Speranza
Alessandro Borodine (n. San Pietroburgo, 12 novembre 1833 – San Pietroburgo, 27
febbraio 1887) è stato un compositore russo.
Borodine era figlio naturale di Luca Gedianov, principe e luogotenente in pensione dell'esercito
russo che faceva risalire la sua origine alla casa regnante dei Gedevanišvili
del regno georgiano di Imeretia.
La madre di Borodine, Evdokija
Antonova, ventiquattrenne, era l'amante del principe--.
Poiché il principe era sposato, fece dichiarare il bambino come figlio del suo servo,
Porfirio Borodine.
Tuttavia, poco prima della sua morte, lo riconobbe in
qualità di proprio figlio naturale.
Borodine crebbe con sua madre in un
piccolo villaggio a pochi chilometri a sud di San Pietroburgo, in un ambiente
familiare abbastanza agiato.
Qui ricevette una buona istruzione generale
e si rivelò eccezionalmente dotato.
A nove anni d'età Borodine imparò, oltre che
diverse lingue (come il italiano, il tedesco, il francese, e l'inglese) a
suonare da autodidatta il pianoforte, il flauto e il violoncello.
Nel
1850, poco più che sedicenne, indotto dalla madre, Borodine si iscrisse alla
facoltà universitaria di medicina a San Pietroburgo, uscendone laureato con i
più alti riconoscimenti nel 1856.
La sua vera passione però era la
chimica sperimentale e quindi si trasferì a Pisa per continuare gli studi.
Divenne medico eminente, professore universitario e scienziato di fama
europea ed esercitò per tutto l'arco della sua vita la professione di medico,
anche se tutto il suo tempo libero - purtroppo molto poco - era dedicato al
melodramma.
Nel 1863 Borodine sposò Ekaterina Protopopova.
Borodine e Ekaterina si
conobbero in Germania e s'innamorarono in un viaggio insieme a Baden-Baden, dove
si fidanzarono.
Ebbero tre figlie.
La vita di Borodine fu
piuttosto caotica e concitata.
Borodine doveva sempre lottare contro la
mancanza di tempo, correndo dal laboratorio per gli esperimenti chimici al
pianoforte per comporre.
Spesso non riusciva a completare i suoi lavori
musicali per le date stabilite e doveva ricorrere all'aiuto di qualcuno dei suoi
amici compositori.
Di questo periodo è la nascita della sua
composizione più importante, il melodramma "Il principe Igor" (1870), ma la sua
realizzazione fu molto lunga e laboriosa.
Borodine passò ben diciassette
anni a lavorare alla stesura del "Principe Igor", che oltretutto rimase
incompiuta e molto frammentaria.
Verso la fine della sua vita, Borodine
soffrì più volte per le conseguenze di un'infezione di colera e per
complicazioni cardiache.
Il 27 febbraio 1887, Borodine partecipò ad un ballo della
sua accademia.
Borodine morì improvvisamente durante la festa a causa di un infarto.
Borodine venne sepolto nel Cimitero Tichvin del Monastero di Aleksandr Nevskij, a
San Pietroburgo.
Furono gli amici Alessandro Glazunov e Nicola
Rimskij-Korsakov a riordinare e soprattutto a completare di loro mano tutto il
materiale dell'opera, e a far sì che nel 1890 "Il principe Igor" andasse in
scena.
Nel 1850, Borodine iniziò il suo percorso di studi presso l'Accademia
militare di medicina e chirurgia di San Pietroburgo, dove presto scoprì la sua
passione per la chimica sperimentale che gli sarebbe durata per tutta la vita.
Nella sua tesi di dottorato, Borodine si occupò delle ricerche sulle proprietà
chimiche e tossicologiche delle anidridi fosforiche e arseniche.
Dopo il
dottorato, Borodine fu per un anno chirurgo in un ospedale militare, in seguito lasciò la
Russia per continuare la sua formazione scientifica in Europa occidentale.
Nel 1862, Borodine ottenne una cattedra all'accademia di San Pietroburgo, dove si
dedicò da quel momento in poi ai suoi studi di chimica.
Come chimico
compì ricerche sulle reazioni organiche e sui legami chimici.
Sviluppò un
importante metodo di laboratorio per la disposizione analitica dell'urea nella
medicina.
Per la chimica organica sono fino ad oggi significative le sue
ricerche successive all'accademia militare, che nel 1861 portarono alla sintesi
dei legami organici di fluoro e fluorobenzile negli annali di chimica della
Liebig.
Significative sono anche le sue ricerche nel campo della
polimerizzazione e della condensazione degli aldeidi, come anche la sua scoperta
fondamentale dell'addizione di aldolo nel 1872.
Ulteriori importanti pietre
miliari della sua carriera di ricerca sono la "carbossilizzazione di Borodin" e
la "reazione di Borodin-Hunsdiecker".
Borodine è stato da taluni definito
il più originale fra i compositori russi del suo periodo.
In effetti egli a
livello mondiale divenne famoso non tanto come scienziato, quanto come
compositore.
Borodine possedeva il dono di esprimere
sentimenti ed emozioni con una sola
frase musicale.
In ogni sua composizione è presente una profondità espressiva
unita a una grande linearità melodica.
Nonostante il poco tempo che poté
dedicare alla musica, ha lasciato numerose composizioni.
Come riuscisse a
trovare tempo per la musica, oltre al suo lavoro all'accademia che gli serviva
per vivere, resta un mistero.
Nel 1864 incontrò Milij Alekseevič Balakirev e
tramite lui conobbe Cezar' Kjui, Modest Musorgskij e Nikolaj Rimskij-Korsakov.
In questo modo divenne l'ultimo membro del "Gruppo dei cinque nazionalista" russo,
il cui stile musicale epico e romantico può essere paragonato a quello di
Richard Wagner.
Nel 1869 venne rappresentata la prima sinfonia di Borodine,
diretta da Balakirev.
Nello stesso anno Borodin iniziò il suo lavoro alla sua
opera eroica "Il principe Igor", che include le famose Danze poloviciane.
"Il principe Igor", che spesso viene considerato il suo lavoro più significativo, restò
incompiuto fino alla sua morte, a causa all'immenso carico di lavoro di Borodine
come ricercatore scientifico.
"Il principe Igor" venne in seguito completato ed
orchestrato da Alessandro Glazunov e Nicola Rimskij-Korsakov.
Parimenti
incompiuta restò la terza sinfonia, a cui Glazunov contribuì orchestrandola.
La
prima esecuzione della sua seconda sinfonia fu inizialmente un fiasco, ma quando
Franz Liszt nel 1880 ne organizzò una seconda rappresentazione in Germania,
Borodine acquistò una certa fama anche al di fuori della Russia.
Borodine
stesso definiva la sua musica "un passatempo, come un riposo dalle sue
occupazioni più serie", con cui intendeva ovviamente il suo lavoro come
scienziato.
Nel 1953, Robert Wright e George Forrest elaborarono musiche
di Borodin (per lo più dall'opera "Il principe Igor") per il musical "Kismet",
rappresentato per la prima volta a Broadway nel 1953.
"Kismet" ottenne
un tale successo internazionale (ne venne tratto anche un film con Ann Blythe)
che nel 1954 fu assegnato a Borodine un Tony Award postumo.
La canzone "
Stranger in Paradise", adattata dal tema più celebre contenuto nelle Danze
poloviciane dal "Principe Igor" venne portata da Tony Bennett, Four
Aces e Bing Crosby al successo internazionale.
Nel 1978, "Kismet" venne
riproposto dall'All Black Ensemble con il titolo di "Timbuktu".
La musica di
Borodine vi è combinata con brani di musica popolare africana; fra gli interpreti
di questo remake, Eartha Kitt e Melba Moore.
La seguente è una lista
delle composizioni di Borodin:
MELODRAMMI:
I) La fidanzata dello Zar
1867
Abbozzi, perduta.
II) Il principe Igor
1869-87
Borodine.
Sulla base
del "Canto della schiera di Igor"
Opera incompiuta in un prologo e quattro atti,
completata ed orchestrata da Rimskij-Korsakov e Glazunov.
III)
"Mlada", atto
IV 1872 Viktor Krylov
Parte di un'opera-ballet collettiva di
Borodine, Kjui,
Musorgkij, Rimskij-Korsakov e Ludwig Minkus.
IV)
"Bogatyri"
1878 Viktor Krylov
Opera farsa in cinque scene, basata su musiche di Rossini, Meyerbeer, Offenbach,
Serov, Verdi, orchestrata da E. Merten.
Opere orchestrali:
Concerto per flauto e pianoforte in re maggiore
1847 Perduto.
Sinfonia n. 1 in mi bemolle maggiore 1862-7 Prima pubblicazione: 1875
(arrangiamento per pianoforte a quattro mani del compositore); 1882 (partitura
orchestrale).
Sinfonia n. 2 in si minore 1869-76 Prima pubblicazione: 1878
(arrangiamento per pianoforte a quattro mani del compositore); 1887 (partitura
orchestrale leggermente rivista da Rimskij-Korsakov e Glazunov).
Nelle
steppe dell'Asia centrale, poema sinfonico 1880 Prima pubblicazione: 1882
(arrangiamento per pianoforte a quattro mani del compositore); 1882 (partitura
orchestrale).
Sinfonia n. 3 in la minore 1886-7 Solo i primi due movimenti,
completata ed orchestrata da Glazunov.
Musica da camera:
Trio per due violini e violoncello 1847 Su un tema di Roberto il
diavolo di Meyerbeer, perduto.
Trio per pianoforte 1850-60 Solo tre
movimenti, l'ultimo è perduto.
Quartetto per flauto, oboe, viola e
violoncello 1852-6 Basato su musiche di Franz Joseph Haydn.
Trio per archi
in sol maggiore per due violini e violoncello 1852-6 ? Completati solo i primi
due movimenti.
Trio per archi in sol maggiore per due violini e violoncello
1855 Solo un movimento (Andantino). Basato sulla canzone popolare russa Чем тебя
я огорчила (Che ho fatto per addolorarti).
Quintetto per archi in fa minore
per due violini, viola e due violoncelli 1859-60 La coda del finale fu
completata da O.A. Evlachov (1960).
Sestetto per archi in re minore 1860-1
Solo due movimenti superstiti.
Sonata in si minore per violoncello e
pianoforte 1860 Basata sulla fuga della sonata per violino n. 1 in sol minore
BWV 1001 di Johann Sebastian Bach.
Trio per violino, violoncello e
pianoforte in re maggiore 1860-1
Quintetto per pianoforte in do minore 1862
Quartetto per archi n. 1 in la maggiore 1874-9
Quartetto per archi n. 2
in re maggiore 1881
Scherzo per quartetto d'archi 1882 Dalla raccolta di
Mitrofan Beljaev I venerdì. Fu utilizzato da Glazunov per completare la terza
sinfonia di Borodin.
Serenata alla spagnola per quartetto d'archi 1886 Dal
quartetto collettivo "Si-La-Fa" di Borodin, Rimskij-Korsakov, Glazunov e Ljadov.
Opere per pianoforte:
Hélène-Polka in re
minore 1843-61 Scritta nel 1843, quando il compositore aveva solo 9 anni,
revisionata e trascritta per pianoforte a quattro mani nel 1861.
Le Courant,
studio 1849 Perduto.
Fantasia su un tema di Hummel 1849 Perduta.
Fughe
1851-2 Perdute.
Scherzo in si minore 1852 Perduto.
Allegretto in re
bemolle maggiore 1861 Arrangiamento per pianoforte a quattro mani del terzo
movimento del quintetto per archi.
Scherzo in mi maggiore 1861 Per
pianoforte a quattro mani.
Tarantella in re maggiore 1862 Per pianoforte a
quattro mani.
Fuga 1862 Perduta.
Parafrasi su Chopsticks 1874-8 Polka,
Marcia funebre, Requiem (con testo) e Mazurka; fa parte di una raccolta di pezzi
di Borodin, Kjui, Ljadov e Rimskij-Korsakov. La seconda edizione include pezzi
di Franz Liszt e Nikolaj Ščerbačov. Per pianoforte a tre mani.
Petite Suite
1885 1. Al convento 2. Intermezzo 3. Mazurka I 4. Mazurka II 5. Serenade 6.
Nocturne 7. Reverie 8. Scherzo. Fu orchestrata da Glazunov (1889).
Scherzo
in la bemolle maggiore 1885
Canzoni ("Drawing-room ballads"):
Что ты
рано, зоренька (
"Che tu presto, aurora") 1852-5 Sergej Solov'ëv
Разлюбила
красна девица (La bella ragazza non mi ama più) 1853-5 A. Vinogradov Per voce,
violoncello e pianoforte.
Слушайте, подруженьки, песенку мою (Ascoltate,
amiche, la mia canzone) 1853-55 Iven Kruse Per voce, violoncello e pianoforte.
Красавица рыбачка! (Bella pescatrice!) 1854-55 Heinrich Heine Per voce,
violoncello e pianoforte. Titolo originale tedesco: Du schönes Fischermädchen.
Спящая княжна (La principessa addormentata) 1867 Borodin Fu anche
orchestrata da Rimskij-Korsakov.
Отравой полны мои песни (I miei canti son
pieni di veleno) 1868 Heinrich Heine Titolo originale tedesco: Vergiftet sind
meine Lieder.
Морская царевна (La principessa del mare) 1868 Borodin
Песня темного леса (Старая песня) (La canzone del bosco oscuro (Vecchia
canzone)) 1868 Borodin Fu anche arrangiata da Glazunov per due parti di coro
maschile e orchestra (1873).
Фальшивая нота (La nota falsa) 1868 Borodin
Mope (Il mare) 1870 Borodin Fu orchestrata dal compositore (1884) e da
Rimskij-Korsakov (1896).
Из слез моих (Dalle mie lacrime) 1870 Heinrich
Heine Titolo originale tedesco: Aus meinen Tränen.
Для берегов отчизны
дальной (Per le rive della patria lontana) 1881 Aleksandr Puškin Pubblicata nel
1888, fu anche orchestrata da Glazunov (1912).
У людей-то в дому (A casa di
alcuni) 1881 Nikolaj Nekrasov
Арабская мелодия (Melodia araba) 1881 Borodin
Спесь (Boria) 1884-5 Aleksej Tolstoj
Чудный сад (Il giardino magico)
1885 Georges Collin Titolo originale francese: Septain.
Altre opere
vocali:
Serenata di quattro cavalieri per una donna,
quartetto comico per voci maschili e pianoforte 1870
Dio salvi Cirillo! Dio
salvi Metodio!, per coro maschile solo 1885 Incompiuto, completato da Pavel
Lamm.
Aleksandr
Porfir'evič Borodin in «Open Directory Project», Netscape Communications.
(
Famoso "Nelle steppe dell'Asia centrale", Alexander Borodin nel
Film "Mosca rivestito nella neve", 00:07:22, 1908 su YouTube
Spartiti liberi
di Aleksandr Porfir'evič Borodin su International Music Score Library
Project
La musica classica nel XIX secolo
Otto Scholderer Der
Geiger am Fenster.jpgTurner, J. M. W. - The Fighting Téméraire tugged to her
last Berth to be broken.jpg
Categorie: Compositori
russi Nati nel 1833 Morti nel 1887 Nati il 12 novembre Morti il 27
febbraio
Nati a San Pietroburgo Morti a San Pietroburgo Compositori
romantici Scienziati russi Studenti dell'università di Heidelberg Il
principe Igor'
Ivan Bilibin 181.jpg Il principe Igor' di Ivan Bilibin
Titolo originale: IL PRINCIPE IGOR
Musica: Alessandro Borodine
Libretto: Alessandro
Borodine
Fonti letterarie: Canto della schiera di Igor'
un prologo e quattro atti
Epoca di
composizione: 1869-1887
Prima rappr.: 23 ottobre (4 novembre) 1890
Teatro Mariinskij, San Pietroburgo
Prima rappr.
italiana: 26 dicembre 1915, Teatro alla Scala, Milano
Personaggi
Igor Svjatoslavič
principe di Novgorod-Severskij
... baritono
Jaroslavna,
sua seconda moglie
... soprano
Vladimir Igorevič
figlio di primo letto di Igor
... tenore)
Vladimir Jaroslavič,
principe di
Halyč, fratello della principessa Jaroslavna
... basso-baritono
Končak, khan
poloviciano
... basso
Gzak, khan poloviciano
... basso
Končakovna,
figlia del
khan Končak
... contralto
Ovlur, un poloviciano cristiano (tenore)
Skula, un
suonatore di gudok (basso)
Eroška, un suonatore di gudok (tenore)
La
nutrice di Jaroslavna (soprano)
Una ragazza poloviciana (soprano)
Coro:
principi e principesse russe,
boiardi e boiarde,
anziani,
guerrieri russi,
fanciulle,
popolo. khan poloviciani,
amiche di Končakovna, schiave (čagi) del
khan Končak,
prigionieri russi, guardie poloviciane
"Il principe
Igor" è un'opera di Alessandro Borodine.
Borodine scrisse anche il libretto basandosi
sul poema epico slavo
"Canto della schiera di Igor'"
che narra la fallita
campagna del principe
Igor Svjatoslavič di Novgorod-Severskij
nell'antica Rus'
di Kiev contro gli invasori Cumani/Poloviciani
nel 1185.
"Il principe Igor", articolata
in un prologo e quattro atti, era incompiuta alla morte del compositore, nel
1887, e venne rivista e completata da Nikolaj Rimskij-Korsakov e Alessandro
Glazunov.
Dopo aver brevemente considerato il dramma di Lev Mej "La
fidanzata dello Zar" (successivamente ripreso da Rimskij-Korsakov per la sua
opera omonima) come soggetto per la sua prima opera, Borodine iniziò a cercarne
un altro.
Vladimir Stasov, critico e mentore del "Gruppo dei Cinque", gli suggerì
il "Canto della schiera di Igor", un poema epico in prosa del XII secolo, e gli
inviò una sceneggiatura per un'opera in tre atti il 30 aprile 1869.
Borodine
trovò la proposta incoraggiante, anche se non priva di difficoltà, e, dopo aver
raccolto altro materiale letteriario, iniziò a comporre nel settembre dello
stesso anno.
Presto però iniziò ad avere dubbi e timori e interruppe la
composizione.
Nel corso dei successivi quattro anni non continuò il lavoro, ma
utilizzò parte della musica creata per altre sue composizioni, quali la sua
seconda sinfonia e l'opera-ballet collettiva Mlada (1872).
Il progetto di
Mlada però presto fu abbandonato e Borodine pensò a come riutilizzare la musica
che aveva prodotto, e nel 1874 tornò a dedicarsi al "Principe Igor", incoraggiato
anche dal successo che avevano avuto Rimskij-Korsakov e Musorgskij nel mettere
in scena le loro opere a sfondo storico "La fanciulla di Pskov" e "Boris Godunov".
Tuttavia l'occupazione principale di Borodine era la chimica, che comprendeva la
ricerca e l'insegnamento.
Pertanto, per la costernazione dei suoi amici, non
dedicava alla musica tutto il tempo che il suo talento avrebbe giustificato.
Nel
1876 Stasov, avendo perso ogni speranza che Borodine finisse "Il principe Igor", propose la
sua sceneggiatura a Rimskij-Korsakov.
Egli però decise di aiutare Borodine ad
orchestrarne alcune parti importanti, come le famose Danze poloviciane, che,
stando a quanto riferisce lo stesso Rimskij-Korsakov nella sua autobiografia La
mia vita musicale, furono orchestrate da lui, Borodin e Anatolij Ljadov,
lavorando febbrilmente una sera fino a tarda notte.
Borodine complessivamente
lavorò alla sua opera, in maniera discontinua, per quasi 18 anni.
Dopo che Borodine
morì nel 1887, lasciando "Il Principe Igor" incompiuto, Rimskij-Korsakov e Stasov
ne raccolsero tutti gli spartiti e li portarono a casa di Rimskij-Korsakov.
Successivamente Rimskij-Korsakov ed il suo allievo Alessandro Glazunov si
spartirono il lavoro per portare a termine l'opera: terminare le parti non
finite, dare all'opera una forma compiuta e terminare l'orchestrazione.
La prima
rappresentazione del "Principe Igor" ebbe luogo al teatro Mariinskij di San Pietroburgo
il 23 ottobre (4 novembre) 1890.
Nonostante i loro sforzi, però, "Il principe Igor" rimase
episodica e statica, a causa della mancanza di unità dovuta allo stato di
incompiutezza in cui l'aveva lasciata Borodine.
Un'altra causa di ciò è data dal
fatto che il compositore non completò il libretto prima di intraprendere la
composizione, ma lo scrisse man mano assieme alla musica, perdendo così di vista
il filo narrativo d'insieme dell'opera.
Infatti sono presenti singoli episodi
qualitativamente molto alti, con musiche molto belle, ma manca una struttura che
li integri fra di loro in una narrazione fluente.
Inoltre alcuni brani scritti
da Borodine non trovarono posto nella versione finale dell'opera, ma dovettero
essere sacrificati per dare al lavoro un aspetto per quanto possibile
coeso.
*******************************************
L'azione del "Principe Igor" ha luogo nel 1185 nella città di Putivl'
(prologo, atti I e IV) e nell'accampamento dei Cumani/Poloviciani (atti II e
III).
Nel prologo, nella piazza della cattedrale di Putivl', IL PRINCIPE IGOR sta organizzando una campagna contro i Poloviciani,
che hanno attaccato le terre russe.
Il popolo intona canti di lode, quando
un'eclissi di sole provoca la costernazione generale.
Due soldati, Skula e
Eroška disertano, convinti che il principe Vladimir Jaroslavič offrirà loro
un'occupazione più gradita.
Sebbene Jaroslavna, moglie del principe Igor, considera
l'eclisse un cattivo presagio, egli insiste nell'andare in guerra: il senso
dell'onore glielo impone. Igor' affida la moglie al fratello di lei, Vladimir
Jaroslavič, principe di Halyč, che lo ringrazia per averlo accolto dopo essere
stato dalla sua terra dal padre e dai fratelli. Il popolo intona un canto
glorificatore e l'esercito si mette in marcia contro i Poloviciani.
Nell'atto I, alla Scena prima, nella ca corte di Vladimir a Putivl', i
seguaci del principe di Halyč cantano in suo onore. Skula ed Eroška ora suonano
il gudok, mentre i seguaci del principe intonano un canto in cui lui ed i suoi
uomini hanno rapito una ragazza che li supplica di lasciarla tornare dal padre
senza essere disonorata. Arriva Vladimir di Halyč che canta come, se fosse
principe di Putivl' passerebbe le sue giornate a bere, fare festa e divertirsi
con le ragazze più belle, mentre la sorella sarebbe relegata in un monastero. Un
gruppo di giovani donne lo prega di rilasciare una loro amica rapita, ma egli le
scaccia. Gli uomini di Vladimir si chiedono cosa accadrebbe se Jaroslavna
venisse a sapere ciò che stanno facendo, ma si convincono che con tutti gli
uomini in guerra sarebbe inerme, e quindi decidono di andare sulla piazza della
città per proclamare Vladimir principe di Putivl', lasciando indietro i due
musicisti ubriachi.
Nella Scena seconda, alla stanza nel palazzo di Jaroslavna, la
principessa è in pena per l'assenza del marito, quando arrivano le giovani donne
che le raccontano della loro amica rapita da Vladimir. Quest'ultimo entra e le
giovani fuggono. Ne nasce un litigio tra Jaroslavna e Vladimir, con minacce e
accuse, poi Vladimir esce. Arriva il consiglio dei boiardi che informa la
principessa che i Poloviciani al comando di Gzak stanno per attaccare la città:
l'esercito di Igor' è stato sconfitto ed egli è stato ferito e catturato assieme
a suo figlio ed a suo fratello. Non è possibile mandare messaggeri alle città
vicine perché le strade sono state interrotte dal nemico. I boiardi dichiarano
che organizzeranno la difesa della città, quando Vladimir torna con i suoi che
lo vorrebbero nuovo principe di Putivl', ma i boiardi non sono d'accordo. La
disputa è interrotta dalla battaglia imminente.
Nell'Atto II, la sera nell'accampamento dei Poloviciani, le fanciulle Poloviciane
cantano e danzano (danza delle fanciulle poloviciane). Si unisce a loro
Končakovna. I prigionieri russi fanno ritorno dalla giornata di lavoro e
ringraziano le donne che danno loro da mangiare. Le guardie si ritirano,
lasciando solo Ovlur, un cristiano, alla sorveglianza. Vladimir, figlio di Igor'
canta sperando che il suo amore, Končakovna, lo raggiunga presto. La ragazza
arriva e i due intonano in un duetto il loro amore. Al sopraggiungere di Igor'
se ne vanno. Egli canta il suo dolore per le sue disgrazie. Ovlur gli propone la
fuga, ma giunge Končak che chiede a Igor' come stia. Končak gli promette la
libertà in cambio della rinuncia alla guerra, ma Igor' non può accettare. Končak
fa entrare i servi per intrattenere Igor' e lui stesso: essi cantano e ballano
in onore di Končak (danze poloviciane).
Nell'Atto III, nell'accampamento dei Poloviciani, l'esercito poloviciano
ritorna in trionfo cantando il sacco di Putivl'. Končak afferma che presto
sottometterà tutta la Russia. Vladimir esorta Igor' alla fuga, egli è
riluttante, ma quando Ovlur arriva dicendo di aver preparato i cavalli per Igor'
e Vladimir, il principe accetta. Entra Končakovna che chiede a Vladimir di
dimostrargli il suo amore portandola con lui o rimanendo. Il giovane non riesce
a lasciare l'amata e Igor' fugge da solo. Končakovna dà l'allarme e suo padre fa
uccidere le guardie e dà in sposa la figlia a Vladimir.
Nell'Atto IV, all'alba a Putivl', Jaroslavna piange la lontananza da Igor' e la
sua sconfitta e, mentre contempla la distruzione operata dal nemico, scorge due
figure a cavallo che avanzano: sono Igor' ed Ovlur. Marito e moglie cantano la
gioia della loro riunione. Skula ed Eroška stanno cantando facendosi beffe di
Igor', quando lo vedono in lontananza. Dopo un momento di panico decidono di
giocare d'astuzia per salvarsi: suonano le campane di una chiesa per radunare
una folla ed annunciare il ritorno di Igor'. All'inizio vengono trattati con
sospetto, ma poi il popolo ed i boiardi celebrano con gioia il ritorno del
principe Igor'.
La
suddivisione è presentata in accordo all'edizione tradizionale a cura di
Rimskij-Korsakov e Glazunov.
Le date si riferiscono alla composizione, non
all'orchestrazione.
Ouverture
1887 1887
Glazunov Glazunov
1 – Prologo 1876 1885 Borodin
Borodin / Rimskij-Korsakov
*************** ATTO I *********************
2a Atto I, Scena prima Coro 1875 1875 Borodin
Rimskij-Korsakov
2b Atto I, Scena prima Recitativo e Canzone: Vladimir di
Halyč 1879 1879 Borodin Borodin
2c Atto I, Scena prima Recitativo: Vladimir
di Halyč ? ? Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
2d Atto I, Scena prima Coro delle
fanciulle e scena ? ? Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
2e Atto I, Scena prima Scena:
Skula, Eroška ? ? Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
2f Atto I, Scena prima Canzone in
onore di Vladimir di Halyč: Skula, Eroška 1878 1878 Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
2g Atto I, Scena prima Coro ? ? Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
3 Atto I, Scena
seconda Arioso: Jaroslavna 1869 1875 Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
4 Atto I,
Scena seconda Scena: Jaroslavna, Nutrice, Coro 1879 1879 Borodin Borodin
5
Atto I, Scena seconda Scena: Jaroslavna, Vladimir di Halyč 1879 1879 Borodin
Rimskij-Korsakov
6 Atto I, Scena seconda Finale: Jaroslavna, Vladimir di
Halyč, Coro 1879 1880 Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
*************** ATTO II
7 Atto II Coro delle
fanciulle poloviciane ? ? Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
8 Atto II Danza delle
fanciulle poloviciane ? ? Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
9 Atto II Cavatina:
Končakovna 1869 1869 Borodin Borodin
10 Atto II Scena: Končakovna, Coro 1887
1887 Rimskij-Korsakov / Glazunov Rimskij-Korsakov / Glazunov
11 Atto II
Recitativo e Cavatina: Vladimir 1877 1878 Borodin Borodin
12 Atto II Duetto:
Vladimir, Končakovna 1877 1878 Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
13 Atto II Aria:
Igor' 1881 1881 Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
14 Atto II Scena: Igor', Ovlur ? ?
Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
15 Atto II Aria: Končak 1874 1875 Borodin Borodin
16 Atto II Recitativo: Igor', Končak ? ? Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
17
Atto II Danze Poloviciane con Coro 1869 1875 Borodin Borodin / Rimskij-Korsakov
/ Ljadov
*************** ATTO III
18 Atto III Marcia dei Poloviciani 1869 1875 Borodin Borodin /
Rimskij-Korsakov
19 Atto III Canzone: Končak ? ? Glazunov Glazunov
20
Atto III Recitativo and Scena ? ? Borodin Glazunov
22 Atto III Recitativo:
Ovlur, Igor' 1888 1888 Glazunov Glazunov
23 Atto III Trio: Igor', Vladimir,
Končakovna ? 1888 Borodin / Glazunov Glazunov
24 Atto III Finale:
Končakovna, Končak, Coro 1884 ? Borodin / Glazunov Glazunov
***************** ATTO IV
25 Atto IV
Lamento: Jaroslavna 1875 1875 Borodin Borodin
26 Atto IV Coro del popolo
1879 1879 Borodin Borodin
27 Atto IV Recitativo and Duetto: Jaroslavna,
Igor' 1876 1876 Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
28 Atto IV Canzone: i suonatori di
gudok, Scena e Coro ? ? Borodin Rimskij-Korsakov
29 Atto IV Finale: Skula,
Eroška, Coro ? ? Borodin Borodin / Rimskij-Korsakov
Note:
Abraham e Lloyd-Jones (1986: pag. 51), Abraham e
Lloyd-Jones (1986: pag. 51), Rimskij-Korsakov, My musical life, pag.
211. Non è chiaro in che ordine Borodie intendesse fissare i primi due
atti. Viene qui presentata la suddivisione tradizionale dell'edizione di
Rimskij-Korsakov e Glazunov. In molti allestimenti il terzo atto viene
omesso.
Bibliografia:
N. A. Rimskij-Korsakov,
Летопись моей музыкальной жизни (San Pietroburgo, 1909), pubblicato in inglese
come
My musical life (New York: Knopf, 1925, terza ed. 1942).
G. Abraham, e
D. Lloyd-Jones,
Alexander Borodin in D. Brown, (a cura di) The New Grove:
Russian Masters 1, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1986.
Il
principe Igor': spartiti liberi su International Music Score Library
Project
Il libretto dell'opera in
russo
Categorie: Composizioni di Aleksandr
Porfir'evič Borodin
Opere liriche in lingua russa
Opere liriche
incompiute
Alexander Borodin
Born: 12 November 1833
Saint
Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died: 27 February 1887 (age 53)
Saint
Petersburg, Russian Empire
Occupation: Composer and chemist
Borodine (12 November 1833 – 27 February
1887)[2] was a Russian Romantic composer, doctor and chemist.
He was a member of
the group of composers called The Five (or "The Mighty Handful"), who were
dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music.
He is
best known for his symphonies, his two string quartets, In the Steppes of
Central Asia and his opera Prince Igor.
Music from Prince Igor and his string
quartets was later adapted for the US musical "Kismet".
Borodine was a notable
advocate of women's rights and a proponent of education in Russia and was a
founder of the School of Medicine for Women in St. Petersburg.
Borodine
was born in Saint Petersburg, the illegitimate son of Luca
Gedevanishvili, a Georgian prince, and a 24-year-old Russian woman, Evdokia Konstantinovna
Antonova.
Since Prince Luca was married, with children, he had his son registered as the son of one of his serfs,
Porfirio Borodine.
As a boy, Borodine received a good education, including piano
lessons.
In 1850 Borodine entered the Medical–Surgical Academy in St Petersburg,
which was later home to Ivan Pavlov, and pursued a career in chemistry.
On
graduation he spent a year as surgeon in a military hospital, followed by three
years of advanced scientific study in western Europe, including Pisa.
In 1862 Borodin
returned to St Petersburg to take up a professorial chair in chemistry at the
Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy and spent the remainder of his scientific
career in research, lecturing and overseeing the education of others.
Eventually, he managed to establish medical courses for women (1872).
He
began taking lessons in composition from Mily Balakirev in 1862.
He married
Ekaterina Protopopova in 1863, and had one daughter, named
Gania.
Music remained a secondary vocation for Borodin outside his main
career as a chemist and physician.
Borodine suffered poor health, having overcome
cholera and several minor heart attacks.
Borodin died suddenly during a ball, and was interred in Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery,
in Saint Petersburg.
In his profession Borodin gained great respect,
being particularly noted for his work on aldehydes.[10]
Between 1859 and 1862
Borodin held a postdoctorate in Heidelberg.
He worked in the laboratory of Emil
Erlenmeyer working on benzene derivatives.
He also spent time in Pisa, working
on organic halogens.
One experiment published in 1862 described the first
nucleophilic displacement of chlorine by fluorine in benzoyl chloride.[11]
A
related reaction known to the West as the Hunsdiecker reaction published in 1939
by the Hunsdieckers was promoted by the Soviet Union as "The Borodin reaction".
In
1862 he returned to the Medical–Surgical Academy, taking up a chair in
chemistry, where he worked on self-condensation of small aldehydes.
He published
papers in 1864 and 1869, and in this field he found himself competing with
August Kekulé.
Borodin is co-credited with the discovery of the Aldol
reaction, with Charles-Adolphe Wurtz.
In 1872 he announced to the Russian
Chemical Society the discovery of a new by-product in aldehyde reactions with
alcohol-like properties, and he noted similarities with compounds already
discussed in publications by Wurtz from the same year.
He published his
last full article in 1875 on reactions of amides and his last publication
concerned a method for the identification of urea in animal urine.
His
successor in the chemistry chair at Medical-Surgical academy was his son-in-law
and fellow chemist, A. P. Dianin.
Borodin met Mily Balakirev in 1862.
While
under Balakirev's tutelage in composition he began his Symphony No. 1 in E flat
major.
The Symphony No. 1 was first performed in 1869, with Balakirev conducting.
In that same
year Borodin started on his Symphony No. 2 (in B minor) which was not
particularly successful at its premiere in 1877 under Eduard Nápravník.
But with
some minor re-orchestration received a successful performance in 1879 by the
Free Music School under Rimsky-Korsakov's direction.
In 1880, Borodine composed the
popular symphonic poem "In the Steppes of Central Asia".
Two years later he began
composing a third symphony, but left it unfinished at his death.
Two movements
of it were later completed and orchestrated by Glazunov.
In 1868, Borodine
became distracted from initial work on the second symphony by preoccupation with
the opera "IL PRINCIPE IGORE: melodramma eroico in cinque atti", which is seen by some to be his most significant work and
one of the most important historical Russian operas.
It contains "The Polovtsian
Dances", often performed as a stand-alone concert work forming what is probably
Borodin's best known composition.
Borodin left "IL PRINCIPE IGOR: melodramma eroico in cinque atti" (and a few other works)
incomplete at his death.
Prince Igor was completed posthumously by
Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov.
It is set in the 12th century, when the
Polovtsians invaded southern Russia.
"IL PRINCIPE IGOR" tells of the capture of Prince
Igor and his son, Vladimir, of Russia by the Polovtsian leader Khan Konchak.
Konchak
entertains his prisoners lavishly.
Konchak calls on his slaves to perform the famous
Polovtsian dances, which provide a thrilling climax to Act II.
No other member of the Balakirev circle identified himself so
openly with absolute music as did Borodin in his two string quartets, and in his
many earlier chamber compositions.
Himself a cellist, he was an enthusiastic
chamber music player, an interest that deepened during his chemical studies in
Heidelberg between 1859 and 1861. This early period yielded, among other chamber
works, a string sextet and a piano quintet. In thematic structure and
instrumental texture he based his pieces on those of Felix
Mendelssohn.[12]
In 1875 Borodin started his First String Quartet, much
to the displeasure of Mussorgsky and Vladimir Stasov. That Borodin did so in the
company of The Five, who were hostile to chamber music, speaks to his
independence. From the First Quartet on, he displayed mastery in the form. His
Second Quartet, in which his strong lyricism is represented in the popular
"Nocturne", followed in 1881. The First Quartet is richer in changes of mood.
The Second Quartet has a more uniform atmosphere and
expression.[12]
Next to the bust of Borodin at his tomb in
Tikhvin Cemetery, the visible musical notation on the tile monument in the
background shows themes from (1) "Gliding Dance of the Maidens" from Polovtsian
Dances; (2) "Song of the Dark Forest"; and (3) the "Scherzo" theme from Symphony
No. 3.
Borodin's fame outside the Russian Empire was made possible
during his lifetime by Franz Liszt, who arranged a performance of the Symphony
No. 1 in Germany in 1880, and by the Contessa de Mercy-Argenteau in Belgium and
France.
Borodine's music is noted for its strong lyricism and rich harmonies.
Along
with some influences from Western composers, as a member of "The Five", his music
exudes also an undeniably Russian flavour.
Borodine's passionate music and unusual
harmonies proved to have a lasting influence on the French composers
Debussy and Ravel (in homage, the latter composed in 1913 a piano piece entitled
"À la manière de Borodine").
The evocative characteristics of Borodine's
music made possible the adaptation of his compositions in the 1953 musical
Kismet, by Robert Wright and George Forrest, notably in the songs Stranger in
Paradise and And This Is My Beloved.
In 1954, Borodin was posthumously awarded a
Tony Award for this show.
Borodin's music is full of romantic charm and
enticing melody, and much of it also rings with the pageantry and landscape of
old Russia, of onion-domed churches, richly decorated icons, and the vastness of
the land.
The Borodin Quartet was
named in his honour.
The chemist Alexander Shulgin uses the name "Alexander
Borodin" as a fictional persona in the books PiHKAL and TiHKAL.
In his book
Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame (1974) Charles Bukowski wrote a poem about
the life of Borodine entitled "the life of Borodine".
References:
Алекса́ндр
Порфи́рьевич Бороди́н, tr. Aleksandr Porfir'evič Borodin.
Old
Style dates 31 October 1833 – 15 February 1887.
Abraham, Gerald.
Borodin: the Composer and his Music. London, 1927
Dianin, Sergei
Aleksandrovich. Borodin. London, New York, Oxford University Press,
1963
Oldani, Robert, William. "Borodin, Aleksandr Porfir′yevich,"
Grove Music Online
8Notes website
^ By his teens Borodin could speak Italian, German,
French, and English, and could play the piano, flute and cello.
D. E. Lewis, Early Russian Organic Chemists and
Their Legacy
Habets, Alfred (2005). Borodin and Liszt: I. Life
and works of a Russian Composer. II. Liszt, as sketched in the letters of
Borodin. Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4212-5305-3.
Michael D. Gordin (1996). "Facing the Music: How Original Was Borodin's
Chemistry?" (PDF). Journal of Chemical Education 83 (4): 561–566.
doi:10.1021/ed083p561.
E. J. Behrman (2006). "Borodin?" (PDF).
Journal of Chemical Education 83 (8): 1138. doi:10.1021/ed083p1138.1.
Maes, 72
Further reading:
Maes, Francis, tr.
Pomerans, Arnold J. and Erica Pomerans,
A History of Russian Music: From
Kamarinskaya to Babi Yar (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of
California Press, 2002). ISBN 0-520-21815-9.
George Sarton (1939). "Borodin
(1833–87)". Osiris 7: 224–260. doi:10.1086/368505. JSTOR 301543.
A. J. B.
Hutchings (1936). "A Study of Borodin: I. The Man". The Musical Times 77 (1124):
881–883. doi:10.2307/920565. JSTOR 920565.
George B. Kauffman, Kathryn
Bumpass (1988). "An Apparent Conflict between Art and Science: The Case of Borodine (1833–1887)". Leonardo 21 (4): 429–436.
doi:10.2307/1578707. JSTOR 1578707.
J. Podlech (2010). ""Try and Fall Sick
…"—The Composer, Chemist, and Surgeon Aleksandr Borodin". Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
49 (37): 6490–95. doi:10.1002/anie.201002023. PMID 20715236.
Free
scores by Borodin at the International Music Score Library Project
Free
scores by Alexander Borodin in the Choral Public Domain Library
(ChoralWiki)
"In the Steppes of Central Asia", Alexander Borodin in Film
"Moscow clad in snow", 00:07:22, 1908 on YouTube
List of compositions
(German)
Borodin's tomb
The Mighty
Five
Categories: 1833 births 1887
deaths 19th-century classical composers Composers for piano Imperial
Russian chemists Imperial Russian composers Opera composers People from
Saint Petersburg
Romantic composers Russian people of Georgian
descent The Five Deaths from myocardial infarction
This list of Borodine's
compositions is sorted by
genre.
Operas:
I) The Tsar's
Bride 1867 1868 sketches, lost
II) Bogatyri 1878 Viktor Krylov Opera farce
in 5 Scenes, based on music by Rossini, Meyerbeer, Offenbach, Serov, Verdi, etc,
orchestrated by E. Merten
III) Prince Igor 1869 1887 Borodin, after "The Lay
of Prince Igor" Unfinished opera with a prologue and 4 acts. Orch.
Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov 1887/88. First performance, St.Petersburg 1890
IV) Mlada, Act IV 1872 1872 Viktor Krylov Part of unfinished collaborative
ballet-opera by Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Leon Minkus.
Finale orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov as a concert piece (1892)
Orchestral works[edit]
Symphony No. 1 in E-flat
1862 1867 First published 1875 (arr. piano 4 hands by the composer); 1882 (full
score)
Symphony No. 2 in B minor 1869 1876 first pub. 1878 ( arr. piano 4
hands by the composer); Borodin's orchestration slightly revised by Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov for publication of 1887 full score.[1]
In the Steppes of Central Asia 1880 1880 first pub. 1882 (arr. piano 4 hands
by the composer); 1882 (full score)
Symphony No. 3 in A minor 1886 1887
first two movements only, completed and orchestrated by Glazunov.
Chamber music[edit]
Piano Trio 1850 1860 3
movements only, last movement is lost
Quartet for flute, oboe, viola, and
cello 1852 1856 based on music by Joseph Haydn
String Trio in G major for 2
violins and cello 1852 ? 1856 ? only first 2 movements completed
String Trio
in G minor for 2 violins and cello 1855 1855 One movement (Andantino) only.
Based on the Russian folk-song "Чем тебя я огорчила" (Chem tebya ya ogorchila)
"What did I do to upset you"
String Quintet in F minor for 2 violins, viola
and 2 cellos 1859 1860 coda of finale completed by O.A. Yevlachov (1960)
String Sextet in D minor 1860 1861 only two movements survive
Sonata in
B minor for cello and piano 1860 1860 Based on the Fugue from J.S. Bach's Violin
Sonata no. 1 in G-minor BWV 1001
Piano Trio in D major 1860 1861 for violin,
cello and piano
Piano Quintet in C minor 1862 1862 for string quartet and
piano
String Quartet No. 1 in A 1874 1879
String Quartet No. 2 in D 1881
1881
Scherzo for String Quartet 1882 1882 from Mitrofan Belyayev's
collection "Fridays". Also used by Glazunov in his completion of Borodin's 3rd
Symphony
Serenata alla spagnola for String Quartet 1886 1886 From the
collective quartet "B-La-F" with Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazunov and Lyadov
Works for piano[edit]
Petite Suite 2 1885 1885 1. At
the Convent 2. Intermezzo 3. Mazurka I 4. Mazurka II 5. Serenade 6. Nocturne 7.
Reverie 8. Scherzo. Also orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov (1889)
Scherzo
in A-flat 2 1885
Paraphrases on Chopsticks 3 1874 1878 Polka, Funeral March,
Requiem (with words) & Mazurka; in a collection of pieces by Borodin, Cesar
Cui, Anatoly Liadov & Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. 2nd edition includes pieces
by Franz Liszt and Nikolai Shcherbachov
Hélène-Polka in D minor 4 1843 1861
written in 1843 when the composer was just 9 years old, revised and transcribed
for 4 hands by the composer in 1861.[2]
Allegretto D-flat 4 1861 Arrangement
of the 3rd movement of the String Quintet
Scherzo E major 4 1861
Tarantella D major 4 1862
Solo songs[edit]
Why
did you grow pale early Что ты рано, зоренька Shto ty rano, zaren'ka Sergey
Solovyov 1852 1855
The beautiful girl does not love me Разлюбила красна
девица Razlyubila krasna devitsa A. Vinogradov 1853 1855 for voice, cello &
piano
Listen to my song, my friends Слушайте, подруженьки, песенку мою
Slushaite, podruzhen'ki, pesenku moyu Iven Kruse 1853 1855 for voice, cello
& piano
Thou lovely fisher-girl Красавица рыбачка! Krasavitsa rybachka
Heinrich Heine 1854 1855 for voice, cello & piano. Ger. original: "Du
schönes Fischermädchen"
The Sleeping Princess Спящая княжна Spyashchaya
knyazhna Borodin 1867 1867 also orch. Rimsky-Korsakov
My songs are full of
poison Отравой полны мои песни Otravoy polny moyi pyesni Heine 1868 1868 Ger.
original "Vergiftet sind meine Lieder"
The Sea Princess Морская царевна
Morskaya Tsar'yevna Borodin 1868 1868
Song of the Dark Woods (Old song)
Песня темного леса (Старая песня) Pesnya tyomnovo lesa Borodin 1868 1868 also
arr. Glazunov for two-part male chorus and orch. (1873)
The False Note
Фальшивая нота Fal'shivaya nota Borodin 1868 1868
The Sea Mope Mor'ye
Borodin 1870 1870 orch. by the composer (1884) and also by Rimsky-Korsakov
(1896)
From my tears Из слез моих Iz slyoz moyikh Heine 1870 1870 Ger.
original: "Aus meinen Tränen"
For the shores of your far homeland Для
берегов отчизны дальной Dlya beregov otchizny dal'noy Pushkin 1881 1881
Published 1888. Also orchestrated by Glazunov (1912)
To the people at home У
людей-то в дому U lyudey-to v domu Nekrasov 1881 1881
Arabian melody
Арабская мелодия Arabskaya Melodiya Borodin 1881 1881
Pride Спесь Spjes' A.
K. Tolstoy 1884 1885
The Magic Garden Чудный сад Chudnyy sad Georges Collin
1885 1885 Fr. original "Septain"
Other vocal
works[edit]
Serenade of Four Knights for One Lady comic quartet
for male voices and piano 1870
God save Kyril! God save Methodius! for
unaccompanied men's chorus 1885 unfinished, completed by Pavel Lamm
Transcriptions for piano 4 hands[edit]
Allegretto in D-flat
1861 arrangement of the 3rd movement of the String Quintet
Symphony no. 1
1875
Symphony no. 2 1878
From the Steppes of Central Asia 1882
String Quartet no. 1 1887
Lost works[edit]
Concerto
in D for flute and piano 1847
String Trio for 2 violins and cello 1847 on a
theme from Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable
Le Courant - etude for piano 1849
Fantasy on a theme by Hummel 1849
Fugues - for piano 1851/52
Scherzo
in B minor for piano 1852
Fugue for piano 1862
References:
"Symphony No.2 (Borodin,
Aleksandr)". IMSLP. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
"Borodin; Helene Polka,
arranged for orchestra by Mark Starr". Noteworth Musical Editions. Retrieved
2012-03-18.
At Classical Net
List of works at Karadar (in
German)
Vijvers, Willem (2007) "Alexander Borodin" pp 285-286 (Doctorate
thesis, in Dutch)
Oldani, Robert William. "Borodin, Aleksandr Porfir′yevich.
Works." Music Online (subscription required; viewed 2008-05-23)
The texts of Borodin's 16 songs can be found at The Lied, Art
Song, and Choral Texts Archive
Free scores of works by Borodin at
IMSLP
Compositions
Symphony No. 2 (1869–1876) ·
In
the Steppes of Central Asia (1880) ·
String Quartet No. 2 (1881) ·
Scherzo in A-flat major (1885) ·
Polovtsian Dances ·
Petite
Suite
Operas
Prince Igor (1869–1887) ·
Mlada
(1872)
Categories: Lists of compositions by
composer
Compositions by Alexander Borodin
Alexander Borodin
Prince Igor (Russian: Князь
Игорь, Knyaz' Igor') is an opera in four acts with a prologue, written and
composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the East
Slavic epic The Lay of Igor's Host, which recounts the campaign of Russian
prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the invading Cuman/Polovtsian tribes in 1185.
He also incorporated material drawn from two medieval Kievan chronicles. The
opera was left unfinished upon the composer's death in 1887 and was edited and
completed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov. It was first
performed in St. Petersburg, Russia, in
1890.
Composition
history[edit]
Vladimir
Stasov
(1824–1906)
Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov
(1844–1908)
Anatoly
Lyadov
(1855–1914)
Alexander
Glazunov
(1865–1936)
Original Composition:
1869–1887
After briefly considering Lev Mei's The Tsar's Bride as a
subject (later taken up in 1898 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his 9th opera),
Borodin began looking for a new project for his first opera. Vladimir Stasov,
critic and advisor to The Mighty Handful, suggested The Lay of Igor's Host, a
12th-century epic prose poem, and sent Borodin a scenario for a three-act opera
on 30 April 1869.[1] Initially, Borodin found the proposition intriguing, but
daunting:
Your outline is so complete that everything seems clear to
me and suits me perfectly. But will I manage to carry out my own task to the
end? Bah! As they say here, 'He who is afraid of the wolf doesn't go into the
woods!' So I shall give it a try...[2]
—Alexander Borodin, reply to
Stasov's proposal
After collecting material from literary sources,
Borodin began composition in September 1869 with initial versions of
Yaroslavna's arioso and Konchakovna's cavatina, and sketched the Polovtsian
Dances and March of the Polovtsy. He soon began to have doubts and ceased
composing. He expressed his misgivings in a letter to his wife: "There is too
little drama here, and no movement... To me, opera without drama, in the strict
sense, is unnatural."[3] This began a period of about four years in which he
proceeded no further on Prince Igor, but began diverting materials for the opera
into his other works, the Symphony No 2 in B minor (1869–76) and the
collaborative opera-ballet Mlada (1872).[1]
The Mlada project was soon
aborted, and Borodin, like the other members of The Mighty Handful who were
involved—César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov—thought about ways to
recycle the music he contributed. Of the eight numbers he had composed for Act 4
of Mlada, those that eventually found their way into (or back into) Prince Igor
included No. 1 (Prologue: The opening C major chorus), No. 2 (material for
Yaroslavna's arioso and Igor's aria), No. 3 (Prologue: The eclipse), No. 4 (Act
3: The trio), and No. 8 (Act 4: The closing chorus).[4]
Borodin returned
to Prince Igor in 1874, inspired by the success of his colleagues
Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky in the staging of their historical operas, The
Maid of Pskov (1873) and Boris Godunov (1874). This period also marks the
creation of two new characters, the deserters Skula and Yeroshka, who have much
in common with the rogue monks Varlaam and Misail in Boris Godunov.
In
his memoirs, Rimsky-Korsakov mentions an 1876 concert at which Borodin's
"closing chorus" was performed, the first public performance of any music from
Prince Igor identified by him:
...Borodin's closing chorus ["Glory to
the beautiful Sun"]..., which, in the epilogue of the opera (subsequently done
away with) extolled Igor's exploits, was shifted by the author himself to the
prologue of the opera, of which it now forms a part. At present this chorus
extolls Igor as he starts on his expedition against the Cumans/Polovtsy. The
episodes of the solar eclipse, of the parting from Yaroslavna, etc., divide it
into halves which fringe the entire prologue. In those days this whole middle
part was non-existent, and the chorus formed one unbroken number of rather
considerable dimensions.[5]
—Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Chronicle of My
Musical Life, 1909
The idea of a choral epilogue in the original scenario
was no doubt inspired by the example of A Life for the Tsar by Mikhail Glinka,
to whose memory Prince Igor is dedicated.
Borodin's primary occupation
was chemistry, including research and teaching. However, he also spent much time
in support of women's causes, much to the consternation of his fellow composers,
who felt he should devote his time and talent to music.[6] In 1876, a frustrated
Stasov gave up hope that Borodin would ever finish Prince Igor, and offered his
scenario to Rimsky-Korsakov.[7] Rimsky-Korsakov instead assisted Borodin in
orchestrating important numbers in preparation for concert performance—for
example, the Polovtsian Dances in 1879:
There was no end of waiting
for the orchestration of the Polovtsian Dances, and yet they had been announced
and rehearsed by me with the chorus. It was high time to copy out the parts. In
despair I heaped reproaches on Borodin. He, too, was none too happy. At last,
giving up all hope, I offered to help him with the orchestration. Thereupon he
came to my house in the evening, bringing with him the hardly touched score of
the Polovtsian Dances; and the three of us—he, Anatoly Lyadov, and I—took it
apart and began to score it in hot haste. To gain time, we wrote in pencil and
not in ink. Thus we sat at work until late at night. The finished sheets of the
score Borodin covered with liquid gelatine, to keep our pencil marks intact; and
in order to have the sheets dry the sooner, he hung them out like washing on
lines in my study. Thus the number was ready and passed on to the copyist. The
orchestration of the closing chorus I did almost
single-handed..."[8]
—Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Chronicle of My Musical
Life, 1909
Borodin worked on Prince Igor, off and on, for almost 18
years.
Posthumous Completion and Orchestration: 1887 –
1888
Title page of the published score. The text reads:
"Prince Igor, opera in 4 acts with a prologue, words and music by A.P. Borodin,
subject adapted from The Lay of Igor's Host."
Borodin died suddenly in 1887,
leaving Prince Igor incomplete. Rimsky-Korsakov and Stasov went to Borodin's
home, collected his scores, and brought them to Rimsky-Korsakov's
house.
Glazunov and I together sorted all the manuscripts ... In the
first place there was the unfinished Prince Igor. Certain numbers of the opera,
such as the first chorus, the dance of the Polovtsy, Yaroslavna's Lament, the
recitative and song of Vladimir Galitsky, Konchak's aria, the arias of
Konchakovna and Prince Vladimir Igorevich, as well as the closing chorus, had
been finished and orchestrated by the composer. Much else existed in the form of
finished piano sketches; all the rest was in fragmentary rough draft only, while
a good deal simply did not exist. For Acts II and III (in the camp of the
Polovtsy) there was no adequate libretto—no scenario, even—there were only
scattered verses and musical sketches, or finished numbers that showed no
connection between them. The synopsis of these acts I knew full well from talks
and discussions with Borodin, although in his projects he had been changing a
great deal, striking things out and putting them back again. The smallest bulk
of composed music proved to be in Act III. Glazunov and I settled the matter as
follows between us: he was to fill in all the gaps in Act III and write down
from memory the Overture played so often by the composer, while I was to
orchestrate, finish composing, and systematize all the rest that had been left
unfinished and unorchestrated by Borodin.[9]
—Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,
Chronicle of My Musical Life, 1909
The often-repeated account that
Glazunov reconstructed and orchestrated the overture from memory after hearing
the composer play it at the piano is true only in part. The following statement
by Glazunov himself clarifies the matter:
The overture was composed
by me roughly according to Borodin's plan. I took the themes from the
corresponding numbers of the opera and was fortunate enough to find the canonic
ending of the second subject among the composer's sketches. I slightly altered
the fanfares for the overture ... The bass progression in the middle I found
noted down on a scrap of paper, and the combination of the two themes (Igor's
aria and a phrase from the trio) was also discovered among the composer's
papers. A few bars at the very end were composed by me.[10]
—Alexander
Glazunov, memoir, 1891, published in the Russkaya muzikalnaya gazeta,
1896
During the season of 1888–9 the Directorate of Imperial Theatres
began to lead us a fine dance with the production of Prince Igor, which had been
finished, published, and forwarded to the proper authorities. We were led by the
nose the following season as well, with constant postponements of production for
some reason or other."[11] "On October 23, 1890, Prince Igor was produced at
last, rehearsed fairly well by K. A. Kuchera, as Nápravník had declined the
honor of conducting Borodin's opera. Both Glazunov and I were pleased with our
orchestration and additions. The cuts later introduced by the Directorate in Act
3 of the opera did it considerable harm. The unscrupulousness of the Mariinsky
Theatre subsequently went to the length of omitting Act 3 altogether. Taken all
in all, the opera was a success and attracted ardent admirers, particularly
among the younger generation.[12]
—Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Chronicle of
My Musical Life, 1909
The world premiere was given in St. Petersburg on 4
November (23 October O.S.), 1890 at the Mariinsky Theatre. Set designers were
Yanov, Andreyev, and Bocharov, while Lev Ivanov was balletmaster.
Moscow
premieres followed later. The first was given in 1892 by the Russian Opera
Society, conducted by Iosif Pribik. The Bolshoi Theatre premiere was given in
1898 and was conducted by Ulrikh Avranek
Other notable premieres were
given in Prague in 1899, and in Paris in 1909, with a Sergei Diaghilev
production featuring Feodor Chaliapin as Galitsky and Maria Kuznetsova as
Yaroslavna. London saw the same production in 1914 conducted by Thomas Beecham,
again with Chaliapin as Galitsky. In 1915 the United States premiere took place
at the Metropolitan Opera, but staged in Italian and conducted by Giorgio
Polacco. The first performance in English was at Covent Garden on 26 July 1919,
with Miriam Licette as Yaroslvna.[13]
In January and February 2009 there
was a production at the Aalto Theatre by the Essen Opera. While some aspects of
the production may have been unusual, one critic noted that "placing the
(Polovtsian) Dances as a Finale is an elegant idea, [...] the director Andrejs
Zagars and the conductor Noam Zur have thus presented a musically and
dramaturgically coherent Prince Igor. Heartfelt applause for a worthwhile
evening at the opera.[14]
In 2011 there was a concert performance in
Moscow by Helikon Opera, based on Pavel Lamm's reconstruction. A new edition
based on 92 surviving manuscripts by Borodin was completed by musicologist Anna
Bulycheva and published in 2012.[15]
Publication history[edit]
1885,
three arias, piano-vocal score, edition by Borodin, W. W. Bessel, St.
Petersburg
1888, piano-vocal score, edition by Rimsky-Korsakov &
Glazunov, M. P. Belyayev, Leipzig
1888, full score, edition by
Rimsky-Korsakov & Glazunov, M. P. Belyayev, Leipzig
1953, piano-vocal
score, edition by Rimsky-Korsakov & Glazunov, Muzgiz, Moscow
1954, full
score, edition by Rimsky-Korsakov & Glazunov, Muzgiz, Moscow
2012,
piano-vocal score, the original version, edited by Bulycheva, Classica-XXI,
Moscow[16]
Roles[edit]
Role
Voice type
St.
Petersburg premiere,
4 November (23 October O.S.) 1890,
(Conductor: Karl
Kuchera)
Moscow premiere,
1892
(Conductor: –)
Bolshoi
Theatre, Moscow,
1898
(Conductor: – )
Igor Svyatoslavich, Prince of
Novgorod-Seversky baritone Ivan Melnikov Ivan Goncharov Pavel Khokhlov
Yaroslavna, his wife by his second marriage soprano Olga Olgina Yelena
Tsvetkova Mariya Deysha-Sionitskaya
Vladimir Igorevich, Igor's son from his
first marriage tenor Mikhail Dmitrievich Vasilyev Mikhaylov Leonid Sobinov
Galitsky (Vladimir Yaroslavich), Prince of Galich, brother of Princess
Yaroslavna listed as "high bass" Stepan Vlasov
Konchak, Cuman/Polovtsian
khan bass Mikhail Koryakin Aleksandr Antonovsky Stepan Trezvinsky
Gzak,
Polovtsian khan silent
Konchakovna, daughter of Khan Konchak contralto
Mariya Slavina Azerskaya
Ovlur, a Christian Polovtsian tenor Uspensky
Skula, a gudok-player bass Fyodor Stravinsky Vasiliy Tyutyunnik
Yeroshka, a gudok-player tenor Grigoriy Ugrinovich Konstantin
Mikhaylov-Stoyan
Yaroslavna's nurse soprano
A Polovtsian maiden soprano
Dolina
Chorus, silent roles: Russian princes and princesses, boyars and
boyarynas, elders, Russian warriors, maidens, people. Cuman/Polovtsian khans,
Konchakovna's girlfriends, slaves (chagi) of Khan Konchak, Russian prisoners,
Polovtsian sentries
Note:
The actual given name of the historical
Yaroslavna is Yefrosinya (Russian: Ефросинья, English: Euphrosina). Yaroslavna
is a patronymic, meaning "daughter of Yaroslav". Konchakovna's name is similarly
derived.
Yaroslavna's brother, Vladimir Yaroslavich, is often called "Prince
Galitsky" (Russian: Князь Галицкий), leading to the misconception that he was a
prince by the name of Galitsky. In fact, he was a son of Prince of Galich
Yaroslav Osmomysl. Prince Galitsky is a title meaning "Prince of
Galich".
Synopsis[edit]
Time: The year 1185
Place: The city
of Putivl (prologue, Acts 1 and 4); a Polovtsian camp (Acts 2 and
3)
Konstantin Korovin's costume design for Igor in the
production of Prince Igor at the Mariinsky Theatre, 1909
Note: As discussed
in this article, Borodin's final decision on the order of the first two acts is
unclear. The traditional grouping presented here is that of the
Rimsky-Korsakov-Glazunov edition. In many productions, Act 3 is
omitted.
Prologue[edit]
The cathedral square in
Putivl
Prince Igor is about to set out on a campaign against the
Cumans/Polovtsy and their Khans who have previously attacked the Russian lands.
The people sing his praise and that of his son, the other leaders and the army
(Chorus: "Glory to the beautiful Sun"). A solar eclipse takes place to general
consternation. Two soldiers Skula and Yeroshka desert feeling sure that Vladimir
Yaroslavich, Prince Galitsky, will offer them work more to their liking.
Although Yaroslavna, Igor's wife, takes the eclipse for a bad omen, Igor insists
that honour demands that he go to war. He leaves her to the care of her brother,
Prince Galitsky, who tells of his gratitude to Igor for sheltering him after he
was banished from his own home by his father and brothers. The people sing a
great chorus of praise (Chorus: "Glory to the multitude of stars") as the host
sets out on their campaign against the Polovtsy.
Act 1[edit]
Scene
1: Vladimir Galitsky's court in Putivl
G. Petrov as
Galitsky (1970)
Aria of Galitsky from Prince
Igor
Aria of Galitsky from opera "Prince
Igor" A. Borodin. Performed by Georgiy Petrov 1970
Problems playing
this file? See media help.
Galitsky's followers sing his praise. Skula
and Yeroshka are now working as gudok-players. They entertain the followers and
all sing of how Galitsky and his men abducted a young woman and how she pleaded
to be allowed to return to her father without being dishonoured. The prince
arrives and sings of how, if he were Prince of Putivl, he would drink and feast
all day while dispensing judgment and have the prettiest maidens with him all
night (Galitsky's Song). The treasury would be spent on himself and his men
while his sister would be praying in a monastery. A group of young women beg the
prince to restore their abducted friend. He threatens them and drives them away,
saying how she now lives in luxury in his quarters and does not have to work.
The prince returns to his rooms having sent for wine for his followers. The
gudok players and the prince's followers mock the women. They wonder what might
happen if Yaroslavna hears of what happens, but then realise she would be
helpless with all her men gone to war. They sing of how they are all drunkards
and are supported by Galitsky. The men decide to go to the town square to
declare Galitsky the Prince of Putivl, leaving just the two drunk musicians
behind.
Scene 2: A room in Yaroslavna's palace
Yaraslavna is alone
worrying about why she has not heard from Igor and his companions (Yaroslavna's
Arioso). She sings of her tearful nights and nightmares and reminisces about
when she was happy with Igor by her side. The nurse brings in the young women
who tell Yaroslavna of their abducted friend. They are reluctant at first to
reveal the culprit but eventually name Galitsky and talk of how he and his
drunken followers cause trouble around Putivl. Galitsky enters and the women run
away. Yaroslavna questions him as to the truth of their story and he mocks her
saying she should treat him as a guest in her house. She threatens him with what
Igor will do on his return, but Galitsky replies that he can seize the throne
whenever he wants. Yaroslavna accuses him of repeating the betrayal that he
carried out against their father, but he replies that he was only joking and
asks if she has a lover now her husband is away. She threatens him with sending
him back to their father. He replies that he will return the girl but will take
another later and leaves. The council of boyars arrive to inform Yaroslavna that
the Polovtsy under Khan Gzak are about to attack Putivl. Igor's army has been
utterly destroyed and he has been wounded and captured with his son and brother.
After a moment of faintness, Yaroslavna orders messengers sent to the city's
allies, but the Boyars report that the roads are cut, some towns are in revolt
and their princes will be captured. The Boyars say that they will organise the
defence but Galitsky returns with his followers to demand that a new Prince be
chosen. His retinue say it should be him as he is Yaroslavna's brother and
Igor's brother-in-law. The boyars refuse. The argument is interrupted by the
sight of flames and the sound of crying women. Some of the boyars flee; some
join the battle, others guard the Princess. They call the attack God's
judgment.
Scene design by Ivan Bilibin (1930)
Act
2[edit]
Evening in the Polovtsian Camp
Polovtsian maidens sing
comparing love to a flower that droops in the heat of the day and is revived by
night. They dance together (Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens). Konchakovna joins
in the singing hoping that her own lover will join here soon (Konchakovna's
Cavatina). The Russian prisoners arrive from their day's work and express their
gratitide when fed by Konchakovna and the maidens. Their guards retire for the
night leaving just Ovlur, a Christian, in charge. Vladimir, son of Igor, sings
of his hope that his love will soon join him now that the day is fading
(Vladimir's Cavatina). His love is Konchakovna. She comes and the two sing of
their love and their desire to marry (Love Duet). While her father will consent
to the marriage, they know that his will not. They part when they hear Igor
coming. He sings of his disgrace and torment at being captured with his
followers dead (Prince Igor's Aria). Only his wife, he feels, will be loyal. He
hopes for the chance to regain his honour. Ovlur urges Igor to escape and the
prince agrees to think about it. Khan Konchak asks him if all is well (Konchak's
Aria) and he replies that the falcon cannot live in captivity. Konchak says that
as Igor did not ask for mercy he is not a prisoner but an honoured guest equal
to a Khan. Igor reminds him that he too knows what it is to be a captive.
Konchak offers Igor freedom if he will promise not to wage war on him again, but
he refuses saying he cannot lie. Konchak regrets that they were not born to be
allies. They would then have captured all of Russia. He summons the Polovtsian
slaves to entertain Igor and himself and offers Igor his choice of them. As the
slaves dance the Polovtsy sing of Konchak's glory (Polovtsian
Dances).
Act 3[edit]
The Polovtsian camp
The Polovtsian
army returns in triumph singing the praise of Khan Gzak (Polovtsian March).
Konchak sings of the sack of Putivl and other victories and confidently predicts
that they will soon capture all of Russia. Igor and his son Vladimir have their
worst fears confirmed by the new captives. Vladimir and the other prisoners urge
Igor to escape, but he is at first reluctant, singing of his shame and saying
that it is the duty of the other Russian princes to save the homeland (Igor's
Monologue, Mariinsky edition only). Ovlur now arrives to say that he has
prepared horses for Igor and Vladimir and Igor now agrees to escape. The
distressed Konchakovna comes, challenging Vladimir to show his love by either
taking her with him or by staying. Igor urges his son to come, but Vladimir
feels unable to leave Konchakovna who threatens to wake the camp. Eventually
Igor flees alone and Konchakovna sounds the alarm. She and her father refuse to
let the Polovtsy kill Vladimir. Instead Konchak orders the death of the guards
and marries Vladimir to his daughter. As for Igor, Konchak thinks more of him
for his escape.
Act 4Dawn in Putivl
Yaroslavna weeps at her
separation from Igor and the defeat of his army, blaming the very elements
themselves for helping the enemy (Yaroslavna's Lament). Peasant women blame not
the wind but Khan Gzak for the devastation. As Yaroslavna looks around to
acknowledge the destruction, she sees two riders in the distance who turn out to
be Igor and Ovlur. The two lovers sing of their joy of being reunited and of the
expectation that Ivan will lead the Russians to victory against the Khan.
Unaware of Igor's return, Skula and Yeroshka, the drunken gudok players, sing a
song that mocks him. Then they notice him in the distance. After a moment of
panic about what will happen to them, Skula says that they should rely on their
cunning and decides on a plan that will save them. They ring the church bells to
summon a crowd. Although people at first treat them with suspicion, the gudok
players manage to convince the crowd that Igor has returned and the boyars that
they are loyal followers of the true prince and not Galitsky. All joyously
celebrate Igor's return.
Principal arias and
numbers[edit]
Overture
Prologue
Chorus: "Glory to the beautiful Sun",
«Солнцу красному слава!» (People of Putivl)Chorus: "Glory to the multitude of
stars", «Частым звёздочкам слава!» (People of Putivl)
Act 1
Song: "If only
I had the honor", «Только б мне дождаться чести» (Galitsky)Arioso: "A long time
has passed", «Немало времени прошло с тех пор» (Yaroslavna)
Act 2
Dance:
"Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens", «Пляска половецких девушек»
(Orchestra)Cavatina: "The light of day fades", «Меркнет свет дневной»
(Konchakovna)Cavatina: "Slowly the day died away", «Медленно день угасал»
(Vladimir)Duet: "Is that you, my Vladimir?", «Ты ли, Владимир мой?»
(Konchakovna, Vladimir)Aria: "No sleep, no rest for my tormented soul", «Ни сна,
ни отдыха измученной душе» (Igor)Aria: "Are you well, Prince?", «Здоров ли,
князь?» (Konchak)Polovtsian Dances: "Fly away on the wings of the wind", «Улетай
на крыльях ветра» (Slaves, Konchak)
Act 3
March: "Polovtsian March",
«Половецкий марш» (Orchestra)Trio: "Vladimir! Is all this really true?",
«Владимир! Ужель все это правда?» (Konchakovna, Vladimir, Igor)
Act
4
Aria: "Oh, I weep", «Ах, плачу я» (Yaroslavna)Chorus: "God heard our
prayers", «Знать, господь мольбы услышал» (People of Putivl)
Both the
Overture to Prince Igor and the "Polovtsian Dances" (from Act II) are well-known
concert standards. Together with the "Polovtsian March", they form the so-called
"suite" from the opera.
Prince Igor is a staple of Russian Opera, but
has not travelled well abroad. One obvious reason is the Russian language,
although translation into Italian was once a solution.
Another
explanation for the failure to gain acceptance is its lack of unity resulting
from its unfinished state. Despite the skill and efforts of editors
Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov, the opera is still episodic and dramatically
static, a problem of which the composer himself was aware when he embarked on
composition (see quote above in "Composition History"). This is partly a
consequence of Borodin's failure to complete a libretto before beginning
composition of the music—the same problem that plagued his colleague Mussorgsky
in the composition of Khovanshchina.[17] Both composers wrote their librettos
piece by piece while composing the music, both lost sight of the overall
narrative thread of their operas, and both wound up with pages and pages of
music that needed to be sacrificed to assemble a cohesive whole.[citation
needed] Also, both died before finishing their operas, leaving the task of
completion, editing, and orchestration to Rimsky-Korsakov.
It is a pity
that Prince Igor is not performed more often, as it has a colorful setting,
marvellous moments of drama and characterization, and music of sumptuous
beauty.[18] It does not, however, have a well-constructed or tightly integrated
plot. "The chief appeal of Prince Igor lies in the quality of its individual
numbers rather than its whole shape or ability to involve an audience in the
narrative."[17]
One of the main considerations when performing Prince
Igor is the question of whether to include Act 3, much of which was composed by
Glazunov. The practice of omitting it was mentioned as early as 1909 in
Rimsky-Korsakov's memoirs.[19] Many productions leave Act 3 out because it
"fails to carry conviction both musically and dramatically."[20] On the other
hand, maintaining the act has certain benefits. It contains some fine pages
(e.g., the "Polovtsian March"), provides an important link in the narrative
(Igor's escape, Vladimir's fate), and is the origin of some of the memorable
themes first heard in the overture (the trio, brass fanfares). Fortunately, the
option of omitting the fine overture, also known to have been composed by
Glazunov, is seldom if ever considered.
Recently, the question of the
best sequence of scenes in which to perform the opera has gained some
prominence. Borodin did not complete a libretto before composing the music to
Prince Igor.[21] The opera has traditionally been performed in the edition made
by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. It will be obvious that the positions to which
they assigned the Prologue, Act 3, and Act 4 cannot be changed if the story is
to make sense. However, because the events of Act 1 and Act 2 overlap and are
independent of one another, Act 2 may just as well precede Act 1 without any
loss of coherence. Soviet musicologists Pavel Lamm and Arnold Sokhor reported
the existence of a written plan (now in Glinka's Musical Culture Museum,
Moscow), in Borodin's hand, that specified this sequence of scenes:[3]
1.The
omen from heaven (Prologue)
2.Imprisonment (Act 2)
3.Galitsky's court (Act
1, Scene 1)
4.Yaroslavna's palace (Act 1, Scene 2)
5.Escape (Act
3)
6.Return (Act 4)
Sokhor assessed the plan as not written later than
1883.[22] The 1993 recording of Prince Igor by Valery Gergiev with the Kirov
Opera features a new edition of the score with additions commissioned from
composer Yuri Faliek for a production at the Mariinsky Theatre, adopting this
hypothetical original sequence. The authors of the notes to the recording assert
that this order better balances the musical structure of the score by
alternating the acts in the Russian and Polovtsian settings with their
distinctive musical atmospheres.
Despite this justification, there is
reason to maintain the traditional sequence. Act II contains most of the numbers
for which the work is known today, with Igor's brooding and impassioned aria
("Oh give me freedom") at the center, flanked by Vladimir's cavatina and
Konchak's aria, not to mention the rousing conclusion provided by the Polovtsian
Dances. Moving its wealth of arias and dances from the center of the work to
near the beginning may weaken the opera's structure.
The "Mariinsky
edition" makes other important changes and additions to the score. Although much
of the material composed or orchestrated by Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov is
retained, there are additions culled from the unpublished vocal score by Pavel
Lamm, orchestrated and linked by Faliek. The changes include:[23]
About 200
bars added to the scene in Yaroslavna's palace which make explicit Galitsky's
rebellion
Various additions and removals from Act 3, including the
restoration of a monologue for Igor composed by Borodin in 1875. A review in
Gramophone highlights how the newly added monologue "helps to give a weighty
focus to Act 3, otherwise a phenomenal feat of reconstruction on Glazunov's
part, but somehow insubstantial".[24]
A different final chorus for Act 4,
"Glory to the multitude of stars", a repeat of material from the Prologue. This
idea is historically justified, as Borodin had originally placed this chorus at
the end of the opera in the form of an epilogue [see the quote by
Rimsky-Korsakov above under Composition history]. This regrettably necessitates
the elimination of Borodin's subsequent chorus, "God heard our
prayers".
In the West, the opera has often been given in languages other
than Russian. For example, the 1960 recording under Lovro von Matačić is sung in
German, the 1964 recording under Armando La Rosa Parodi is in Italian and the
1982 David Lloyd-Jones recording is in English. On the other hand, the 1990
Bernard Haitink and the 1962 Oscar Danon recordings are Western performances
sung in Russian.[25]
Structure[edit]
The numbers are given according
to the traditional Rimsky-Korsakov-Glazunov edition.
The dates refer to
composition, not orchestration. Where a pair of dates differ, a large gap (more
than one year) may indicate an interruption of composition or a revision of the
musical number.
In No.1 (the Prologue), the Eclipse scene (301 bars) was
orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov and the remainder by Borodin.
No. Act
Number
Start
End
Composer
Orchestrator
–
– Overture 1887 1887 Glazunov Glazunov
1 – Prologue 1876 1885 Borodin
Borodin*
2a Act 1, Scene 1 Chorus 1875 1875 Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
2b
Act 1, Scene 1 Recitative and Song: Galitsky 1879 1879 Borodin Borodin
2c
Act 1, Scene 1 Recitative: Galitsky n.a. n.a. Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
2d Act
1, Scene 1 Maiden's Chorus and Scena n.a. n.a. Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
2e
Act 1, Scene 1 Scena: Skula, Yeroshka n.a. n.a. Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
2f
Act 1, Scene 1 Song in Honor of Prince Galitsky: Skula, Yeroshka 1878 1878
Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
2g Act 1, Scene 1 Chorus n.a. n.a. Borodin
Rimsky-Korsakov
3 Act 1, Scene 2 Arioso: Yaroslavna 1869 1875 Borodin
Rimsky-Korsakov
4 Act 1, Scene 2 Scena: Yaroslavna, Nurse, Chorus 1879 1879
Borodin Borodin
5 Act 1, Scene 2 Scena: Yaroslavna, Galitsky 1879 1879
Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
6 Act 1, Scene 2 Finale: Yaroslavna, Galitsky,
Chorus 1879 1880 Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
7 Act 2 Chorus of Polovtsian
Maidens n.a. n.a. Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
8 Act 2 Dance of Polovtsian
Maidens n.a. n.a. Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
9 Act 2 Cavatina: Konchakovna 1869
1869 Borodin Borodin
10 Act 2 Scena: Konchakovna, Chorus 1887 1887
Rimsky-Korsakov / Glazunov Rimsky-Korsakov / Glazunov
11 Act 2 Recitative
and Cavatina: Vladimir 1877 1878 Borodin Borodin
12 Act 2 Duet: Vladimir,
Konchakovna 1877 1878 Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
13 Act 2 Aria: Igor 1881 1881
Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
14 Act 2 Scena: Igor, Ovlur n.a. n.a. Borodin
Rimsky-Korsakov
15 Act 2 Aria: Konchak 1874 1875 Borodin Borodin
16 Act
2 Recitative: Igor, Konchak n.a. n.a. Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
17 Act 2
Polovtsian Dances with Chorus 1869 1875 Borodin Borodin / Rimsky-Korsakov /
Lyadov
18 Act 3 Polovtsian March 1869 1875 Borodin Borodin / Rimsky-Korsakov
19 Act 3 Song: Konchak n.a. n.a. Glazunov Glazunov
20 Act 3 Recitative
and Scena n.a. n.a. Borodin Glazunov
22 Act 3 Recitative: Ovlur, Igor 1888
1888 Glazunov Glazunov
23 Act 3 Trio: Igor, Vladimir, Konchakovna n.a. 1888
Borodin / Glazunov Glazunov
24 Act 3 Finale: Konchakovna, Konchak, Chorus
1884 n.a. Borodin / Glazunov Glazunov
25 Act 4 Lament: Yaroslavna 1875 1875
Borodin Borodin
26 Act 4 Peasant's Chorus 1879 1879 Borodin Borodin
27
Act 4 Recitative and Duet: Yaroslavna, Igor 1876 1876 Borodin Rimsky-Korsakov
28 Act 4 Gudok-Players' Song, Scena and Chorus n.a. n.a. Borodin
Rimsky-Korsakov
29 Act 4 Finale: Skula, Yeroshka, Chorus n.a. n.a. Borodin
Borodin / Rimsky-Korsakov
[26]
Recordings[edit]
This
is a list of studio recordings. A comprehensive list of all recordings of Prince
Igor may be found at operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
Audio
1952,
Aleksandr Melik-Pashayev (conductor), Bolshoy Theatre Orchestra and Chorus,
Andrey Ivanov (Igor), Yelena Smolenskaya (Yaroslavna), Sergey Lemeshev
(Vladimir), Aleksandr Pirogov (Galitsky), Mark Reyzen (Konchak), Vera Borisenko
(Konchakovna)
1955, Oskar Danon (conductor), Belgrade National Opera
Orchestra and Chorus; Dushan Popovich (Igor), Valeria Heybalova (Yaroslavna),
Noni Zunec (Vladimir), Zarko Cvejic (Galitsky, Konchak), Melanie Bugarinovic
(Konchakovna)
1966, Jerzy Semkow (conductor), National Opera Theatre of
Sofia; Constantin Chekerliiski (Igor), Julia Wiener (Yaroslavna), Todor Todorov
(Vladimir), Boris Christoff (Galitsky, Konchak), Reni Penkova
(Konchakovna)
1969, Mark Ermler (conductor), Bolshoy Theatre Orchestra and
Chorus; Ivan Petrov (Igor), Tatyana Tugarinova (Yaroslavna), Vladimir Atlantov
(Vladimir), Artur Eisen (Galitsky), Aleksandr Vedernikov (Konchak), Yelena
Obraztsova (Konchakovna)
1990, Emil Tchakarov (conductor), Sofia Festival
Orchestra and National Opera Chorus, Boris Martinovich (Igor), Stefka Evstatieva
(Yaroslavna), Kaludi Kaludov (Vladimir), Nicola Ghiuselev (Galitsky), Nicolai
Ghiaurov (Konchak), Alexandrina Milcheva-Nonova (Konchakovna) Sony
44878
1993, Valery Gergiev (conductor), Kirov Opera Orchestra and Chorus;
Mikhail Kit (Igor), Galina Gorchakova (Yaroslavna), Gegam Grigorian (Vladimir),
Vladimir Ognovienko (Galitsky), Bulat Minjelkiev (Konchak), Olga Borodina
(Konchakovna), Philips 442–537–2.
Video
1981 Evgeny Nesterenko (Prince
Igor), Elena Kurovskaya (Jaroslavna), Vladimir Sherbakov (Vladimir Igorevich),
Alexander Vedernikov (Prince Galitsky), Boris Morozov (Konchak), Tamara
Sinyavskaya (Konchakovna), Vladimir Petrov (Ovlur), Valery Yaroslavtsev (Skula),
Konstantin Baskov (Yeroshka), Nina Grigorieva (Nurse), Margarita Miglau
(Polovtsian Maiden) Orchestra & Chorus of the Bolshoi Theatre, Mark
Ermler.
1993 Nikolai Putilin, Galina Gorchakova, Evgeny Akimov, Sergey
Aleksashkin, Vladimir Vaneev, Olga Borodina, Kirov Opera & Ballet, Valery
Gergiev
See also[edit]Cuman
people
References[edit]
Notes
1.^ Jump up to: a b Abraham
and Lloyd-Jones (1986: p. 51).
2.Jump up ^ Hofmann (date unknown: p.
12).
3.^ Jump up to: a b Malkiel and Barry (1994: p. 16).
4.Jump up ^
Abraham and Lloyd-Jones (1986: p. 67).
5.Jump up ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p.
160)
6.Jump up ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p. 194)
7.Jump up ^
Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p. 134)
8.Jump up ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p.
211)
9.Jump up ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p. 283)
10.Jump up ^ Abraham
(1939: p. 165)
11.Jump up ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p. 297)
12.Jump up ^
Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p. 309)
13.Jump up ^ Music Web International: Miriam
Licette, Charles A Hooey
14.Jump up ^ Dr. Eva Maria Ernst on
www.operapoint.com 3 February 2009
15.Jump up ^ Parin A. Innere Logik.
Opernwelt, 06/2011
16.Jump up ^ See Laura Kennedy's review in:
Nineteenth-Century Music Review, vol. 10, issue 2, pp. 387-390.
17.^ Jump up
to: a b Abraham and Lloyd-Jones (1986: p. 69).
18.Jump up ^ Hofmann (date
unknown: The title).
19.Jump up ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p. 309).
20.Jump
up ^ Abraham and Lloyd-Jones (1986: p. 70).
21.Jump up ^ Abraham and
Lloyd-Jones (1986: pg. 69).
22.Jump up ^ Malkiel and Barry (1994: p.
16)
23.Jump up ^ Malkiel and Barry (1994: p. 17).
24.Jump up ^ " DN"
review of Gergiev 1993 recording Gramophone, April 1995. p. 119. Link checked 24
September 2007
25.Jump up ^ Capon, B. Discography of Prince Igor. Link
checked 22 September 2007.
26.Jump up ^ Album notes to the 1993 Kirov Opera
recording, Philips CD 442–537–2. Information compiled by musicologist Marina
Malkiel.
Sources
Abraham, G. (1939) On Russian Music, London (via
album notes by Richard Taruskin in "Alexander Borodin: Orchesterwerke" Deutsche
Grammophon CD 435 757–2)
Abraham, G. and Lloyd-Jones, D. (1986) "Alexander
Borodin" in Brown, D. (ed.) The New Grove: Russian Masters 1, New York: W. W.
Norton & Co., pp. 45–76.
Borodin, A. Libretto for Prince
Igor.
Hofmann, M. Une musique d'une somptueuse beauté (album notes to the
1952 Bolshoy Theatre recording) Le Chant du Monde CD LDC 2781041/43
Malkiel,
M. and Barry, A. (1994) Authenticity in Prince Igor:Open Questions, New Answers
(introductory note to 1993 Gergiev recording) pp. 13–22 of booklet, Philips CD
442–537–2.
Rimsky-Korsakov, N. (1923) Chronicle of My Musical Life,
translated by J. A. Joffe, New York: Knopf
External
links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prince Igor.
"Galitsky's Song" on YouTube
Prince Igor: Free scores at the
International Music Score Library Project
Libretto (PDF)
Synopsis and
libretto, Italian and English, 1915 (courtesy of Open Library)
Symphony
No. 2 (1869–1876) ·
In the Steppes of Central Asia (1880) ·
String
Quartet No. 2 (1881) ·
Scherzo in A-flat major (1885) ·
Polovtsian
Dances ·
Petite Suite
Operas
Prince Igor (1869–1887) ·
Mlada (1872)
Categories: Operas by Alexander Borodin Russian-language
operas 1890 operas
Operas Operas completed by others The Tale of Igor's
Campaign Classical musical works published posthumously
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