engaged
* Poems by Ryleev
CHEKALINSKY, Chaplitsky, Narumov and SURIN.
They bent, God forgive them,
From fifty
Choir of guests and players.
They bent, God forgive them,
From fifty
CHEKALINSKY., Chaplitsky, Narumov, SURIN and the chorus of guests.
And won
And unsubscribed
So on rainy days
They were engaged
They bent, God forgive them,
From fifty
(Whistling, screaming and dancing.)
One hundred, one hundred, one hundred, one hundred!
CHEKALINSKY. For the cause, gentlemen, for the cards! Wine, wine! (They sit down to play.)
Choir of guests and players. Wine, wine!
Chaplitsky. Nine!
Narumov Passwords ...
Chaplitsky. Down the drain!
SURIN. I bet on the root ...
Chaplitsky. Dana!
Narumov. From transport by ten!
Herman enters.
ELETSKY (seeing him).
My premonition did not deceive me.
(Tomsky.)
I may need a second.
Won't you refuse?
Hope in me!
Choir of guests and players
BUT! Hermann! Friend! Buddy!
So late? Where?
CHEKALINSKY.
Sit down with me, you bring happiness.
Where are you from? Where have you been? Isn't it in hell?
Look what it looks like!
CHEKALINSKY. You can't be more terrible! Are you healthy?
HERMANN. Let me put the card down.
(Chekalinsky silently bows in agreement.)
SURIN. What miracles, he began to play!
Choir of guests and players.
Here are miracles, he began to ponte, our Herman!
Herman puts the card down and covers it with a bank bill.
Narumov. Buddy, congratulations on allowing such a long post!
Hermann (placing the card). Going?
CHEKALINSKY. How much?
HERMANN. Forty thousand!
Choir of guests and players.
Forty thousand!
You're out of your mind! That's the jackpot!
SURIN. Didn't you recognize three cards from the Countess?
HERMANN (irritated). Well, are you hitting or not?
CHEKALINSKY. Goes! Which map?
HERMANN. Troika.
(Chekalinsky mosque.)
Won!
Choir of guests and players.
He won! Here is a lucky man!
CHEKALINSKY.
Something is wrong here!
He seems to be unconscious!
No, something is wrong here!
His eyes are wandering
Promises bad!
SURIN
Something is wrong here!
His wandering promises unkindness of his eyes,
He seems to be delirious, unconscious!
No, something is wrong here!
No,
ELETSKY (simultaneously with Chekalinsky).
Something is wrong here!
But the punishment is close, close!
I will take revenge on you
I will take revenge on you, villain, my suffering,
I will take revenge on you!
Narumov (simultaneously with Chekalinsky).
Something is wrong here!
His wandering promises unkindness of his eyes,
Promises bad!
No, something is wrong here!
The wandering of his eyes promises unkindness!
Chaplitsky (simultaneously with Chekalinsky).
Something is wrong here!
The wandering of his eyes promises unkindness!
He seems to be unconscious!
No, there is something wrong here
The wandering of his eyes promises unkindness!
TOMSKY (simultaneously with Chekalinsky).
Something is wrong here, wrong!
His eyes are wandering,
The wandering of his eyes promises unkindness!
No, something is wrong here, not right!
HERMANN (simultaneously with Chekalinsky).
My cherished wish is coming true.
No no! The old woman's prediction is not deceptive!
Choir of guests and players (simultaneously with Chekalinsky).
Something is wrong here!
The wandering of his eyes promises unkindness.
Choir of guests and players. He seems to be unconscious!
CHEKALINSKY. Do you want to receive?
HERMANN. No! I'm going by the corner!
Choir of guests and players.
He's crazy! Is it possible to?
No, Chekalinsky, don't play with him,
Look, he's not himself!
HERMANN. Going?
CHEKALINSKY. Goes on. And the map?
HERMANN. Here, the seven!
(Chekalinsky mosque.) My!
Choir of guests and players.
Again him!
There is something wrong with him.
Why are you hanging your noses?
Are you scared? Are you scared?
(Laughs hysterically.) Wine, wine!
Choir of guests and players.
Herman, what's wrong with you?
HERMAN (with a glass in his hand).
What is our life?
Good and evil are only dreams!
Labor, honesty are fairy tales for a woman.
Who is right, who is happy here, friends!
Today you, and tomorrow I!
So give up the fight
Seize your moment of luck!
Let the loser cry
Let the loser cry
Cursing, cursing your fate!
What is true?
Death is one!
Like a bustle of the seashore
She is a refuge for all of us.
Who is dearer to her from us, friends?
Today you, and tomorrow I!
So give up the fight
Seize your moment of luck!
Let the loser cry
Let the loser cry
Cursing your fate!
Still going?
CHEKALINSKY.
No, get it! The devil himself plays with you!
(Puts the loss on the table.)
And if so, what a disaster!
Anyone?
Is this all at stake? BUT?
ELETSKY (stepping forward). To me.
Choir of guests and players.
Prince, what's the matter with you? Stop doing that!
After all, this is not a game, madness!
I know what I'm doing!
We have an account with him!
HERMANN (embarrassed). To you? Do you want?
To me. Come on, Chekalinsky!
(Chekalinsky mosque.)
HERMANN (opening the map). My ace!
ELETSKY. No! Your lady is a bit!
HERMANN. What kind of lady?
The one in your hands -
Queen of Spades!
A ghost appears. Countess. All retreat from Herman.
HERMANN (horrified).
Old woman!..
You! Are you here!
What are you laughing at?
You drove me crazy!
Damned!
What ... what do you want?
Life, my life?
Take her, take her!
Stabbed. The ghost disappears. Several people rush to the fallen Herman.
Choir of guests and players.
Unhappy!
How terribly he committed suicide!
He's still alive!
Herman comes to his senses. Seeing Yeletsky, he tries to get up.
Prince! Prince, forgive me!
I'm hurting, hurting, dying!
What's this? Lisa?
Are you here! Oh my God!
Why why?
You forgive! Yes?
Don't you swear? Yes?
Gorgeous! Goddess! Angel!
(Dies.)
Choir of guests and players.
Lord! Forgive him!
And rest his rebellious
And a tortured soul
The Queen of Spades is a masterpiece uniting two world geniuses who were born on Russian soil: Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The opera is one of the most performed Russian works abroad, along with the opera "Boris Godunov" by M. P. Mussorgsky.
Composition by A.S. Pushkin
The basis of the opera is Pushkin's story "The Queen of Spades". It was completed in 1833, and its printed publication debut took place the following year, 1834.
The plot is mystical in nature, it touches upon such topics as fortune, fate, higher powers, fate and fate.
The story has prototypes and a real basis. Its plot was suggested to the poet by the young prince Golitsyn. But after living in reality, he was able to recoup after losing a card game, thanks to the hint of Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna - his grandmother. She received this advice from a certain Saint Germain.
Probably Pushkin wrote the story in the village of Boldino, Nizhny Novgorod region, but, unfortunately, the handwritten original has not survived
This story is perhaps the first work that won success not only in Russia, but also abroad during the poet's lifetime.
Characters and plot
The main characters of Pushkin's The Queen of Spades:
- Engineer Hermann is the main character. He never took a card in his hands until he accidentally heard about a certain secret of three cards, with which you can win a large fortune.
- Anna Fedotovna Tomskaya is the very keeper of the coveted secret.
- Lisa is a young naive girl and pupil, thanks to whom the main character was able to enter the countess's house.
On the night after the funeral, the ghost of the countess appears in a dream to Hermann and nevertheless reveals the secret of the cards. He does not miss the opportunity and sits down to play with wealthy opponents. The first day turns out to be successful, and a three of a kind placed on 47 thousand gives the lucky winner a victory.
On the 2nd day, fortune in the face of the seven turns to face him again, and Hermann again leaves the game as a winner.
On the third day, Hermann, already inspired and anticipating a complete victory, bets absolutely everything on the cherished ace and loses. Opening the card, he sees the Queen of Spades, who mysteriously begins to acquire features of resemblance to the deceased Countess.
The main character cannot stand such meanness and eventually loses his mind, and unhappy Liza, forgetting all this as a bad dream, marries a respectable man.
Opera "The Queen of Spades"
The opera is one of the most famous works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was written in 1890. The work is based on the work of the same name by A.S. Pushkin.
History of creation
The composer worked on it in Florence, surprisingly, the opera was written in just forty-four days. However, the idea of staging a piece of music at the Mariinsky Theater arose much earlier and belonged to I.A.Vsevolozhsky. Initially, negotiations on the creation of the opera were conducted with other composers - N.S. Klenovsky and A.A. Villamov. Later, in 1887, the first conversation between Vsevolozhsky and Tchaikovsky took place. The composer flatly refused to work on the opera. However, his younger brother, Modest Ilyich (a talented librettist), took up the case instead. Pyotr Ilyich's attitude to opera gradually changed, and in 1889, the composer rethought his decision, and, leaving his affairs, studied the libretto (the literary foundation on the basis of which vocal and ballet compositions are created), written by his younger brother. In January 1890, while in Italy, he began work on an opera.
The work began at a stormy and energetic pace, the composer even wrote the text for two of his arias (the hero Yeletsky in Act II and the heroine Liza in III). Later, Tchaikovsky added the 7th act to the composition - Herman's drinking song.
The world premiere took place on 19 December 1890 at the famous Mariinsky Theater under the direction of conductor Eduard Napravnik.
His Moscow debut took place in the fall of 1891 at the Bolshoi Theater, conducted by Ippolit Altani.
The opera was a success with the public, and it was decided to go on tour with it to Europe and America. On October 11, 1892, the premiere took place abroad, in Prague, in Czech translation.
Modest Tchaikovsky, taking Pushkin's story as a basis, retained all the main characters and the plot as a whole, but, despite this, the libretto was significantly different from the literary original:
- Herman felt real, sincere and ardent love for Lisa. For comparison - in the story, the main character only used the naivety and feelings of the girl.
- Elizabeth is far from a poor pupil of the old woman, but her rich successor with an impressive inheritance, which she inherited after the death of the countess. This is not an unhappy and silent nature, but on the contrary - an ardently loving and passionate girl, ready to do anything for the sake of the main character.
- Herman not only goes crazy, but ends his life by suicide after a crushing loss at cards.
- Lisa decides to renounce her newly-made husband Yeletsky and dies, not the name of the forces to survive the madness of her lover.
The libretto of "The Queen of Spades" is written in verse, and the work of Alexander Pushkin - in prose. In addition to important details, the vocal text also has an emotional message. Tchaikovsky anxiously experiences the fate of each hero, passing their feelings through himself. Pushkin, on the other hand, described the situation in the style of secular humor and was very indifferent to the heroes.
It is worth noting that in the libretto of The Queen of Spades, the name of the protagonist is written with one letter "n". The point is that in Pushkin's work Hermann is probably a surname of German origin, and therefore the consonant is doubled. In the libretto, his origin is unknown, as a result of which we can conclude that this is his name.
Each separately
The opera consists of 7 scenes in 3 acts. Events take place at the end of the 18th century in the city of St. Petersburg.
Below is a libretto for the opera The Queen of Spades for acts.
Action one
First picture. In the summer garden, a dialogue takes place between officers Surin and Chekalinsky. They talk about the mysterious actions of a friend of Herman, who devotes all his time to the playing house, but does not take up cards himself. After some time, the main character himself appears in the company of Tomsky, the count of the estate. He talks about his passionate feelings for the girl, even without knowing her name. At this moment, Yeletsky appears and announces an imminent engagement. Herman realizes with horror that she is the very object of his desire when he sees Tomskaya with his ward Liza. Both ladies experience anxious feelings when they feel the interested gaze of the protagonist.
Count Tomsky tells an anecdote about the countess who, in her distant youth, suffered a fiasco, losing her entire fortune. From Saint-Germain, she learns about the secret of the three cards, in exchange for giving him one date. As a result, she was able to regain her condition. After this "funny" story, secular friends Surin and Chekalinsky jokingly suggest that Herman follow the same path. But he is not interested, all his thoughts are focused on the object of love.
Second picture. On the eve of the night, Lisa sits in a sad mood. The friends try to calm the girl down, but all their attempts are in vain. Only left alone with herself, she confesses passionate feelings for an unknown young man. At the right moment, the same stranger appears and pours out heartache, begging the girl to respond to his feelings. In response, her tears roll, tears of regret and sympathy. The unintentional meeting is interrupted by the Countess, and Herman, who is hiding, at the sight of the old woman, suddenly recalls the secret of the three cards. After her departure, Lisa confesses her feelings in return.
Second action
Third scene. Events take place at a ball, where Yeletsky, disturbed by the indifference of his future bride, ardently confesses his love to her, but does not restrict the girl's freedom. Herman's friends, putting on masks, continue to mock him, but the hero does not like these jokes at all. Lisa gives him the keys to the countess's room, and Herman takes her act as a hint of fate itself.
Fourth scene. The main character, having made his way into the room of Countess Tomskaya, looks at her portrait, feeling an ominous fatal energy. Having waited for the old woman, Herman begs to reveal the desired secret to him, but the Countess remains motionless. Unable to withstand silence, he decides to blackmail with a pistol, but the unfortunate woman immediately collapses unconscious. Liza comes running to the sound and realizes that Herman only needed a solution to three cards.
Act three
Fifth scene. Herman, being in the barracks, reads a letter from Lisa, in which she makes an appointment with him. Memories of the Countess's funeral come to life. Suddenly a knock is heard outside the window. The candle goes out, and Herman sees the revived Tomskaya, which, unwillingly, reveals to him the secret of the three cards.
Sixth scene. Elizabeth, waiting for a date on the embankment, has doubts and finally loses hope of seeing her beloved. But, to her surprise, Herman appears. After some time, Lisa notices that something is wrong with him and becomes convinced of his guilt. Herman, obsessed with winning, leaves the meeting place. Unable to withstand all the pain of disappointment, the girl throws herself into the water.
Seventh scene. The game fun is interrupted by a heated Herman. He offers to play cards and wins the first two games. For the third time, Prince Yeletsky becomes his opponent, but the lost his mind Herman does not care. According to the plot of The Queen of Spades, with three cards (three, seven and ace) the old countess managed to win. Herman was close to victory knowing this secret. However, instead of the proper ace, he is holding a queen of spades, in the image of which he sees the features of a deceased old woman.
Unable to withstand everything that is happening, the main character stabs himself, and in the consciousness that has recovered his sight (for the remaining few seconds) the image of his bright innocent love - Lisa - appears. "Beauty! Goddess! Angel!" - the last words of the protagonist are heard.
Composition and vocals
In the opera The Queen of Spades, 24 vocalists are involved, in addition to solo performers, the choir plays an important role, as well as the support of the whole process - the orchestra.
Each acting hero has his own part, written for a certain timbre of voice:
- Herman was a tenor;
- Lisa had a sonorous and light soprano;
- The Countess (Queen of Spades) had a low mezzo or contralto;
- Tomsky and Yeletsky are baritones.
From Act I, Herman's aria "Forgive me, heavenly creature" is famous, and from Act II - Yeletsky's aria "I love you."
In Act III, it is impossible not to note the incredible sonority of Liza's aria "Ah, I was tired of grief" and Herman's ending with the famous, which has already become a catch phrase, the phrase: "What is our life? A game!"
Summarizing
The opera "The Queen of Spades" by Pyotr Tchaikovsky is one of the heights of the world opera art, a musical and dramatic work of amazing strength and depth. Some details of the plot were changed, but what is really important - different accents, the meaning of which is to exacerbate the conflicts "life - death", "man - destiny", "love - game".
Thanks not only to Peter, but also to Modest Tchaikovsky, the author of the libretto The Queen of Spades, the opera has become a world masterpiece.
1840 in the family of the head of the Kamsko-Votkinsky plant Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky, a well-known mining specialist in his time, a son was born, who was named Peter.
The boy grew up sensitive, receptive, impressionable. When he was four years old, his father brought an orchestra (a mechanical organ) from St. Petersburg, and the music of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti sounded in distant Votkinsk ...
The family was financially secure. The future composer was able to get a solid home education. From childhood, Pyotr Ilyich spoke French fluently, read a lot and even wrote poetry. Music was also part of the circle of homework. Alexandra Andreevna Tchaikovskaya played well and sang well herself. Tchaikovsky was especially fond of listening to Alyabyev's "Nightingale" performed by his mother.
The years of his childhood in the city of Votkinsk remained in the memory of the composer for the rest of his life. But to Tchaikovsky
turned eight years old, and the family moved from Votkinsk to Moscow, from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and then to Alapaevsk, where Ilya Petrovich got a job as a plant manager.
In the summer of 1850, he sent his wife and two children (including the future composer) to St. Petersburg.
At the St. Petersburg School of Jurisprudence, Tchaikovsky studies general disciplines and a specialty - jurisprudence. Music lessons are also continued here; he takes piano lessons, sings in the school choir, the leader of which was the outstanding Russian choral conductor G. E. Lomakin.
Attending symphony concerts and theater also played an important role in Tchaikovsky's musical development. All his life he considered the operas of Mozart (Figaro, Don Juan, The Magic Flute), Glinka (Ivan Susanin) and Weber (The Magic Shooter) to be unsurpassed examples of operatic art.
Common artistic interests brought Tchaikovsky closer to many students of the school; some of his school friends later became enthusiastic admirers of the composer. Among them belongs the poet A. N. Apukhtin, on whose verses Tchaikovsky later wrote wonderful romances.
Every year the young jurist was convinced that his true vocation was music. He began to write at the age of fourteen, and at seventeen he wrote the first romance "My genius, my angel, my friend" (to the words of A. A. Fet).
By the time I graduated from college (in 1859) with all my soul,
with all his thoughts he was in art. But his dreams were not destined to come true yet. In the winter, Tchaikovsky took the place of the junior assistant clerk, and the dull years of service in one of the departments of the Ministry of Justice flowed on.
In the service career, Tchaikovsky has achieved little. “They made an official out of me and that was bad,” he wrote to his sister.
In 1861, Tchaikovsky began attending the public music classes of Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein, the great Russian pianist and outstanding composer, founder of the first conservatory in Russia. A.G. Rubinstein amicably advised Tchaikovsky to devote his life entirely to his beloved work.
Tchaikovsky did just that: he left the service. In the same 1863, Tchaikovsky's father was retired; he could no longer help his son, and the young musician experienced a life full of hardships. He did not have enough funds even for the most necessary expenses, and simultaneously with his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory (which was opened in 1862) he gave lessons, accompanied in concerts.
At the Conservatory, Tchaikovsky studied with A. G. Rubinstein and N. I. Zaremba, studying music theory and composition. Among the students, Tchaikovsky stood out for his solid training, exceptional working capacity, and most importantly, for his creative purposefulness. He did not limit himself to mastering the conservatory course and did a lot himself, studying the works of Schumann, Berlioz, Wagner, Serov.
The years of study of the young Tchaikovsky at the conservatory coincide with the period of social upsurge in the 60s. The democratic ideals of that time were reflected in the work of the young Tchaikovsky. Starting with the very first symphonic work - the overture to A. Ostrovsky's drama The Thunderstorm (1864) - Tchaikovsky forever connects his art with folk songwriting and fiction. In this work, for the first time, the main theme of Tchaikovsky's art is put forward - the theme of man's struggle against the inexorable forces of evil. This theme in the major works of Tchaikovsky is resolved in two ways: the hero either dies in the struggle against opposing forces, or overcomes obstacles that have arisen in his path. In both cases, the outcome of the conflict shows the strength, courage and beauty of the human soul. Thus, the features of Tchaikovsky's tragic outlook are completely devoid of features of decadence and pessimism.
In the year of graduation from the conservatory (1865), Tchaikovsky's dream comes true: after completing his musical education with honors, he receives a diploma and the title of a free artist. For the graduation act of the Conservatory, on the advice of A. Rubinstein, he wrote music for the hymn of the great German poet Schiller "Ode to Joy". In the same year, the orchestra under the direction of Johann Strauss, who came on tour to Russia, publicly performed Tchaikovsky's Character Dances.
But perhaps the happiest and most significant event for Tchaikovsky at that time was his
meeting with Nikolai Grigorievich Rubinstein, brother of the director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
They met in St. Petersburg - Tchaikovsky - still a little-known musician and N. G. Rubinstein - a renowned conductor, teacher, pianist and musical and public figure.
Since that time, N. G. Rubinshtein has been closely following the work of Tchaikovsky, rejoicing at every new achievement of the young composer, and skillfully promoting his works. Taking up the organization of the Moscow Conservatory, N. G. Rubinshtein invites Tchaikovsky to take the position of a teacher of music theory.
From this time began the Moscow period of the life of PI Tchaikovsky.
The first major work of Tchaikovsky, created in Moscow, was the first symphony called Winter Dreams (1866). Pictures of nature are captured here: a winter road, a "foggy edge", a blizzard. But Tchaikovsky does not simply reproduce pictures of nature; he first of all conveys the emotional state that these pictures cause. In the works of Tchaikovsky, the image of nature is usually merged with a subtle, soulful disclosure of the inner world of a person. This unity in depicting the world of nature and the world of human experience is also clearly expressed in the cycle of Tchaikovsky's piano pieces "The Seasons" (1876). Outstanding German
pianist and conductor G. von Bülow once called Tchaikovsky "a true poet in sounds." Von Bülow's words can serve as an epigraph to the first symphony and The Seasons.
Tchaikovsky's life in Moscow passed in an atmosphere of fruitful communication with prominent writers and artists. Tchaikovsky attended the "Artistic Circle", where among discerning artists, the great Russian playwright A. N. Ostrovsky read his new works, the poet A. N. Pleshcheev, the remarkable artist of the Maly Theater P. M. Sadovsky, the Polish violinist G. Wieniawski, and N.G. Rubinstein.
The members of the "Artistic Circle" dearly loved the Russian folk song, enthusiastically engaged in collecting, performing, and studying it. Among them, first of all, we should mention A. N. Ostrovsky, who put a lot of effort into promoting Russian folk songs on the stage of the drama theater.
A. N. Ostrovsky became closely acquainted with Tchaikovsky. Soon the results of this friendship were evident: in 1868-1869, Tchaikovsky prepared a collection, which included fifty of the most popular Russian folk songs for piano four hands.
Tchaikovsky has repeatedly turned to folk songs in his work. The Russian song "Vanya Sitting on the Sofa" was developed by Tchaikovsky in the first quartet (1871), the Ukrainian songs "Zhuravel" and "Come Out, Ivanka, Drink Vesnyanka" - in the second symphony (1872) and in the first concert for piano and orchestra (1875).
The circle of Tchaikovsky's creations, in which he uses folk tunes, is so wide that to list them is to bring a large list of works of various musical forms and genres.
Tchaikovsky, who so deeply and lovingly appreciated the folk song, drew from it that broad chant that marks all of his work.
As a deeply national composer, Tchaikovsky was always interested in the culture of other countries. Old French songs formed the basis of his opera "The Maid of Orleans", the motives of Italian street songs inspired the creation of "Italian Capriccio", the well-known duet "My dear friend" from the opera "The Queen of Spades" is a Czech folk song masterfully reintoned by Tchaikovsky "I have there was a dove. "
Another source of the melodiousness of Tchaikovsky's works is his own experience of romance. The first seven romances by Tchaikovsky, written by the confident hand of the master, were created in November - December 1869: "The tear is trembling" and "Do not believe, my friend" (words by A. K. Tolstoy), "Why" and "No, only the one who I knew "(on the verses of Heine and Goethe in the translations of L.A. , my friend "(words by A. N. Plescheev). Throughout his creative career, Tchaikovsky wrote more than a hundred romances; they reflected light feelings, passionate excitement, sorrow, and philosophical reflections.
Inspiration drew Tchaikovsky to various areas of musical creativity. This led to one phenomenon that arose by itself due to the unity and organic nature of the composer's creative style: often in his operas and instrumental works one can catch the intonations of his romances and, set, - opera ariosity and symphonic breadth are felt in the romances.
If Russian song was for Tchaikovsky a source of truth and beauty, if it constantly updated his works, then the relationship between genres, their mutual penetration contributed to the constant improvement of skill.
The largest work that nominated twenty-nine-year-old Tchaikovsky among the first composers of Russia was the symphonic overture "Romeo and Juliet" (1869). The plot of this work was suggested to Tchaikovsky by MA Balakirev, who at that time headed the community of young composers, which went down in the history of music under the name “The Mighty Handful”.
Tchaikovsky and the Kuchkists are two channels of the same trend. Each of the composers - be it N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. P. Borodin, M. A. Balakirev, M. P. Mussorgsky or P. I. Tchaikovsky - made a unique contribution to the art of his era. And when we talk about Tchaikovsky, we cannot but recall the Balakirev circle, the community of their creative interests and the recognition of each other. But among the links connecting the Kuchkists with Tchaikovsky, program music is perhaps the most significant link.
It is known that, in addition to the program of the symphonic overture “Romeo and Juliet”, Balakirev proposed to Tchaikovsky a plot for the symphony “Manfred” (after Byron), and both works are dedicated to Balakirev. The Tempest, Tchaikovsky's symphonic fantasy on the theme of Shakespeare, was created on the advice of V. V. Stasov and is dedicated to him. Among the most famous instrumental and programmatic works of Tchaikovsky is the symphonic fantasy Francesca da Rimini, which is based on the fifth song of Dante's Divine Comedy. Thus, three of Tchaikovsky's greatest creations in the field of program music owe their appearance to Balakirev and Stasov.
The experience of creating major programmatic compositions enriched Tchaikovsky's art. It is significant that Tchaikovsky's non-programmed music has all the fullness of figurative and emotional expressiveness, as if it had plots.
The symphony Winter Dreams and the symphonic overture Romeo and Juliet are followed by the operas Voevoda (1868), Ondine (1869), Oprichnik (1872), and Vakula the Blacksmith (1874). Tchaikovsky himself was not satisfied with his first works for the opera stage. The score of the Voevoda, for example, was destroyed by him; it was restored according to the surviving parties and was installed already in Soviet times. The opera "Ondine" is forever lost: the composer burned its score. Tchaikovsky later (1885) revised the opera “The Blacksmith“ Vakula ”(the second
the edition is called "Cherevichki"). All these are examples of the composer's great demands on himself.
Of course, Tchaikovsky - the author of "Voevoda" and "Oprichnik" is inferior in maturity of talent to Tchaikovsky - the creator of "Eugene Onegin" and "The Queen of Spades". And nevertheless, the first operas by Tchaikovsky, staged in the late 60s - early 70s of the last century, retain artistic interest for listeners today. They have an emotional richness and that melodic richness that are typical for mature operas of the great Russian composer.
In the press of that time, in newspapers and magazines, prominent music critics GA Laroche and ND Kashkin wrote a lot and in detail about Tchaikovsky's successes. In the widest circles of listeners, Tchaikovsky's music found a warm response. Among the adherents of Tchaikovsky were the great writers L. N. Tolstoy and I. S. Turgenev.
Tchaikovsky's many-sided activities in the 60-70s were of great importance not only for the musical culture of Moscow, but for the entire Russian musical culture.
Along with intensive creative activity, Tchaikovsky also conducted pedagogical work; he continued to teach at the Moscow Conservatory (among Tchaikovsky's students was the composer S.I.Taneev), laid the foundations of musical-theoretical teaching. In the early 70s, Tchaikovsky's textbook on harmony was published, which has not lost its significance to this day.
Defending his own artistic convictions, Tchaikovsky not only embodied new aesthetic principles in his works, not only introduced them in the process of pedagogical work, he fought for them and acted as a musical critic. Tchaikovsky was worried about the fate of his native art, and he took over the work of a music reviewer in Moscow.
Tchaikovsky undoubtedly possessed literary ability. If he had to write a libretto for his own opera, that did not bother him; he is responsible for the translation of the literary text of Mozart's opera "Figaro's Weddings"; by translating the poems of the German poet Bodenstedt, Tchaikovsky inspired A.G. Rubinstein to create the famous Persian songs. Tchaikovsky's gift as a writer is evidenced by his magnificent legacy as a music critic.
Tchaikovsky's debut as a publicist was two articles - in defense of Rimsky-Korsakov and Balakirev. Tchaikovsky authoritatively refuted the reactionary critic's negative judgment about Rimsky-Korsakov's early work, Serbian Fantasy, and predicted a bright future for the twenty-four-year-old composer.
The second article ("A Voice from the Moscow Musical World") was written in connection with the fact that the dignified "patrons" of art, led by the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, expelled Balakirev from the Russian Musical Society. In response to this, Tchaikovsky wrote angrily: “Balakirev can now say what the father of Russian literature said when he received the news of his expulsion from
Academy of Sciences: "The Academy can be set aside from Lomonosov ..., but Lomonosov cannot be set aside from the Academy!"
Everything that was advanced and viable in art found Tchaikovsky's warm support. And not only in Russian: in his homeland, Tchaikovsky promoted the most valuable thing in French music of that time - the works of J. Bizet, C. Saint-Saens, L. Delibes, J. Massnet. Tchaikovsky was equally fond of the Norwegian composer Grieg and the Czech composer A. Dvořák. These were artists whose work corresponded to Tchaikovsky's aesthetic views. He wrote about Edvard Grieg: "Mine and his natures are in close inner relationship."
Many talented Western European composers took his disposition with all their hearts, and now it is impossible to read Saint-Saens's letters to Tchaikovsky without emotion: "You will always have a faithful and faithful friend in me."
It should also be recalled how important Tchaikovsky's critical activities were in the history of the struggle for the national opera.
The seventies for Russian opera were years of rapid flowering, which took place in an acute struggle with everything that hindered the development of national music. A long struggle unfolded for musical theater. And in this struggle, Tchaikovsky played an important role. For Russian operatic art, he demanded space, freedom of creativity. In 1871, Tchaikovsky began writing about the Italian Opera (the so-called Italian
an opera troupe that constantly toured in Russia).
Tchaikovsky was far from thinking of denying the operatic achievements of Italy, the cradle of operatic art. With what admiration Tchaikovsky wrote about the joint performances on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of wonderful Italian, French and Russian singers: the gifted A. Patti, D. Artaud, E. Noden, E. A. Lavrovskaya, E. P. Kadmina, F. I. Stravinsky ... But the orders established by the management of the imperial theaters hindered the creative competition of representatives of two national cultures - Italian and Russian. The position of Russian opera was negatively affected by the fact that the aristocratic audience demanded above all entertainment and refused to recognize the successes of their national composers. Therefore, the management granted unheard-of privileges to the entrepreneur of the Italian opera company. The repertoire was limited to works by foreign composers, and Russian operas and Russian artists were in the pen. The Italian troupe has become a purely commercial enterprise. In pursuit of profit, the trainee speculated on the tastes of the "most radiant parterre" (Tchaikovsky).
With exceptional persistence and consistency, Tchaikovsky exposed the cult of profit, incompatible with genuine art. He wrote: “Something ominous seized my soul when, in the midst of a performance in one of the benoir's boxes, a tall, thin figure of the ruler of Moscow's pockets, Senor Merelli, appeared. His face
breathed calm self-confidence and at times a smile of either contempt or sly self-satisfaction played on my lips ... "
Condemning the entrepreneurial approach to art, Tchaikovsky also denounced the conservatism of tastes, supported by certain segments of the public, dignitaries from the Ministry of the Court, officials from the office of the imperial theaters.
If the seventies were the heyday of Russian opera, then Russian ballet was going through an acute crisis at that time. G. A. Laroche, clarifying the reasons for this crisis, wrote:
"With very few exceptions, serious, real-life composers keep themselves far from ballet."
Favorable conditions have been created for artisan composers. The stage was literally flooded with ballet performances in which music played the role of a dance rhythm - nothing more. Ts. Puni, staff composer of the Mariinsky Theater, has managed to compose more than three hundred ballets in this “style”.
Tchaikovsky was the first Russian classical composer to turn to ballet. He could not have achieved success without assimilating the best achievements of Western European ballet; he also relied on the wonderful traditions created by MI Glinka in dance scenes from "Ivan Susanin", "Ruslan and Lyudmila".
When creating his ballets, did Tchaikovsky think that he was reforming Russian choreographic art?
No. He was overly humble and never considered himself an innovator. But from the day Tchaikovsky agreed to fulfill the order of the Bolshoi Theater directorate and in the summer of 1875 began writing the music of Swan Lake, he began to reform the ballet.
The element of dance was no less close to him than the sphere of song and romance. It is not for nothing that the first among his works to gain fame were the "Characteristic Dances", which attracted the attention of I. Strauss.
Russian ballet in the person of Tchaikovsky has acquired a subtle lyricist-thinker, a real symphonist. And Tchaikovsky's ballet music is deeply meaningful; it expresses the characters of the characters, their spiritual essence. In the dance music of the former composers (Puni, Minkus, Gerber) there was neither great content, nor psychological depth, nor the ability to express the image of a hero in sounds.
It was not easy for Tchaikovsky to innovate in the art of ballet. The premiere of Swan Lake at the Bolshoi Theater (1877) could not bode well for the composer. According to ND Kashkin, "almost a third of Tchaikovsky's music was replaced by inserts from other ballets, and moreover the most mediocre ones." Only at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, through the efforts of the choreographers M. Petipa, L. Ivanov, I. Gorsky, artistic performances of Swan Lake were carried out, and the ballet received worldwide recognition.
1877 was perhaps the most difficult year in the composer's life. All his biographers write about this. After an unsuccessful marriage, Tchaikovsky leaves Moscow and goes abroad. Tchaikovsky lives in Rome, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Geneva, Venice, Florence ... And he doesn't stay anywhere for a long time. Tchaikovsky calls his way of life abroad wandering. Creativity helps Tchaikovsky to get out of a mental crisis.
For his homeland, 1877 was the year of the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war. Tchaikovsky's sympathies were on the side of the Slavic peoples of the Balkan Peninsula.
In one of his letters to his homeland, Tchaikovsky wrote that in difficult moments for the people, when because of the war every day "many families are orphaned and become beggars, it is ashamed to plunge up to the throat into their private petty affairs."
The year 1878 is marked by two of the greatest creations created in parallel. Those were - the fourth symphony and the opera "Eugene Onegin" - they were the highest expression of the ideals and thoughts of Tchaikovsky at that time.
There is no doubt that personal drama (Tchaikovsky even thought about suicide), as well as historical events, influenced the content of the Fourth Symphony. After completing this work, Tchaikovsky dedicated it to N.F. von Meck. At a critical moment in Tchaikovsky's life
Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck played a big role, providing moral support and material assistance, which promoted Tchaikovsky's independence and was used by him in order to devote himself entirely to creativity.
In one of his letters to von Meck, Tchaikovsky outlined the content of the Fourth Symphony.
The main idea of the symphony is the idea of a conflict between a person and forces hostile to him. As one of the main themes, Tchaikovsky uses the "rock" motif that permeates the first and last movements of the symphony. The theme of rock has a broad collective meaning in the symphony - it is a generalized image of evil, with which a person enters an unequal struggle.
The Fourth Symphony summed up the results of the instrumental work of the young Tchaikovsky.
Almost at the same time with him, another composer - Borodin - created the "Heroic Symphony" (1876). The appearance of the epic "Heroic" and lyric-dramatic Fourth Symphony was a real creative victory for Borodin and Tchaikovsky, two founders of the classical Russian symphony.
Like the members of the Balakirev circle, Tchaikovsky highly appreciated and loved opera as the most democratic genre of musical art. But unlike the Kuchkists, who turned to the themes of history in operatic work ("The Woman of Pskov" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky, "Prince Igor" by Borodin), where the main character is the people, Tchaikovsky is attracted
plots that help him to reveal the inner world of an ordinary person. But before finding these “own” subjects, Tchaikovsky went a long way of searching.
Only in the thirty-eighth year of his life, after "Ondine", "Voevoda", "Blacksmith Vakula", Tchaikovsky created his opera masterpiece, writing the opera "Eugene Onegin". Everything in this opera boldly violated the generally accepted traditions of opera performances, everything was simple, deeply truthful and, at the same time, everything was innovative.
In the fourth symphony, in Onegin, Tchaikovsky came to the full maturity of his skill. In the further evolution of Tchaikovsky's operatic creativity, the drama of operas becomes more complicated and enriched, but everywhere his inherent deep lyricism and exciting drama, the transmission of the most subtle shades of mental life, a classically clear form remain.
In 1879, Tchaikovsky finished the opera The Maid of Orleans (libretto written by the composer after Schiller's drama). A heroic page in the history of France was associated with the new opera - an episode from the Hundred Years War in Europe of the XIV-XV centuries, the feat of Jeanne d'Arc - the heroine of the French people. Despite the diversity of external effects and theatrical techniques, which clearly contradict the aesthetic views of the composer himself, the opera "The Maid of Orleans" contains many pages full of real drama and lyrically soulfulness. Some of them can be safely attributed to the best examples of Russian opera art: for example, the wonderful
John's aria "Forgive you, dear fields, forests" and the whole third picture, saturated with powerful emotional force.
Tchaikovsky reached the heights of operatic art in works on the themes of Pushkin. In 1883 he wrote the opera "Mazepa" based on the plot of Pushkin's "Poltava". The slenderness of the compositional plan of the opera, the brightness of dramatic contrasts, the versatility of images, the expressiveness of folk scenes, masterful orchestration - all this cannot but testify to the fact that after the opera "The Maid of Orleans" Tchaikovsky has stepped forward significantly and that "Mazepa" is an outstanding work that has enriched Russian art of the 80s.
In the field of symphonic creativity during these years, Tchaikovsky created three orchestral suites (1880, 1883, 1884): "Italian Capriccio" and "Serenade for String Orchestra" (1880), large program symphony "Manfred" (1884).
The ten-year period, from 1878 to 1888, which separates Eugene Onegin and Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony from the Fifth Symphony, was marked by important historical events. Let us remember that at first it was the time of the revolutionary situation (1879-81), and then the period of reaction. All this, albeit in an indirect form, was reflected in Tchaikovsky. We learn from the composer's correspondence that he, too, did not escape the oppression of reaction. “At present, even the most peaceful citizen has a hard time living in Russia,” Tchaikovsky wrote in 1882.
Political reaction failed to undermine the creative powers of the best representatives of art and literature. It is enough to list the works of L. N. Tolstoy ("The Power of Darkness"), A. P. Chekhov ("Ivanov"), M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin ("Judas Golovlev", "Poshekhonskaya Antiquity"), brilliant canvases by I. Ye. Repin ("They Didn't Expect", "Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan") and V.I.Surikov ("Morning of the Strelets' Execution", "Boyarynya Morozova"), point to "Khovanshchina" by Mussorgsky, "Snow Maiden" by Rimsky-Korsakov and "Mazepa" by Tchaikovsky to remember the great achievements of Russian art and literature of the 80s.
It was at this time that Tchaikovsky's music conquers and brings worldwide fame to its creator. Tchaikovsky's author's concerts, the conductor, are held with great success in Paris, Berlin, Prague, in cities that have been centers of European musical culture for a long time. Later, in the early 90s, Tchaikovsky's performances in America were triumphant - in New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia, where the great composer was greeted with exceptional hospitality. In England, Tchaikovsky is awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge. Tchaikovsky was elected to the largest musical societies in Europe.
In April 1888, Tchaikovsky settled near Moscow, not far from the city of Klin, in Frolovsky. But here Tchaikovsky could not feel quite calm, so
as he turned out to be an unwitting witness to the predatory destruction of the surrounding forests, and moved to Maidanovo. In 1892 he moved to Klin, where he rented a two-story house, now known throughout the world as the Tchaikovsky House-Museum.
In the life of Tchaikovsky, this time was marked by the highest achievements of creativity. During these five years, Tchaikovsky created the fifth symphony, the ballet The Sleeping Beauty, the operas The Queen of Spades, Iolanta, the ballet The Nutcracker and, finally, the brilliant sixth symphony.
The main idea of the fifth symphony is the same as the fourth - the opposition of rock and the human desire for happiness. In the fifth symphony, the composer returns to the theme of rock in each of the four movements. Tchaikovsky introduces lyrical musical landscapes into the symphony (he composed in the most picturesque environs of Klin). The outcome of the struggle, the resolution of the conflict is given in the finale, where the theme of fate develops into a solemn march, personifying the victory of man over fate.
In the summer of 1889, Tchaikovsky completed the whole ballet The Sleeping Beauty (based on the tale of the French writer Ch. Perrot). In the autumn of the same year, when the new ballet was being prepared for staging at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, the director of the imperial theaters I. A. Vsevolozhsky ordered Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades. Tchaikovsky agreed to write a new opera.
An opera was composed in Florence. Tchaikovsky arrived here on January 18, 1890, settled in a hotel. 44 days later - March 3 - the opera The Queen of Spades was completed
in the clavier. The instrumentation process proceeded very quickly, and soon after the score was finished, The Queen of Spades was accepted for staging by the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, as well as at the Kiev Opera and the Bolshoi Theater.
The Queen of Spades premiered at the Mariinsky Theater on 19 December 1890. The outstanding Russian singer N.N. Figner sang the part of Herman, his wife M.I.Figner was an inspired performer of the part of Lisa. Prominent artistic forces of that time took part in the performance: I.A.Melnikov (Tomsky), L.G. Yakovlev (Eletsky), M.A.Slavina (Countess). Conducted by E. F. Napravnik. A few days later, on December 31 of the same year, the opera was staged in Kiev with the participation of M.E. »In Moscow on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. The main roles were entrusted to a wonderful galaxy of artists: M.E. Medvedev (German), M.A.Deisha-Sionitskaya (Liza), P.A. Krutikova (Countess), conducted by IK Altani.
The first productions of the opera were distinguished by great care and were a huge success with the public. How many stories like the "little" tragedy of Herman and Lisa were there during the reign of Alexander III. And the opera made me think, sympathize with the offended, hate everything dark, ugly, which interfered with the happy life of people.
The opera The Queen of Spades was in tune with the moods of many people in Russian art of the 90s. Ideological similarity of Tchaikovsky's opera with works of fine art and literature of those years is found in the works of great Russian artists and writers.
In the story "The Queen of Spades" (1834), Pushkin created typical images. Having painted a picture of the ugly customs of secular society, the writer condemned the noble Petersburg of his time.
Long before Tchaikovsky, the plot conflict of The Queen of Spades was used in the opera of the French composer J. Halévy, in the operetta of the German composer F. Suppe and in the drama of the Russian writer D. Lobanov. None of the listed authors managed to create any original work. And only Tchaikovsky, turning to this plot, created a brilliant work.
The libretto for the opera The Queen of Spades was written by the composer's brother, playwright Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The original source was processed in accordance with the principles of creativity, the desires and instructions of the composer; he took an active part in the compilation of the libretto: he wrote poetry, demanded the introduction of new scenes, shortened the texts of operatic parts.
The libretto clearly identifies the main dramatic stages in the development of the action: Tomsky's ballad about three cards marks the beginning of the tragedy, which reaches its climax
in the fourth picture; then comes the denouement of the drama - first the death of Liza, then Herman.
In Tchaikovsky's opera, the Pushkin plot is supplemented and developed, the accusatory motives of the Pushkin story are strengthened.
From the novel The Queen of Spades, Tchaikovsky and his librettist left untouched scenes in the countess's bedroom and in the barracks. At the request of Vsevolozhsky, the opera was transferred from Petersburg in the time of Alexander I to Petersburg in the time of Catherine. The same Vsevolozhsky advised Tchaikovsky to introduce the interlude "The Shepherdess's Sincerity" (third scene). The music of the sideshow is written in the style of Mozart, the composer dearly beloved by Tchaikovsky, and the words are taken from the texts of Karabanov, a little-known and long-forgotten poet of the 18th century. To emphasize the everyday flavor more strongly, the librettist turned to the legacy of more famous poets: Tomsky's humorous song "If only lovely girls" was written to the text of G.R. century - KN Batyushkov used for Pauline's romance.
It should be noted the difference that exists between the image of Herman in Pushkin's story and in Tchaikovsky's opera. Herman Pushkin does not arouse sympathy: he is an egoist who has a certain fortune and is striving with all his might to increase it. Herman Tchaikovsky is contradictory and complex. Two passions are fighting in him: love and a thirst for wealth. The inconsistency of this image,
his inner development - from love and the gradually darkening obsession of profit to death and rebirth at the time of the death of the former Herman - provided the composer with extremely grateful material for the embodiment of Tchaikovsky's favorite theme in the opera genre - the theme of man's opposition, his dream of happiness to a fate hostile to him.
The contrasting features of the image of Hermann, who is the central figure of the entire opera, are revealed with great realistic force in the music of his two ariosos. In the poetic and soulful monologue “I don’t know her name”, Herman appears to be seized with ardent love. In the arioso "What is our life" (in a gambling house), the composer brilliantly conveyed the moral fall of his hero.
The librettist and composer also revisited the image of Liza, the heroine of The Queen of Spades. In Pushkin's work, Liza is represented as a poor pupil and an old countess, who was downtrodden by a living room. In the opera, Lisa (here she is the granddaughter of a wealthy countess) is actively fighting for her happiness. According to the original version, the performance ended with the reconciliation of Liza and Yeletsky. The falsity of such a situation was obvious, and the composer created the famous scene at Kanavka, where the artistically completed true end of the tragedy of Liza, who commits suicide, is given.
The musical image of Liza contains features of warm lyricism and sincerity with tragic doominess typical of Tchaikovsky. At the same time, the complex inner world of the heroine Tchaikovsky expresses
without the slightest pretense, maintaining full natural vitality. Liza's arioso "Ah, I was tired of grief" is widely known. The exceptional popularity of this dramatic episode is explained by the fact that the composer managed to put into it all his understanding of the great tragedy of a Russian woman who lonely mourns her fate.
Some of the characters that are absent in Pushkin's story are boldly introduced into Tchaikovsky's opera: they are Liza's fiancé and Herman's rival, Prince Yeletsky. The new character escalates the conflict; in the opera, two contrasting images emerge, brilliantly captured in Tchaikovsky's music. Let us recall Herman's arioso "Forgive me, heavenly creature" and Yeletsky's arioso "I love you." Both heroes turn to Lisa, but how different their experiences are: Herman is embraced by a fiery passion; in the guise of the prince, in the music of his arioso - beauty, self-confidence, as if he was talking not about love, but about calm affection.
The operatic characterization of the old countess, the alleged owner of the secret of three cards, is very close to Pushkin's primary source. Tchaikovsky's music depicts this character as an image of death. Minor characters like Chekalinsky or Surin underwent minor changes.
The dramatic concept determined the system of leitmotifs. The most widely deployed in the opera are the leitmotif of Herman's fate (the theme of the three cards) and the deeply emotional theme of love between Lisa and Herman.
In the opera The Queen of Spades, Tchaikovsky brilliantly combined the melodic richness of vocal parts with the development of musical material. The Queen of Spades is the highest achievement of Tchaikovsky's operatic creativity and one of the greatest peaks in the world opera classics.
Following the tragic opera The Queen of Spades, Tchaikovsky creates a work of optimistic content. It was Iolanta (1891), Tchaikovsky's last opera. According to Tchaikovsky, the one-act opera “Iolanta” should be performed in one performance with the ballet “The Nutcracker”. With the creation of this ballet, the composer completes the reform of musical choreography.
Tchaikovsky's last work was his Sixth Symphony, performed on October 28, 1893 - a few days before the composer's death. Tchaikovsky himself conducted. On November 3, Tchaikovsky fell seriously ill and died on November 6.
Russian musical classics of the second half of the 19th century gave the world many famous names, but Tchaikovsky's brilliant music distinguishes him even among the greatest artists of this era.
Tchaikovsky's career runs through a difficult historical period of the 60s-90s. In a relatively short period of creativity (twenty-eight years), Tchaikovsky wrote ten operas, three ballets, seven symphonies and many works in other genres.
Tchaikovsky amazes with his versatile talent. It is not enough to say that he is an opera composer, creator of ballets, symphonies, romances; he achieved recognition and fame in the field of instrumental music, created concerts, chamber ensembles, piano works. And in any of these arts, he performed with equal strength.
Tchaikovsky became widely known during his lifetime. He had an enviable destiny: his works always found a response in the hearts of listeners. But he really became a folk composer in our time. Remarkable achievements of science and technology - sound recording, radio, film and television made his work available in the most remote corners of our country. The great Russian composer has become a favorite composer of all the peoples of our country.
The musical culture of millions of people is brought up on the creative heritage of Tchaikovsky.
His music lives on among the people, and this is immortality.
O. Melikyan
PEAK LADY
Opera in 3 acts
PLOT
Borrowed from the story
A. S. PUSHKINA
Libretto
M. TCHAIKOVSKY
Music
P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY
CHARACTERS
Count Tomsky (Zlatogor) | |
Prince Yeletsky | |
Chekalinsky | |
Chaplitsky | |
Steward | |
mezzo-soprano |
|
Polina (Milovzor) | contralto |
Governess | mezzo-soprano |
Boy Commander | non-singing |
Characters in sideshow |
|
Milovzor (Polina) | contralto |
Zlatogor (Tomsk county) | |
Nurses, governesses, nurses, walking
guests, children, players, etc.
The action takes place in St. Petersburg
at the end of the 18th century.
INTRODUCTION.
ACTION ONE
PICTURE ONE
Spring. Summer garden. Playground. Nurses, governesses and wet nurses are sitting on benches and pacing about the garden. Children play with torches, others jump over ropes, throw balls.
Burn, burn clearly
So that it does not go out
One two Three!
(Laughter, exclamations, running around.)
Have fun, cute kids!
Rarely the sun, dear ones,
Pleasing with joy!
If, darlings, you are on the loose
You are playing games, pranks,
Little by little your nannies
Then you bring peace.
Warm up, run, dear children,
And have fun in the sun!
Nurses
Byu, byu bye!
Sleep, darling, sleep!
Don't open your clear eyes!
(Drumming and trumpets are heard.)
Here are our soldiers - soldiers.
How slim! Step aside! Places! One, two, one two ...
(Boys in toy weapons enter; commander boy in front.)
Boys (marching)
One, two, one, two
Left, right, left, right!
Friendly, brothers!
Don't get lost!
Boy Commander
Right shoulder forward! One, two, stop!
(The boys stop)
Listen!
Musket in front of you! Take the muzzle! Musket to the leg!
(The boys execute the command.)
Boys
We are all gathered here
For fear of the enemies of Russia.
Evil foe, beware!
And run with a villainous thought, or submit!
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
To save the fatherland
It fell to us.
We will fight
And enemies in captivity
Take away without an account!
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
Long live the wife
Wise queen,
She is our mother to all,
Empress of these countries
And pride and beauty!
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
Boy Commander
Well done boys!
Boys
We are glad to try, your honor!
Boy Commander
Listen!
Musket in front of you! Right! On guard! March!
(The boys leave, drumming and trumpeting.)
Nanny, wet nurse, governess
Well, well done, our soldiers!
And indeed they will unleash fear on the enemy.
(Other children follow the boys. The nannies and governesses disperse, making way for other walking people. Chekalinsky and Surin enter.)
Chekalinsky
How did the game end yesterday?
Of course, I blown myself terribly!
I'm out of luck ...
Chekalinsky
Did you play again until morning?
I'm terribly tired
Damn it, just win once!
Chekalinsky
Was Herman there?
Was. And as always
From eight to eight in the morning
Chained to the gambling table
sat,
And silently blew the wine
Chekalinsky
But only?
Yes, I looked at the game of others.
Chekalinsky
What a strange man he is!
As if in his heart
At least three atrocities.
Chekalinsky
I heard that he is very poor ...
Yes, not rich. Here it is, look:
As the demon of hell is gloomy ... pale ...
(Herman enters, thoughtful and gloomy; Count Tomsky is with him.)
Tell me, Herman, what's wrong with you?
With me? Nothing...
You are sick?
No, I'm healthy!
You have become some other ...
I'm dissatisfied with something ...
It used to be: restrained, thrifty,
You were cheerful, at least;
Now you are gloomy, silent
And, - I can't believe my ears:
You, a new passion of grief,
As they say, right up until the morning
Do you spend your nights playing?
Yes! To the goal with a firm foot
I cannot go as before.
I myself do not know what is wrong with me.
I'm lost, resenting weakness
But I can't control myself anymore ...
I love! I love!
How! Are you in love? In whom?
I don't know her name
And I can't find out
Not wishing to have an earthly name,
To name it ...
Comparisons sorting out everything,
I don't know with whom to compare ...
My love, the bliss of paradise,
I would like to keep it for a century!
But a jealous thought that someone else should have it
When I dare not kiss her footprint,
It torments me; and earthly passion
I want to calm down in vain
And then I want to hug everything,
And I still want to hug my saint then ...
I don't know her name
And I don’t want to know ...
And if so, get down to business!
We will find out who she is, and there -
And make an offer boldly
And - business from hand to hand!
Oh no! Alas, she is noble
And it cannot belong to me!
That's what makes me sick and gnawed!
Let's find another ... Not one in the world ...
You do not know me!
No, I can't stop loving her!
Ah, Tomsky, you don’t understand!
I could only live in peace
While passions were dormant in me ...
Then I could control myself.
Now that the soul is dominated by one dream,
Goodbye Peace! Poisoned like drunk
I'm sick, sick ... I'm in love.
Is it you, Herman?
I confess I wouldn't believe anyone
That you are able to love so much!
(German and Tomsky pass by. Walkers fill the stage.)
Chorus of walking
Finally, God sent a sunny day!
We will not wait long for such a day again.
For many years we have not seen such days | Simultaneously |
|
What a joy! What happiness! | ||
Young people Sun, sky, air, nightingale chant |
Are you sure she doesn't notice you?
I bet I'm in love and misses you ...
When I had lost my gratifying doubt,
How could my soul bear the torment?
You see: I live, I suffer, but in a terrible moment,
When I find out that I was not destined to take possession of her,
Then there will be one thing ...
Die! (Prince Yeletsky enters. Chekalinsky and Surin walk towards him.)
Chekalinsky (to the prince)
We can congratulate you.
They say you are the groom?
Yes, gentlemen, I am getting married; light angel gave consent
Combine your fate with mine forever! ..
Chekalinsky
Well, good hour!
I am glad with all my heart. Be happy, prince!
Yeletsky, congratulations!
Thank you friends!
Prince(with feeling)
Happy day, | Simultaneously |
|
Unhappy day |
Tomsk(to the prince)
Tell me who will you marry?
Prince, who is your bride?
(The Countess enters with Lisa.)
Prince(pointing at Lisa)
She? She is his bride! Oh my God!...
Lisa and the Countess
He's here again!
So that's who your nameless beauty is!
I'm scared! | Simultaneously |
|
I'm scared! |
What does he want by chasing me? | Simultaneously |
|
I'm scared! I'm scared! | ||
I'm scared! My God, how confused she is! I'm scared! | ||
Who was he talking about? |
I'm scared.
(Count Tomsky approaches the Countess. The Prince approaches Liza. The Countess looks intently at Herman)
Countess,
Let me congratulate you ...
Tell me who is this officer?
Which the? This? Herman, my friend.
Where did he come from? How terrible he is!
(Tomsky escorts her to the depths of the stage.)
Prince (giving his hand to Lisa)
Heaven's enchanting beauty
Spring, light rustle of marshmallows,
The fun of the crowd, hello friends, -
They promise many years to come
We are happy!
Rejoice, buddy!
Have you forgotten that behind a quiet day
There is a thunderstorm. What is the creator
Gave happiness tears, bucket - thunder!
(Distant thunder. Herman sits down on the bench in gloomy thought.)
What a witch this countess is!
Chekalinsky
Scarecrow!
No wonder she was nicknamed "The Queen of Spades."
Can't comprehend why she doesn't understand?
How? An old woman?
Chekalinsky
The octogenarian hag!
So you don't know anything about her?
No, really, nothing.
Chekalinsky
Oh, so listen!
The Countess had a reputation for beauty in Paris many years ago.
All the young people were crazy about her,
Calling "Venus of Moscow".
Count Saint-Germain - among others, then still handsome,
Captivated by her. But unsuccessfully he sighed for the countess:
All night long the beauty played and, alas,
Pharaoh preferred love.
Once at Versailles "au jeu de la Reine" Vénus moscovite was played to the ground.
Among those invited was the Count Saint-Germain;
Watching the game, he heard her
Whispering in the midst of excitement: “Oh, my God! Oh my God!
Oh my god, I could play it all
When would it be enough to put it again
Count, having chosen the right moment when
Stealthily leaving the full hall of guests,
The beauty sat alone in silence,
In love, over her ear, he whispered words sweeter than the sounds of Mozart:
"Countess, countess, countess, for the price of one," rendezvous "want,
Perhaps I will tell you three cards, three cards, three cards?
The Countess flared: "How dare you!"
But the count was not a coward ... And when a day later
The beauty has appeared again, alas,
Penniless "au jeus de la Reine"
She already knew three cards.
Boldly placing them one after another,
She returned her ... but at what cost!
Oh cards, oh cards, oh cards!
Since she told her husband those cards,
Another time, the young handsome man recognized them.
But on the same night, only one was left,
A ghost appeared to her and said menacingly:
"You will receive the killing blow
Three cards, three cards, three cards! "
Chekalinsky
Se nonè vero, è ben trovato.
(Thunder is heard, a thunderstorm is coming.)
It's funny! But the countess can sleep peacefully:
It is difficult for her to find an ardent lover.
Chekalinsky
Listen, Herman, here's a great case for you,
To play with no money. Think about it!
(Everyone laughs.)
Chekalinsky, Surin
“From the third, who passionately, passionately loving,
Will come to learn by force from you
Three cards, three cards, three cards! "
(They leave. A strong thunderclap. A thunderstorm is played out. Walkers hurry in equal directions. Exclamations, shouts.)
Chorus of walking
How quickly did the thunderstorm come ... Who could have expected? ..
What passions ... Blow after blow louder, more terrible!
Run quickly! Hurry to get to the gate!
(All scatter. The thunderstorm intensifies.)
(From a distance.)
Ah, hurry home!
Run here quickly!
(Heavy thunderclap.)
Hermann (thoughtfully)
"You will receive the killing blow
From the third, who passionately, passionately loving,
Will come to learn by force from you
Three cards, three cards, three cards! "
Oh, what is in them to me, even if I possessed them!
Everything has died now ... I am the only one left. The storm is not terrible for me!
In myself, all passions woke up with such a murderous force,
That this thunder is nothing in comparison! No, prince!
As long as I live, I will not give it to you.
I don’t know how, but I’ll take it away!
Thunder, lightning, wind, with you I solemnly give
I swear: it will be mine, or I will die!
(Runs away.)
PICTURE SECOND
Lisa's room. Door to balcony overlooking the garden. Lisa at the harpsichord. Polina is beside her. Girlfriends.
Lisa and Polina
It's already evening ... the edges of the clouds have faded,
The last ray of dawn on the towers dies;
The last shining stream in the river
With an extinct sky fades away.
Everything is quiet: the groves are asleep; peace reigns around;
Stretched out on the grass under a bent willow,
I listen to how it murmurs, merging with the river,
Stream shaded by bushes.
How the aroma is merged with the coolness of plants!
How sweet is the splashing in the silence by the shore of the jets!
Like marshmallow blowing quietly over the waters,
And the flexible willow flutter!
Choir of girlfriends
Fascinating! Charming!
Wonderful! Delightful! Ah, wonderful, good!
More, mesdames, more, more.
Sing, Fields, we are alone.
One?
But what to sing?
Choir of girlfriends
Please what do you know.
Ma chère, dove, sing us something.
I will sing my favorite romance ...
(Sits down at the harpsichord, plays and sings with deep feeling.)
Wait ... How is it? Yes, I remembered!
Lovely friends, playful in carelessness,
You frolic in the meadows to the song of the dance!
And I, like you, lived happy in Arcadia,
And I, in the morning of days, in these groves and fields
I tasted a minute of joy:
Love in golden dreams promised me happiness,
But what did I get in these joyful places?
The grave!
(Everyone is touched and excited.)
Have I decided to sing such a tearful song?
Well, why? And without that you are sad, Liza,
On such and such a day! Think, you are engaged, ay, ay, ay!
(To her friends.)
Well, why are you all hanging up? Let's merry,
Yes, Russian in honor of the bride and groom!
Well, I'll start, and you sing along with me!
Choir of girlfriends
And really, let's have a fun, Russian!
(The friends clap their hands. Liza, not taking part in the fun, stands pensively by the balcony.)
Pauline (girlfriends sing along with her)
Come on, little light Mashenka,
You sweat, dance
Ay, lyuli, lyuli,
You sweat, dance.
Its white little hands
Pick it up under your sides.
Ay, li-li, li-li,
Pick it up under your sides.
Your little legs
Don't be sorry, please.
Ay, lyuli, lyuli,
Don't be sorry, please.
(Polina and some of her friends start dancing.)
If mamma asks: "merry!"
Ay, li-li, li-li, "merry!" speak.
And to the answer tatienka:
Like, "I drank until dawn!"
Ay, li-li, li-li, li-li,
Like, "I drank until dawn!"
Korit will be a fine fellow:
"Go away, go away!"
Ay, li-li, li-li,
"Go away, go away!"
(The Countess's governess enters.)
Governess
Mesdemoiselles, what is your noise here? The Countess is angry ...
Ah ah ah! Don't you be ashamed to dance in Russian!
Fi, quel genre, mesdames!
The young ladies of your circle need to know decency!
You should have to instill in each other the rules of light.
You can only get mad in girls, not here, mes mignonnes.
Can't you have fun without forgetting the bonton? ...
It's time to disperse ...
They sent you to call me to say goodbye ...
(The young ladies disperse.)
Pauline (going up to Lisa)
Lise, why are you so boring?
I am boring? Not at all! Look what a night it is!
As after a terrible storm, everything was suddenly renewed.
Look, I will complain about you to the prince.
I'll tell him that on the day of your engagement you were sad ...
No, for God's sake, don't tell me!
Then if you please smile now ...
Like this! Goodbye now. (They kiss.)
I will take you ...
(They leave. The maid comes and puts out the fire, leaving one candle behind. Lisa comes back to the balcony to close it.)
Don't shut up. Leave.
Wouldn't catch a cold, young lady.
No, Masha, the night is so warm, so good!
Would you like to help to undress?
No I myself. Go to sleep.
It's too late, young lady ...
Leave me, go ...
(Masha leaves. Liza stands in deep thought, then cries softly.)
Where do these tears come from, why are they?
My girlish dreams, you cheated on me!
Here's how you came true in reality! ..
I have given my life now to the prince - the chosen one according to my heart,
I am, mind, beauty, nobility, wealth,
A worthy friend is not like me.
Who is noble, who is handsome, who is stately like him?
Nobody! And what?...
I am full of longing and fear, trembling and crying.
Why are these tears, why are they?
My girlish dreams, you cheated on me ...
Both hard and scary! But why deceive yourself?
I am here alone, everything is quietly sleeping around ...
Oh listen, night!
You alone can believe the secret of my soul.
She is gloomy, like you, she is like a sad gaze,
Peace and happiness from those who took away from me ...
Queen of the night!
How beautiful you are, like a fallen angel, he is beautiful.
There is a fire of burning passion in his eyes,
Like a wonderful dream, beckons me.
And my whole soul is in the power of him.
Oh night!
(Herman appears at the door of the balcony. Lisa retreats in horror. They silently look at each other. Lisa makes a movement to leave.)
Stop, I beg you!
Why are you here, mad man?
What do you want?
Say goodbye!
(Lisa wants to leave.)
Don't go away! Stay! I'll leave myself now
And I will not return here again ... One minute!
What does it cost you? A dying man calls out to you.
Why, why are you here? Go away!
I will scream.
Shout! (Taking out the gun) Call everyone!
I will die anyway, alone or in front of others.
(Lisa lowers her head.)
But if there is, beauty, there is even a spark of compassion in you,
Wait, don't go! ..
After all, this is my last, death hour!
I learned my sentence today.
To another you, cruel, entrust your heart!
(Passionately and expressively.)
Let me die, blessing you, not cursing,
Can I live a day when you are a stranger to me!
I lived by you;
Only one feeling and a stubborn thought alone possessed me.
I will die, but before I say goodbye to life,
Give me just one moment to be alone with you,
Amid the wonderful silence of the night, let me drink in your beauty.
Then let death and with it - peace!
(Lisa stands looking sadly at Herman.)
Stay like this! Oh, how good you are!
Go away! Go away!
Gorgeous! Goddess! Angel!
(Herman kneels down.)
Forgive me, heavenly creature, that I disturbed your peace.
Sorry! but do not reject passionate confession,
Do not reject longingly.
Oh, have pity, I, dying,
I bring you my prayer:
Look from the heights of heavenly paradise
To a mortal fight
A soul tormented by the torment of love for you,
Oh have pity and my spirit with caress, regret,
Warm me with your tear!
(Lisa is crying.)
You are crying! What do these tears mean
Do you not persecute and regret?
(Takes her hand, which she does not take away)
Thank you! Gorgeous! Goddess! Angel!
(He falls on Lisa's hand and kisses her. The noise of steps and a knock on the door.)
Countess (Behind the door)
Liza, open it!
Lisa (confused)
Countess! Good God! I am lost!
Run! .. It's too late! .. Here! ..
(The knocking intensifies. Lisa points to the curtain to Herman. Then she goes to the door and opens it. The Countess enters in a dressing gown, surrounded by maids with candles.)
What are you awake? Why are you dressed? What is this noise? ..
Lisa (confused)
I, grandmother, walked around the room ... I can't sleep ...
Countess (with a gesture orders to close the balcony)
Why is the balcony open? What kind of fantasies are these? ..
Look you! Don't be silly! Go to bed now (knocks with a stick)
Do you hear? ...
I, grandmother, now!
Can't sleep! .. Have you ever heard of it! Well, the times!
Can't sleep! ... Go to bed now!
I obey. Sorry.
Countess (leaving)
And then I hear the noise; you're disturbing your grandmother! Come on ...
And don’t you dare start foolishness here!
“Who, passionately loving,
Will come to probably learn from you
Three cards, three cards, three cards! "
A grave cold blew around!
Oh, terrible ghost! Death, I don't want you! ..
(Liza, having closed the door behind the Countess, goes to the balcony, opens it and orders Herman to leave with a gesture.)
Oh, spare me!
Death a few minutes ago
It seemed to me a salvation, almost happiness!
Now that's not it! She's scary to me!
You revealed to me the dawn of happiness,
I want to live and die with you.
Mad man, what do you want from me,
What can I do?
To decide my destiny.
Have pity! You are ruining me!
Go away! I ask you, I command you!
So, then, you pronounce the death sentence!
Oh my god ... I'm getting weak ... Go away, please!
Say then: die!
Good God!
(Herman wants to leave.)
No! Live!
(Hugs Liza impulsively; she puts her head on his shoulder.)
Gorgeous! Goddess! Angel!
Love you!
ACT TWO
PICTURE THREE
Masquerade ball in the house of a wealthy capital nobleman. Large hall. Lodges are arranged on the sides, between the columns. Guests are dancing contrasted. Singers sing in the choirs.
Chorus of singers
Happy! fun!
Get ready for this day, friends!
Give up your lack of time
Download, dance boldly!
Clap your hands with your hands
Click your fingers loudly!
Move your black eyes
You keep saying everything!
Fart your hands on your hips,
Do light hops,
Chobot knock on chobot,
With the onset of a bold whistle!
The owner with his wife
Welcomes kind guests!
(Steward enters.)
Steward
The owner asks dear guests
Welcome to gaze at the glitter of the entertainment lights.
(All guests head to the garden terrace.)
Chekalinsky
Our Herman hung up again.
I assure you that he is in love;
He was gloomy, then he became cheerful.
No gentlemen, he's infatuated
What do you think?
Hope to learn three cards.
Chekalinsky
What a weirdo!
I don’t believe, you have to be an ignoramus for this!
He's not a fool!
He told me himself.
Chekalinsky (To Surin)
Come on, let's go tease him!
(Pass.)
But, however, he is one of those
Who, once conceived,
I must do it all!
Poor fellow!
(The hall is empty. Servants enter to prepare the middle of the stage for an interlude. Prince and Liza pass.)
You are so sad darling
As if you have sorrow ...
Trust me.
No, after, prince.
Another time ... I beg you!
(He wants to leave.)
Wait ... just for a moment!
I must, I must tell you!
I love you, I love you immensely,
I can't imagine living a day without you,
I am a feat of unparalleled strength,
I'm ready to do it for you now,
But know: freedom of your heart
I don't want to embarrass anything,
Ready to hide to please you
And to calm the ardor of jealous feelings.
I'm ready for everything, for everything for you!
Not only a loving spouse -
Servant is helpful sometimes,
I wish I was your friend
And always a comforter.
But I can clearly see, now I feel
Where did I lead myself in my dreams.
How little you trust me
How alien I am to you and how far away!
Ah, I am tormented by this distance.
I have compassion for you with all my soul,
I grieve your sorrow
And I cry with your tear
Ah, I am tormented by this distance,
I have compassion for you with all my heart!
I love you, I love you immensely ...
Oh honey, trust me!
(They leave.)
(Herman enters without a mask, holding a note in his hands.)
Hermann (is reading)
After the show, wait for me in the hall. I must see you ...
I would rather see her and give up this thought (sits down).
Three cards to know - and I'm rich!
And I can run with her
Away from people.
Damn it! This thought will drive me crazy!
(Several guests return to the hall; among them Chekalinsky and Surin. They point at Herman, sneak up and, bending over him, whisper.)
Chekalinsky, Surin
Are you not the third one
Who is passionately loving,
Will come to learn from her
Three cards, three cards, three cards ...
(They are hiding. Herman gets up in fright, as if not realizing what is happening. When he looks around, Chekalinsky and Surin have already disappeared into the crowd of young people.)
Chekalinsky, Surin, several people from the choir
Three cards, three cards, three cards!
(They laugh. They mingle with the crowd of guests).
What's this? Delirium or mockery?
No! What if...
(Covers his face with his hands.)
I'm a madman, I'm a madman!
(Thinks.)
Steward
The owner asks dear guests to listen to the pastoral
Under the title: "Sincerity of the Shepherdess!"
(The guests sit down in the prepared seats.)
Choir of shepherds and shepherdesses
(During Prilep's choir, she alone does not take part in the dances and weaves a wreath in sad reverie.)
Under the shadow of the thick,
Near a quiet stream
We came this day in a crowd
Treat yourself, sing, have fun
And round dances are news
Enjoy nature,
Floral wreaths weave ...
(The shepherds and shepherdesses dance, then retreat to the back of the stage.)
My dear friend
Dear shepherd boy,
For whom I sigh
And I wish to open the passion,
Ah, I didn't come to dance,
Ah, I didn’t come to dance!
(Milovzor enters.)
Milovzor
I am here, but boring, languid,
Look how I lost weight!
I will not be humble anymore
I hid my passion for a long time ...
Zlatogor
How sweet you are, beautiful!
Say: of us who -
Me or him -
Do you agree to love forever?
Milovzor
I agreed with my heart
I bowed down to love
Whom does it command
To whom it burns.
I don't need any fiefdoms,
No rare stones
I'm with a sweetheart among the fields
And glad to live in the hut! (To Milovzor.)
Well, sir, good luck,
And you be calm!
Here in solitude
Hurry to the reward
Such beautiful words
Bring me a bunch of flowers!
Prilepa and Milovzor
The end of the torment has come
Love admiration
The hour will come soon
Love! Conjugate us.
Choir of shepherds and shepherdesses
The end of torment has come -
The bride and groom are admirable
Love! Conjugate them!
(Cupid and Hymen, with their retinue, enter to marry the young lovers. Prilepa and Milovzor dance hand in hand. Shepherds and shepherdesses imitate them, make round dances, and then all leave in pairs. on the ground. Herman approaches the stage.)
Hermann (thoughtfully)
"Who is passionately and passionately loving" ... -
Well, don't I love?
Of course yes!
(Turns around and sees the Countess in front of him. Both shudder, look intently at each other.)
Surin (masked)
Look, your mistress!
(He laughs and hides.)
(Lisa enters, wearing a mask.)
Listen, Herman!
You! Finally!
How happy I am that you came!
Love you!
No place here ...
That's not why I called you.
Listen: - here is the key to the secret door in the garden:
There is a staircase. You will use it to enter your grandmother's bedroom ...
How? To her bedroom? ...
She won't be there ...
In the bedroom near the portrait
There is a door to me. I'll be waiting.
You, you, I want to belong alone.
We need to decide everything!
Until tomorrow, my dear, welcome!
No, not tomorrow, I'll be there today!
Lisa (scared)
But honey ...
Let it be!
After all, I am your slave!
Sorry...
(Hides.)
Now not me
Fate itself wants it so
And I will know three cards!
(Runs away.)
Steward (excitedly)
Her Majesty will now please ...
Choir of guests
(There is a lot of animation in the choir. The steward divides the crowd so that in the middle there is a passage for the queen. Among the guests participate in the choir and those who made up the choir in the sideshow.)
(Everyone turns towards the middle door. The steward signals to the chorister to begin.)
Choir of guests and singers
Glory to this, Catherine,
Glory to our tender mother!
(The men take a low court bow. The ladies crouch deeply. Pages appear.)
Vivat! vivat!
PICTURE FOUR
The Countess's bedroom, illuminated by lamps. Herman enters through a secret door. He looks around the room.
Everything is just as she told me ...
What? Am I afraid or what?
No! So decided:
I will find out the secret from the old woman!
(Thinks.)
And if there is no secret,
And this is all just empty delirium
Of my sick soul?
(Goes to Lisa's door. Stops at the countess's portrait. Strikes midnight.)
And, here it is, "Venus of Moscow"!
By some secret power
I am connected with her, with rock.
I’m from you
Is it for you from me
But I feel that one of us
Die by another.
I look at you and I hate you
And I can’t see enough!
I would like to run away
But there is no strength ...
The inquisitive gaze cannot tear away
From a terrible and wonderful face!
No, we can't go our separate ways
Without a fatal meeting.
Steps! They're coming here! Yes!
Ah, come what may!
(Hides behind the curtain of the boudoir. The maid rushes in and hastily lights the candles. Other maids and courtesans come running after her. The Countess enters, surrounded by bustling maids and courtesans.)
Choir of hostesses and maids
Our benefactress,
How did you go for a walk?
Light is our lady
He wants to rest, right?
Tired of tea? So what:
Who was better there?
Were maybe younger
But not a single one is more beautiful!
(They escorted the Countess to the boudoir. Liza enters, followed by Masha.)
No, Masha, follow me!
What's the matter with you, young lady, you are pale!
There is nothing...
Masha (guessing)
Oh my god! Really? ...
Yes, he will come ...
Shut up! He can be,
Already waiting there ...
Watch out for us, Masha, be my friend.
Oh, no matter how we got it!
He said so. By my spouse
I chose him. And an obedient, faithful slave
Became the one who was sent to me by fate.
(They leave. The innkeepers and maids bring the Countess in. She is in a dressing gown and a nightcap. She is put to bed.)
Maids and hangers
Benefactor, light is our lady,
Tired, tea. He really wants to rest!
Benefactor, beauty! Go to bed.
Tomorrow you will be more beautiful than the morning dawn again!
Benefactor, go to bed, rest!
Completely lie to you! Tired! ..
I'm tired ... no urine ...
I don't want to sleep in bed!
(She is seated in a chair and covered with pillows.)
Ah, this light hated me.
Well, the times! They really don't know how to have fun.
What manners! What a tone!
And I wouldn't look ...
They don't know how to dance or sing!
Who are the dancers? Who sings? girls!
And it happened: who danced? Who was singing?
Le duc d'Orléans, le duc d'Ayen, duc de Coigny ..
La comtesse d'Estrades, la duchesse de Brancas ...
What names! and even, sometimes, the Marquis Pampadour herself!
I sang with them ... Le duc de la Vallière
Praised me. Once, I remember, in Chantylly, y Prince de Condé
The King heard me! I can see everything now ...
Je crains de lui parler la nuit,
J'ecoute trop tout ce qu'il dit;
Il me dit: je vous aime, et je sens malgré moi,
Je sens mon coeur qui bat, qui bat ...
Ja ne sais pas pourquoi ...
(As if waking up, looks around)
What are you standing here for? Go there!
(The maids and the housewives disperse. The Countess falls asleep, singing the same song. Herman comes out from behind the hiding place and stands in front of the Countess. She wakes up and silently moves her lips in horror.)
Do not be alarmed! For God's sake, don't be alarmed!
For God's sake, don't be alarmed!
I will not harm you!
I have come to beg you for mercy alone!
(The Countess looks at him silently as before.)
You can make up the happiness of a lifetime!
And it won't cost you anything!
You know three cards.
(The Countess stands up.)
For whom do you keep your secret.
(Herman kneels down.)
If ever you knew the feeling of love,
If you remember the ardor and rapture of young blood,
If at least once you smiled at the caress of a child,
If your heart ever beats in your chest,
Then I beg you, with the feeling of a spouse, mistress, mother, -
All that is sacred to you in life. Tell me, tell me
Tell me your secret! What is it to you?
Maybe she is associated with a terrible sin,
With the evil of bliss, with a devilish condition?
Think you're old, you won't live long,
And I am ready to take on your sin!
Open up to me! Tell!
(The Countess, straightening up, looks menacingly at Herman.)
Old witch! So I'll make you answer!
(Takes out a pistol. The Countess nods her head, raises her hands to shield herself from the shot and falls dead. Herman goes to the corpse, takes his hand.)
Fully childish! Would you like to assign me three cards?
Yes or no?...
She is dead! Come true! And I didn’t know the secret!
Dead! And I didn’t know the secret ... Dead! Dead!
(Lisa enters.)
What is the noise here?
(Seeing Herman.)
Are you, are you here?
Shut up! .. Shut up! .. She's dead,
But I did not find out the secret! ..
How dead? What are you talking about?
Hermann (pointing to the corpse)
Come true! She is dead, and I have not learned the secret!
(Lisa rushes to the countess's corpse.)
Yes! Died! Oh my God! And did you do it?
I didn't want her death ...
I only wanted to know three cards!
So that's why you're here! Not for me!
You wanted to know three cards!
You didn't want me, but the cards!
Oh my god, my god!
And I loved him, because of him I died!
Monster! Killer! Monster.
(Herman wants to speak, but she gestures imperatively to a hidden door.)
Assassin, Fiend! Away! Away! The villain! Away! Away!
She is dead!
(Herman runs away. Liza, with sobs, sinks onto the countess's corpse.)
ACTION THREE
PICTURE FIVE
Barracks. Herman's room. Late evening. Moonlight alternately illuminates the room through the window, then disappears. Howling of the wind. Herman is sitting at the table by the candle. He reads the letter.
Hermann (is reading)
I do not believe that you would want the Countess to die ... I was exhausted by the consciousness of my guilt in front of you. Calm me down. Today I am waiting for you on the embankment, when no one can see us there. If you don’t come before midnight, I’ll have to admit a terrible thought, which I’m driving away from myself. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I suffer so much! ..
Poor thing! Into what abyss I have lured her with me!
Ah, if only I could forget and fall asleep.
(He sinks into an armchair deep in thought and seems to be asleep. Then he gets up in fright.)
What's this? singing or howl of the wind? I can't make out ... (Sits down on a chair, covering her face with her hands.) | Simultaneously |
|
Chorus of singers behind the stage I pray to the Lord that he heed my sorrow, |
(A knock on the window. Herman lifts his head and listens. The howl of the wind. Someone looks out of the window and disappears. Another knock on the window. A gust of wind opens it and a shadow appears from there again. The candle goes out.)
Hermann (horrified)
I'm scared! Fearfully! There ... there are steps ...
They open the door ... No, no, I can't stand it!
(He runs to the door, but there he is stopped by the ghost of the Countess. Herman retreats. The ghost is approaching.)
Ghost of the countess
I came to you against your will, but I have been ordered to fulfill your request. Save Lisa, marry her, and three cards, three cards, three cards will win in a row. Remember: three, seven, ace!
(Disappears.)
Hermann (repeats with an air of madness)
Three, seven, ace!
PICTURE SIX
Night. Winter Groove. In the back of the stage - the embankment and the Peter and Paul Fortress, illuminated by the moon. Liza is standing under the arch, in a dark corner, all in black.
Already midnight is approaching, but Herman is still not there, still not ...
I know he will come and dispel suspicion.
He is a victim of chance and crime
Can't, can't do it!
Ah, I am exhausted, I am exhausted! ..
Ah, I was tired of grief ...
Whether at night during the day - only about him
I tormented myself with a thought,
Where are you old joy?
Ah, I'm tired, I'm tired!
Life promised me only joy,
The cloud has found, the thunder has brought,
Everything that I have loved in the world
Happiness, hope broke!
Ah, I'm tired, I'm tired! ..
Whether at night or during the day - only about him.
Ah, I tortured myself with thought,
Where are you, experienced joy?
A cloud came and brought a thunderstorm,
Happiness, hope broke!
I'm tired! I'm worn out!
Longing gnaws and gnaws at me.
And if the clock strikes me in response,
That he is a murderer, a seducer?
Oh, scary, scary to me!
(The striking of the clock on the fortress tower.)
Oh time! wait, he'll be here now ... (with despair)
Oh honey, come, have pity, have pity on me,
My husband, my lord!
So it's true! With the villain
I tied my destiny!
Murderer, monster forever
My soul belongs! ..
By his criminal hand
And my life and honor are taken,
By the will of heaven, I am fatal
Cursed with the killer. (He wants to run, but Herman enters.)
You are here, you are here!
You are not a villain! Are you here.
The end of the torment has come
And again I became yours!
Away with tears, anguish and doubt!
You are mine again and I am yours! (Falls into his arms.)
Hermann (kisses her)
Yes, here I am, my dear!
Oh yes, the suffering is gone
I am with you again, my friend!
I am with you again, my friend!
The bliss of a rendezvous has arrived.
The bliss of a rendezvous has arrived.
The end of our agony.
The end of our agony.
Oh, yes, the suffering is over, I'm with you again! ..
Those were heavy dreams
Dream deception is empty!
Dream deception is empty!
Forgotten groans and tears!
Forgotten groans and tears!
But honey, we must not hesitate,
The clock is running ... Are you ready? Let's run!
Where to run? With you to the end of the world!
Where to run? Where to? To the gambling house!
Oh my God, what's wrong with you, Herman?
There heaps of gold lie to me too,
They belong to me alone!
Oh woe! Herman, what are you saying? Come to your senses!
Oh, I forgot, because you don't know yet!
Three cards, remember what else I wanted to find out
At the old witch!
Oh god, he's insane!
Stubborn, she didn't want to tell me.
After all, today I had it -
And she told me three cards herself.
So you killed her?
Oh no, why? I just raised my gun
And the old witch suddenly fell!
(He laughs.)
So it's true with a villain | Simultaneously |
|
Yes, yes, it's true, I know three cards! |
But no, it can't be! Come to your senses, Herman!
Hermann (ecstatic)
Yes! I am the third one who is passionately loving,
I came to learn from you by force
About three, seven, ace!
Whoever you are, I'm still yours!
Run, come with me, save you!
Yes! I found out, I found out from you
About three, seven, ace!
(He laughs and pushes Lisa away.)
Leave me alone! Who are you? I don't know you!
Away! Away!
(Runs away.)
He died, died! And along with him and I!
(He runs to the embankment and throws himself into the river.)
PICTURE SEVEN
Gambling house. Dinner. Some are playing cards.
Choir of guests
Let's drink and have fun!
Let's play with life!
Youth does not last forever
Old age is not long to wait!
Let our youth drown
In bliss, cards and wine.
There is joy in them alone,
Life will rush through like a dream!
Let our joy drown ...
Surin (behind cards)
Chaplitsky
Gnu passwords!
Chaplitsky
Passwords ne!
Chekalinsky (mosque)
Is it good to put?
Chekalinsky
I am mirandole ...
Tomsk (to the prince)
How did you get here?
I haven't seen you at the players before.
Yes, this is my first time here.
You know they say:
Unhappy in love
Happy in the game ...
What do you want to say?
I'm not a groom anymore.
Do not ask me!
It hurts too much, friend.
I'm here to take revenge!
After all, happiness is in love
Leads misfortune in the game ...
Explain what this means?
You'll see!
Let's drink and have fun ...
(Players join in for dinner.)
Chekalinsky
Hey gentlemen! Let Tomsky sing to us!
Sing, Tomsky, but something funny, funny ...
Something is not sung to me ...
Chekalinsky
Eh, full of that nonsense!
Drink and sing! Tomsky's health, friends!
Hooray!..
Tomsky's health! Hooray!
If only lovely girls
So they could fly like birds,
And sat on knots
I wish I was a bitch
To thousands of girls
On my branches sit.
Bravo! Bravo! Oh, sing another verse!
Let them sit and sing
Forged the nests and whistled,
Bringing out the chicks!
Never would I bend
I would always admire them,
Was happier than all the bitches.
Bravo! Bravo! That's the song!
This is glorious! Bravo! Well done!
"I would never bend
I would always admire them,
Was happier than all the bitches. "
Chekalinsky
Now, as usual, friends, play game!
So, on rainy days
They were going
Often;
So on rainy days
They were going
Often;
Chekalinsky, Chaplitsky, Narumov, Surin
Bent - God forgive them! -
From fifty
Nah hundred.
Bent - God forgive them -
From fifty
Nah hundred.
Chekalinsky, Chaplitsky, Narumov, Surin
And won
And unsubscribed
Chalk.
And won
And unsubscribed
Chalk.
Chekalinsky, Chaplitsky, Narumov, Surin
So, on rainy days
They were engaged
Business.
So, on rainy days
They were engaged
Business.
(Whistling, screaming and dancing.)
Chekalinsky
For the cause, gentlemen, for the cards!
Guilt! Guilt!
(They sit down to play.)
Wine, wine!
Chaplitsky
Chaplitsky
Smark!
I bet on the root ...
Chaplitsky
From transport by ten.
(Herman enters.)
Prince (seeing him)
My premonition did not deceive me
(Tomsky.)
I may need a second.
Won't you refuse?
Hope in me!
BUT! Herman, friend! So late? Where?
Chekalinsky
Sit down with me, you bring happiness.
Where are you from? Where have you been? Isn't it in hell?
Look what it looks like!
Chekalinsky
You can't be more terrible!
Are you healthy?
Let me put the card down.
(Chekalinsky silently bows in agreement.)
Here are miracles, he began to play.
Here are miracles, he began to ponte, our Herman.
(Herman puts the card down and covers it with a bank note.)
Buddy, congratulations on allowing such a long post!
Chekalinsky
How much?
Forty thousand!
Forty thousand! That's the jackpot. Are you crazy!
Didn't you recognize three cards from the Countess?
Hermann (irritated)
Well, are you hitting or not?
Chekalinsky
Goes! Which map?
(Chekalinsky mosque.)
Won!
He won! Here is a lucky man!
Chekalinsky, Chaplitsky, Tomsky, Surin, Narumov, choir
Chekalinsky
Do you want to receive?
No! I'm going by the corner!
He's crazy! Is it possible to?
No, Chekalinsky, don't play with him.
Look, he's not himself.
Chekalinsky
Going? And the map?
Here, the seven! (Chekalinsky mosque.) My!
Again him! There is something wrong with him.
Why are you hanging your noses?
Are you scared? (Laughs hysterically.)
Guilt! Guilt!
Herman, what's wrong with you?
Hermann (with a glass in hand)
What is our life? - A game!
Good and evil are only dreams!
Labor, honesty are fairy tales for a woman.
Who is right, who is happy here, friends?
Today you - and tomorrow I!
So give up the fight
Seize your moment of luck!
Let the loser cry
Let the loser cry
Cursing, cursing your fate
What is true? Death is one!
Like a bustle of the seashore
She is a refuge for all of us.
Who is dearer to her from us, friends?
Today you - and tomorrow I!
So give up the fight!
Seize your moment of luck!
Let the loser cry
Let the loser cry
Cursing your fate
Still going?
Chekalinsky
No, get it!
The devil himself plays with you!
(Chekalinsky puts the loss on the table.)
And if so, what a disaster!
Anyone?
Is this all at stake? BUT?
Prince (stepping forward)
Prince, what's the matter with you? Stop doing that!
After all, this is not a game - madness!
I know what I'm doing!
We have an account with him!
Hermann (confused)
Do you, do you want?
Me, please, Chekalinsky.
(Chekalinsky mosque.)
Hermann (opening the map)
No! Your lady is a bit!
What kind of lady?
The one in your hands is the Queen of Spades!
(The countess's ghost appears. Everyone retreats from Herman.)
Hermann (horrified)
Old woman! .. You! Are you here!
What are you laughing at?
You drove me crazy.
Damned! What,
What do you need?
Life, my life?
Take her, take her!
(He stabs himself in. The ghost disappears. Several people rush to the fallen Herman.)
Unhappy! How terrible he committed suicide!
He is alive, he is still alive!
(Herman comes to his senses. Seeing the prince, he tries to rise.)
Prince! Prince, forgive me!
I'm hurting, hurting, dying!
What's this? Lisa? Are you here!
Oh my God! Why why?
You forgive! Yes?
Don't you swear? Yes?
Beauty, Goddess! Angel!
(Dies.)
Lord! Forgive him! And rest
His rebellious and tortured soul.
(The curtain falls quietly.)
Libretto of the opera "THE LADY OF PEAK"
Editor O. Melikyan
Tech. editor R. Neumann
Proofreader A. Rodewald
Signed for publication 1 / II 1956
W 02145 Form. boom. 60 × 92 1/32 Boom. l. 1.5
Pecs l. 3.0. Uch.-ed. l. 2.62
Circulation 10.000. Zach. 1737
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17th printing house. Moscow, Pinch, 18.