The Story of a Real Man (Russian: Повесть о настоящем человеке, romanized: Povest' o nastoyashchem cheloveke) is an opera in four acts by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, his opus 117.[1] It was written from 1947 to 1948,[2] and was his last opera.
The libretto, by the composer and his wife Mira Mendelson, is based on the eponymous novel by Boris Polevoy; this in turn was based on the story of pilot Aleksey Maresyev. The opera received its premiere on 3 December 1948 at the Kirov Theatre, Leningrad. The audience was made up of Soviet cultural officials who gave the work a poor reception. This was a great disappointment to the composer who had intended the opera to rehabilitate his reputation with the Communist authorities after he had been accused of "formalism" earlier in the year. As a result, performances of The Story of a Real Man were forbidden to the general public until after Prokofiev's death. It received its public premiere on 7 October 1960 at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.
The story is set during the Second World War. Aleksey, a Soviet fighter pilot, is shot down in combat against the Germans and badly wounded. He is rescued and cared for by villagers from a collective farm before being transferred to a hospital, where both his legs are amputated. He is inspired by the thought of his girlfriend and the support of his fellow patients, one of whom tells him the story of a First World War ace who continued to fly after losing one of his legs. The opera ends with Aleksey taking to the air again in his new plane.
Recordingsedit
Yevgeny Kibkalo (as Aleksey), Glafira Deomidova (as Olga). Chorus and orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre, dir. Mark Ermler. Studio recording, 1961, Moscow, based on 1960 Bolshoi Theatre production; CHANDOS CHAN 10002 (2CD, with libretto in Cyrillic, and translations).[4] The recording is abridged.[5]
Referencesedit
^"Prokofiev Opera Opus 117". G. Schirmer. Retrieved 2009-01-04..
^Nestyev, Israel V.; transl. Jonas, Florence (1961). Prokofiev at Google Books. Stanford University Press. pp. 402–404, 411, 512. ISBN0-8047-0585-2.
^Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Povesth o nastojascim celovjeke,3 December 1948". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
^Recordings of The Story of a Real Man, operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
story, real, russian, Повесть, настоящем, человеке, romanized, povest, nastoyashchem, cheloveke, opera, four, acts, russian, composer, sergei, prokofiev, opus, written, from, 1947, 1948, last, opera, opera, sergei, prokofievnative, titlerussian, Повесть, насто. The Story of a Real Man Russian Povest o nastoyashem cheloveke romanized Povest o nastoyashchem cheloveke is an opera in four acts by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev his opus 117 1 It was written from 1947 to 1948 2 and was his last opera The Story of a Real ManOpera by Sergei ProkofievNative titleRussian Povest o nastoyashem cheloveke Povest o nastoyashchem cheloveke LibrettistSergei Prokofiev Mira MendelsonLanguageRussianBased onNovel by Boris PolevoyPremiere3 December 1948 1948 12 03 Kirov Theatre LeningradThe libretto by the composer and his wife Mira Mendelson is based on the eponymous novel by Boris Polevoy this in turn was based on the story of pilot Aleksey Maresyev The opera received its premiere on 3 December 1948 at the Kirov Theatre Leningrad The audience was made up of Soviet cultural officials who gave the work a poor reception This was a great disappointment to the composer who had intended the opera to rehabilitate his reputation with the Communist authorities after he had been accused of formalism earlier in the year As a result performances of The Story of a Real Man were forbidden to the general public until after Prokofiev s death It received its public premiere on 7 October 1960 at the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow Contents 1 Roles 2 Synopsis 3 Recordings 4 References 5 Further readingRoles editRoles voice types premiere casts Role Voice type Premiere cast closed rehearsal3 December 1948 3 Conductor Boris KhaykinLeningrad Kirov Bolshoi cast public premiere8 October 1960Conductor Mark ErmlerStudio recording 1961Aleksey Maresyev pilot baritone Yevgeny KibkaloAndrei Dzhegtyarenko pilot bass Georgi PankovKlaudiya Michailovna nurse contralto Kira LeonovaKonstantin Kukushkin pilot tenor Aleksei MaslennikovGrandfather Mihailov tenor Georgi ShulpinOlga Aleksey s fiancee soprano Glafira DeomidovaCommissar Semyon Vorobyev baritone bass Arthur EisenSinocka soprano Maria ZvenzdinaVarya mezzo soprano Margarita MiglauSurgeon Vasilyevich bass Mark ReshetinGrandmother Vasilissa contralto Vera SmirnovaSynopsis editThe story is set during the Second World War Aleksey a Soviet fighter pilot is shot down in combat against the Germans and badly wounded He is rescued and cared for by villagers from a collective farm before being transferred to a hospital where both his legs are amputated He is inspired by the thought of his girlfriend and the support of his fellow patients one of whom tells him the story of a First World War ace who continued to fly after losing one of his legs The opera ends with Aleksey taking to the air again in his new plane Recordings editYevgeny Kibkalo as Aleksey Glafira Deomidova as Olga Chorus and orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre dir Mark Ermler Studio recording 1961 Moscow based on 1960 Bolshoi Theatre production CHANDOS CHAN 10002 2CD with libretto in Cyrillic and translations 4 The recording is abridged 5 References edit Prokofiev Opera Opus 117 G Schirmer Retrieved 2009 01 04 Nestyev Israel V transl Jonas Florence 1961 Prokofiev at Google Books Stanford University Press pp 402 404 411 512 ISBN 0 8047 0585 2 Casaglia Gherardo 2005 Povesth o nastojascim celovjeke 3 December 1948 L Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia in Italian Recordings of The Story of a Real Man operadis opera discography org uk See Review by Rob BarnettFurther reading editHolden Amanda Ed The New Penguin Opera Guide New York Penguin Putnam 2001 ISBN 0 14 029312 4 Portal nbsp Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Story of a Real Man amp oldid 1163366198, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
