Glinka's Russian operas

Synopsis

For fans of Russian opera, today is a red-letter day. On December 9, 1836, the first performance of Mikhail Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar” took place in St. Petersburg, and, in the same city and on the same date in 1842, Glinka’s second opera, “Russlan and Ludmilla,” was also performed. These two operas are credited with being the first great Russian national operas, and between them set the tone for many subsequent Russian opera composers.

Glinka’s “A Life for the Tsar” tells the story of Ivan Susanin, a patriotic Russian peasant, who pretends to betray a newly-elected Tsar by revealing his whereabouts to an invading Polish army, only to lead them deeper and deeper into a snowy forest, allowing ample time for the Tsar to escape danger. When they discover his trickery, the Poles kill Susanin, who accepts his fate with patriotic resignation. This opera proved to be the model for many Russian historical operas, ranging from Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” to Prokofiev’s “War and Peace.”

Glinka’s opera, “Russlan and Ludmilla,” is based on a fairy-tale by Pushkin. It’s a sprawling, fantastic tale, and is the ancestor for both the extravagant fairy-tale operas of Rimsky-Korakov and the fantastic fair-tale ballet scores of Tchaikovsky.

Glinka was a member of the Russian petty nobility, with the leisure, resources and inclination to be largely self-taught. On his travels to the West, he met both Bellini and Donizetti, two of the great Italian opera composers of his day, and upon his return to Russian set about creating his own, distinctly Russian, variation on their model.

Music Played in Today's Program

Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857) A Life for the Tsar Suite Armenian Philharmonic; Loris Tjeknavorian, cond. ASV 1075

Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857) Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture Bavarian Radio Symphony; Esa-Pekka Salonen, cond. Philips 416 288

On This Day

Births

• 1837 - French composer Emil Waldteufel, in Strasbourg;

• 1882 - Spanish composer and pianist Joaquín Turina, in Seville;

Premieres

• 1721 - Handel: opera "Floridante" in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Dec. 20);

• 1832 - Berlioz: the lyric monodrama "Lélio, ou Le Retour à la vie" (Lelio, or The Return to Life" - performed with "Symphonie fantastique" as its sequel - in Paris, with François-Antoine Habaneck conducting and the composer performing as an extra timpanist;

• 1836 - Glinka: opera “A Life for the Tsar,” at the Main Theater in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Nov. 27); This work was originally to be titled “Ivan Susanin” after its lead character, but as a tribute to the Tsar was retitled (After the Russian Revolution, it was staged under its original title);

• 1842 - Glinka: opera “Russlan and Ludmilla,” at the Main Theater in St. Petesrburg (Julian date: Nov. 27);

• 1900 - Debussy: "Nuages" and "Fêtes" (two of the three "Nocturnes" for orchestra), in Paris at a Lamoureux concert conducted by Camille Chevillard;

• 1905 - R. Strauss: opera "Salome," in Dresden at the Hofoper, conducted by Ernst von Schuch;

• 1906 - Glazunov: Symphony No. 8, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 22);

• 1926 - Milhaud: "Carnival d'Aix" for piano and orchestra, in New York, with the composer as the piano soloist;

• 1928 - Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Piano Concerto No. 1, in Rome;

• 1938 - Cage: "Trio for Percussion," in Santa Monica, Calif.;

• 1939 - Cage: "First Construction (in Metal)," for six percussionists, in Seattle;

• 1942 - Copland: "Danzón Cubano" for Two Pianos at a League of Composers 20th Anniversary concert at the Town Hall Forum, with the composer and Leonard Bernstein; At this concert, the piece was billed as "Birthday Piece (on Cuban Themes");

• 1949 - Barber: Piano Sonata, by Vladimir Horowitz, in Havana, Cuba;

• 1950 - Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 27, posthumously, in Moscow;

• 1969 - Peter Maxwell Davies: "Vsalii Icones," in London;

• 1974 - Lou Harrison: Suite for Violin with American Gamelan, at Lone Mountain College, San Francisco, with violinist Lauren Jakey;