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The Captain's Daughter (opera)
Encyclopedia
The Captain's Daughter is an opera in four acts (eight tableaux) by César Cui
, composed during 1907-1909. The libretto
was adapted by the composer from Aleksandr Pushkin
's novel of the same name
.
) at the Mariinsky Theatre
in Saint Petersburg
under the conductorship of Eduard Nápravník
. Its Moscow
premiere took place on 17 September 1914 at the Solodovnikov Theater, with S.I. Zimin's Opera Company.
The action takes place in Russia, in 1775.
Tableau 2. Arriving at an inn, the three of them set up lodgings. The Guide and the Innkeeper converse in coded language. Everyone goes to bed. Petr has a dream in which his father lies dying on a bed with his mother and servants around. Petr walks up to the scene and finds that the man in the bed is not his father, but the Guide, who tries to bless him and then waves an axe in all directions, causing a disturbance. The dream ends as a rooster crows and dawn breaks. The guests prepare for travelling again. Petr gives his coat to the Guide to stay warm. The three leave.
Tableau 4. A room in the Commandant's house. Petr lies asleep, still recovering. Masha sings to him. He awakens and proposes marriage to her, but she is concerned about whether his family will accept her; he assures her otherwise. Savel'ich enters with a letter from Grinev which refuses permission to Petr to marry Masha. She cannot marry without Petr's parents' consent and exits. Petr vows to convince his father.
Mironov enters, reading aloud a letter from the General. Pugachev has sacked several fortresses, and must be destroyed. Mironova tells of the capture of another fortress. Mironov decides that Masha should be sent away for safety. Mironova, Zharkov, Petr, Shvabrin, and Mironov join in a patriotic oath not to surrender.
Tableau 5. Belogorsky Fortress (same setting as Tableau 3). Preparations are made in the fortress for an attack. Mironov takes leave of mironova. The insurgents attack the fortress and take it. Pugachev comes on the scene. Mironov and Zharkov are executed by hanging (offstage). Pugachev recognizes Petr, though, and spares him. Although the people beg him to, Petr will not kiss Pugachev's hand. In runs Mironova, mourning her husband. She is taken away to be killed.
Pugachev welcomes Petr. The men and women dance, and Chumakov strikes up a song. Pugachev and Petr are left alone to converse. It is revealed that Pugachev was the guide to whom Petr gave his coat. However Petr refuses to be a traitor, and goes off. Pugachev is left wondering about his fate as a last string of Chumakov's song is sung.
Tableau 6. A room in the Commandant's house (same setting as Tableau 4). Masha, locked in the room, is now an orphan. Shvabrin enters and begs her to marry him. She refuses, and he exits, but outside the room he runs into Pugachev and Petr. He makes up a story that she is being kept there because she is ill, and that they are married. Masha reveals the truth. Pugachev sets Masha free. Petr, who still cannot give Pugachev his allegiance, nevertheless is grateful to Pugachev. He asks Pugachev to let him and Masha leave. Pugachev agrees, tells Shvabrin to give them a pass to travel, and bids them farewell. Left alone, the two lovers discuss their plans. Petr will take Masha to his parents house, and his father will be honored to have the daughter of brave Captain Mironov in his house.
to try to plead for him among influential people. Petr's parents bless her.
Tableau 8. A hall in the Imperial palace
in Saint Petersburg
. Courtiers sing the praises of the Empress
. She makes her entrance and announces that Pugachev has been captured. Masha and the Grinev family enter. The Empress grants Masha's request by pardoning Petr, and blesses their life together, as the courtiers resume their praise.
César Cui
César Antonovich Cui was a Russian of French and Lithuanian descent. His profession was as an army officer and a teacher of fortifications; his avocational life has particular significance in the history of music, in that he was a composer and music critic; in this sideline he is known as a...
, composed during 1907-1909. The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was adapted by the composer from Aleksandr Pushkin
Aleksandr Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian author of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature....
's novel of the same name
The Captain's Daughter
The Captain's Daughter is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal Sovremennik. The novel is a romanticized account of Pugachev's Rebellion in 1773-1774....
.
Performance History
The opera was premiered on 14 February 1911 (Old StyleOld Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
) at the Mariinsky Theatre
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
under the conductorship of Eduard Nápravník
Eduard Nápravník
Eduard Francevič Nápravník was a Czech conductor and composer, who settled in Russia and is best known for his leading role in Russian musical life as the principal conductor of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg for many decades...
. Its Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
premiere took place on 17 September 1914 at the Solodovnikov Theater, with S.I. Zimin's Opera Company.
Characters and Setting
- Empress Catherine the GreatCatherine II of RussiaCatherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
: mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... - Andrei Petrovich Grinev, a retired majorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
: bassBass (voice type)A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... - Avdotʹia Vasil'evna [Grineva], his wife: sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
- Petr [or Pyotr] Andreevich, their son: tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
- Savelʹich, a servant: baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
- Dorofei, a proprietor of an inn: tenor
- Potap, a CossackCossackCossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
: bass - The Guide (PugachevYemelyan PugachevYemelyan Ivanovich Pugachov , was a pretender to the Russian throne who led a great Cossack insurrection during the reign of Catherine II...
): baritone - Ivan Kuzʹmich Mironov, commandant of Belgorodsky fortress: bass
- Vasilisa Egorovna [Mironova], his wife: contraltoContraltoContralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
- Masha, their daughter: soprano
- Aleksei Ivanovich Shvabrin, an ensignEnsign (rank)Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
: baritone - Ivan Ignatʹevich Zharkov, a lieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
: tenor - Maksimych, a sergeantSergeantSergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
: tenor - A CorporalCorporalCorporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
: bass - Chumakov, a song-leader: tenor
- GarrisonGarrisonGarrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
soldierSoldierA soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s, residents, rebels, courtierCourtierA courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
s: chorusChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
The action takes place in Russia, in 1775.
Act I
Tableau 1. The Grinevs' house. The father decides to send his seventeen-year-old son Petr off to become a soldier; the household bids him farewell as he leaves with Savel'ich. An orchestral interlude represents their journey, in which they are trapped in a snowstorm and rescued by a Guide.Tableau 2. Arriving at an inn, the three of them set up lodgings. The Guide and the Innkeeper converse in coded language. Everyone goes to bed. Petr has a dream in which his father lies dying on a bed with his mother and servants around. Petr walks up to the scene and finds that the man in the bed is not his father, but the Guide, who tries to bless him and then waves an axe in all directions, causing a disturbance. The dream ends as a rooster crows and dawn breaks. The guests prepare for travelling again. Petr gives his coat to the Guide to stay warm. The three leave.
Act II
Tableau 3. Belogorsky Fortress, the square and the porch of the Commandant's house. Zharkov his helping Mironova wind her yarn, a group of invalid soldiers marches past. Petr, who has already settled in, reads a love poem he has written to get Shvabrin's opinion. This leads to an argument between them concerning Masha,; they agree to a duel and go off elsewhere to take care of it. The invalids march by once more. Savel'ich, who has seen the duel, arouses the residents. Petr is brought in on a stretcher unconscious and taken into the Mironov's house.Tableau 4. A room in the Commandant's house. Petr lies asleep, still recovering. Masha sings to him. He awakens and proposes marriage to her, but she is concerned about whether his family will accept her; he assures her otherwise. Savel'ich enters with a letter from Grinev which refuses permission to Petr to marry Masha. She cannot marry without Petr's parents' consent and exits. Petr vows to convince his father.
Mironov enters, reading aloud a letter from the General. Pugachev has sacked several fortresses, and must be destroyed. Mironova tells of the capture of another fortress. Mironov decides that Masha should be sent away for safety. Mironova, Zharkov, Petr, Shvabrin, and Mironov join in a patriotic oath not to surrender.
Act III
Pugachev welcomes Petr. The men and women dance, and Chumakov strikes up a song. Pugachev and Petr are left alone to converse. It is revealed that Pugachev was the guide to whom Petr gave his coat. However Petr refuses to be a traitor, and goes off. Pugachev is left wondering about his fate as a last string of Chumakov's song is sung.
Tableau 6. A room in the Commandant's house (same setting as Tableau 4). Masha, locked in the room, is now an orphan. Shvabrin enters and begs her to marry him. She refuses, and he exits, but outside the room he runs into Pugachev and Petr. He makes up a story that she is being kept there because she is ill, and that they are married. Masha reveals the truth. Pugachev sets Masha free. Petr, who still cannot give Pugachev his allegiance, nevertheless is grateful to Pugachev. He asks Pugachev to let him and Masha leave. Pugachev agrees, tells Shvabrin to give them a pass to travel, and bids them farewell. Left alone, the two lovers discuss their plans. Petr will take Masha to his parents house, and his father will be honored to have the daughter of brave Captain Mironov in his house.
Act IV
Tableau 7. The Grinevs' house (same setting as Tableau 1). Masha is now living there, but Petr has been arrested. She explains to the Grinev's that he got into trouble only because he was trying to protect her. She will go to Tsarskoye SeloTsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
to try to plead for him among influential people. Petr's parents bless her.
Tableau 8. A hall in the Imperial palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. Courtiers sing the praises of the Empress
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
. She makes her entrance and announces that Pugachev has been captured. Masha and the Grinev family enter. The Empress grants Masha's request by pardoning Petr, and blesses their life together, as the courtiers resume their praise.
Notable excerpts
(Note: these titles are not marked in the score.)- Petr's poem, Tableau 3
- First love duet, Tableau 4
- Dances, Tableau 5
- Chumakov's song, Tableau 5
- Second love duet, Tableau 6
- Final polonaise, Tableau 8