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Betrothal in a Monastery

Betrothal in a Monastery (Russian title Обручение в монастыре) is an opera in nine scenes (four acts) by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer and Mira Mendelson after Sheridan's The Duenna.

Betrothal in a Monastery
Opera by Sergei Prokofiev
The composer in 1918
Native title
Обручение в монастыре; Obrucheniye v monastïre)
Librettist
LanguageRussian
Based onRichard Brinsley Sheridan's ballad opera libretto
Premiere
3 November 1946 (1946-11-03)
Kirov Theatre, Saint Petersburg

Prokofiev began the work in 1940, and it was in rehearsal that year, but World War II halted production of the opera.[1] The composer revised the score in Almaty in 1943. The first performance did not occur until 3 November 1946[2] at the Kirov Theatre with Boris Khaikin conducting. The producer was I. Shlepianov.

Commentators have noted that, given the context of its creation in the 1940s in the Soviet Union, this opera lacks any particular political or social comment, except perhaps for a scene involving drunken monks.[3]

Performance history edit

The opera was first performed in the United States (in English) in New York on June 1, 1948. The opera was first performed in the United Kingdom (in Russian) in London on May 5, 1963.[4] In recent years, the opera has been performed in 1989 at the Wexford Festival, in 2006 at the Glyndebourne Festival and at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Spain in 2008, at Staatsoper Berlin, in 2019.

Roles edit

Role Voice type Premiere cast
3 November 1946, Leningrad
(Conductor: Boris Khaikin)
Don Zherom, or Jerome, a Seville grandee tenor V. Ulyanov
Luiza, or Louisa, his daughter soprano Alexandra Khalilejeva
Ferdinand, his son baritone
Duenya, or the Duenna, Luiza's governess contralto N. Velter
Clara d'Almanza, Luiza's friend, in love with Ferdinand mezzo-soprano
Antonio, humble suitor to Luiza tenor
Mendoza, a wealthy fishmonger bass Boris Freidkov
Don Carlos, friend to Mendoza baritone Gheorghij Nikolajevich Orlov
Padre Augustin bass
Father Elustaf tenor
Father Chartreuse bass
Father Benedictine bass
Lauretta soprano
Rosina soprano
Lopez tenor
Pablo
Pedro
Miguel
Three Maskers
Two Lay Brothers

Synopsis edit

Act 1 edit

Don Jerome intends his daughter Louisa to marry the vain, wealthy and ugly fish merchant Mendoza. However, she loves instead Antonio, who is poor, though noble in spirit. Furthermore, Don Ferdinand, son of Don Jerome and prone to fits of jealousy, wants to marry Clara d'Almanza, who is a virtual prisoner of her stepmother.

Act 2 edit

Don Jerome locks up Louisa in her room to force her to marry Mendoza. Louisa's nurse (the Duenna) provokes the fury of Don Jerome by pretending to be a messenger between Antonio and Louisa. Jerome dismisses her - but the Duenna exchanges clothes with Louisa who makes her escape in this disguise.

By the quayside - where fisherwomen are praising the quality of the fish caught in Mendoza's boats - Louisa encounters her friend Clara, who has also run away from home and intends to seek sanctuary at the nunnery. Louisa asks to borrow Clara's name for a day - Clara assents. Enter Mendoza and his courtly friend Don Carlos. Mendoza is recognized by Louisa but he has never seen her. She therefore approaches Mendoza claiming to be Clara and asks him to take her under his protection and find Antonio with whom she is in love. Mendoza is attracted by this idea as a means to rid himself of his rival Antonio by marrying him off to 'Clara'. Don Carlos escorts 'Clara' to Mendoza's house.

Mendoza visits the house of Don Jerome to meet 'Louisa' (the Duenna in disguise); whilst 'Louisa' is not as young and beautiful as Mendoza had been led to believe, her dowry is sufficient attraction. they agree to elope that evening.

Act 3 edit

The mystified Antonio arrives at Mendoza's house; while he is offstage meeting 'Clara', Mendoza and don Carlos congratulate themselves on their cunning. Still unwitting, they agree to help the pair get married.

Don Jerome is rehearsing some amateur musicians (A trio of trumpet, clarinet and bass drum). He receives two messages- one from Mendoza saying he has eloped with Louisa, which delights him, and another from the real Louisa who asks for his blessing on her marriage, which he neglects to read carefully. He sends back his consent with both messengers and arranges for a great feast later that evening to celebrate.

At the monastery, Clara meets with Antonio and Luisa and laments her apparent loss of Ferdinand. Enter Ferdinand, who mistaking Clara for a nun exclaims that he is chasing his false friend Antonio who has run off with his beloved Clara. Clara is secretly overjoyed at this demonstration of Ferdinand's passion.

Act 4 edit

The act opens with a drinking song for the monks in the monastery where the marriages are to be performed. The monks then switch to a hymn that extols fasting and abstinence, to a tune that is a slower variant of the earlier drinking song. Enter Mendoza and Antonio who by lavish bribery gain the monks consent to marry them to their loves. Enter Ferdinand who challenges Antonio to a duel, but the genuine Clara arrives and Ferdinand now understands the true situation. The three marriages are agreed.

At Don Jerome's feast, the host is increasingly amazed, exasperated and infuriated as the successive arrival of the newly-weds makes it clear that his plans have gone completely awry. He is slightly compensated by the likely size of Clara's dowry. He sings a drinking song, accompanying himself on a set of tuned glasses.

Recordings edit

Recordings include:

Summer Night edit

Summer Night (Op. 123) is an orchestral suite with music drawn from Betrothal in a Monastery.

Movements edit

The suite, lasting around 20 minutes, consists of five movements:

  1. Introduction: Moderato, ma con brio
  2. Serenade: Adagio
  3. Minuet
  4. Dreams (Nocturne): Andante tranquillo
  5. Dance: Allegretto

Recordings edit

Recent recordings include:

References edit

  1. ^ Slonimsky, Nicolas, "The Duenna. A Lyric-Comic Opera in Four Acts, Nine Scenes" (June 1955). Notes (2nd Ser.), 12 (3): 484-485.
  2. ^ Law, Joe K. (2000). "Betrothal in a Monastery. Sergei Prokofiev". Opera Quarterly. 16 (2): 319–322. doi:10.1093/oq/16.2.319.
  3. ^ Tom Service (2006-07-25). "Betrothal in a Monastery/Glyndebourne". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
  4. ^ Martin, George (1989). The Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera. London: John Murray (Publishers) Ltd. p. 350.
  5. ^ Recordings of Betrothal in a Monastery on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk

External links edit

betrothal, monastery, russian, title, Обручение, монастыре, opera, nine, scenes, four, acts, sergei, prokofiev, russian, libretto, composer, mira, mendelson, after, sheridan, duenna, opera, sergei, prokofievthe, composer, 1918native, titleОбручение, монастыре,. Betrothal in a Monastery Russian title Obruchenie v monastyre is an opera in nine scenes four acts by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer and Mira Mendelson after Sheridan s The Duenna Betrothal in a MonasteryOpera by Sergei ProkofievThe composer in 1918Native titleObruchenie v monastyre Obrucheniye v monastire LibrettistProkofiev Mira MendelsonLanguageRussianBased onRichard Brinsley Sheridan s ballad opera librettoPremiere3 November 1946 1946 11 03 Kirov Theatre Saint PetersburgProkofiev began the work in 1940 and it was in rehearsal that year but World War II halted production of the opera 1 The composer revised the score in Almaty in 1943 The first performance did not occur until 3 November 1946 2 at the Kirov Theatre with Boris Khaikin conducting The producer was I Shlepianov Commentators have noted that given the context of its creation in the 1940s in the Soviet Union this opera lacks any particular political or social comment except perhaps for a scene involving drunken monks 3 Contents 1 Performance history 2 Roles 3 Synopsis 3 1 Act 1 3 2 Act 2 3 3 Act 3 3 4 Act 4 4 Recordings 5 Summer Night 5 1 Movements 5 2 Recordings 6 References 7 External linksPerformance history editThe opera was first performed in the United States in English in New York on June 1 1948 The opera was first performed in the United Kingdom in Russian in London on May 5 1963 4 In recent years the opera has been performed in 1989 at the Wexford Festival in 2006 at the Glyndebourne Festival and at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia Spain in 2008 at Staatsoper Berlin in 2019 Roles editRole Voice type Premiere cast3 November 1946 Leningrad Conductor Boris Khaikin Don Zherom or Jerome a Seville grandee tenor V UlyanovLuiza or Louisa his daughter soprano Alexandra KhalilejevaFerdinand his son baritoneDuenya or the Duenna Luiza s governess contralto N VelterClara d Almanza Luiza s friend in love with Ferdinand mezzo sopranoAntonio humble suitor to Luiza tenorMendoza a wealthy fishmonger bass Boris FreidkovDon Carlos friend to Mendoza baritone Gheorghij Nikolajevich OrlovPadre Augustin bassFather Elustaf tenorFather Chartreuse bassFather Benedictine bassLauretta sopranoRosina sopranoLopez tenorPabloPedroMiguelThree MaskersTwo Lay BrothersSynopsis editAct 1 edit Don Jerome intends his daughter Louisa to marry the vain wealthy and ugly fish merchant Mendoza However she loves instead Antonio who is poor though noble in spirit Furthermore Don Ferdinand son of Don Jerome and prone to fits of jealousy wants to marry Clara d Almanza who is a virtual prisoner of her stepmother Act 2 edit Don Jerome locks up Louisa in her room to force her to marry Mendoza Louisa s nurse the Duenna provokes the fury of Don Jerome by pretending to be a messenger between Antonio and Louisa Jerome dismisses her but the Duenna exchanges clothes with Louisa who makes her escape in this disguise By the quayside where fisherwomen are praising the quality of the fish caught in Mendoza s boats Louisa encounters her friend Clara who has also run away from home and intends to seek sanctuary at the nunnery Louisa asks to borrow Clara s name for a day Clara assents Enter Mendoza and his courtly friend Don Carlos Mendoza is recognized by Louisa but he has never seen her She therefore approaches Mendoza claiming to be Clara and asks him to take her under his protection and find Antonio with whom she is in love Mendoza is attracted by this idea as a means to rid himself of his rival Antonio by marrying him off to Clara Don Carlos escorts Clara to Mendoza s house Mendoza visits the house of Don Jerome to meet Louisa the Duenna in disguise whilst Louisa is not as young and beautiful as Mendoza had been led to believe her dowry is sufficient attraction they agree to elope that evening Act 3 edit The mystified Antonio arrives at Mendoza s house while he is offstage meeting Clara Mendoza and don Carlos congratulate themselves on their cunning Still unwitting they agree to help the pair get married Don Jerome is rehearsing some amateur musicians A trio of trumpet clarinet and bass drum He receives two messages one from Mendoza saying he has eloped with Louisa which delights him and another from the real Louisa who asks for his blessing on her marriage which he neglects to read carefully He sends back his consent with both messengers and arranges for a great feast later that evening to celebrate At the monastery Clara meets with Antonio and Luisa and laments her apparent loss of Ferdinand Enter Ferdinand who mistaking Clara for a nun exclaims that he is chasing his false friend Antonio who has run off with his beloved Clara Clara is secretly overjoyed at this demonstration of Ferdinand s passion Act 4 edit The act opens with a drinking song for the monks in the monastery where the marriages are to be performed The monks then switch to a hymn that extols fasting and abstinence to a tune that is a slower variant of the earlier drinking song Enter Mendoza and Antonio who by lavish bribery gain the monks consent to marry them to their loves Enter Ferdinand who challenges Antonio to a duel but the genuine Clara arrives and Ferdinand now understands the true situation The three marriages are agreed At Don Jerome s feast the host is increasingly amazed exasperated and infuriated as the successive arrival of the newly weds makes it clear that his plans have gone completely awry He is slightly compensated by the likely size of Clara s dowry He sings a drinking song accompanying himself on a set of tuned glasses Recordings editRecordings include Stanislavsky Musical Theatre With N Korshunov Don Jerome Y Kratov Ferdinand V Kayevchenko Louise T Yanko Louise s Duenna N Issakova Clara E Bulavin Mendoza S Ilyinsky Don Carlos I Petrov Padre Augustin cond K Abdullayev Melodyia 1963 Orchestra and chorus of the Bolshoi Theatre cond Alexander Lazarev BMG Classics 1990 5 Kirov Orchestra and Kirov Opera With Evgeny Akimov Marianna Tarassova Anna Netrebko Alexandr Gergalov Nikolai Gassiev Larissa Diadkova Sergey Aleksashkin Yury Shkliar Chorus cond Valery Gergiev Philips 1998 Summer Night editSummer Night Op 123 is an orchestral suite with music drawn from Betrothal in a Monastery Movements edit The suite lasting around 20 minutes consists of five movements Introduction Moderato ma con brio Serenade Adagio Minuet Dreams Nocturne Andante tranquillo Dance AllegrettoRecordings edit Recent recordings include Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Leonid Grin Ondine 1991 London Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Vladimir Jurowski Glyndebourne CD Label 2008 Russian National Orchestra conductor Mikhail Pletnev Deutsche Grammophon 1994 St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy Exton 2002 References edit Slonimsky Nicolas The Duenna A Lyric Comic Opera in Four Acts Nine Scenes June 1955 Notes 2nd Ser 12 3 484 485 Law Joe K 2000 Betrothal in a Monastery Sergei Prokofiev Opera Quarterly 16 2 319 322 doi 10 1093 oq 16 2 319 Tom Service 2006 07 25 Betrothal in a Monastery Glyndebourne The Guardian Retrieved 2007 08 12 Martin George 1989 The Companion to Twentieth Century Opera London John Murray Publishers Ltd p 350 Recordings of Betrothal in a Monastery on operadis opera discography org ukExternal links editBetrothal in a Monastery at prokofiev org Summer Night at prokofiev org Synopsis from the Mariinsky Theatre Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Betrothal in a Monastery amp oldid 1104926017, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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