Opera in a prologue and 4 acts
Libretto: Yegor Fyodorovich Rozen, Vasily Zhukovsky (based: Kondratyij Rilejev: Zsizny za carja)
Premier: 9. Dec. 1836, St. Petersburg, Bolshoi Theater
The setting for Mikhail Glinka's A Life for the Tsar is Russia and a Polish camp in 1613. Following the Russian revolution, the Communist regime renamed this intrinsically Russian opera after the main character, Ivan Susanin. The emphasis was then changed from the peasant's life given to save the Tsar for the Russian people, to the idea of Susanin deliverin Russia when threatened with attack from the Polish enemy. The original title and libretto have now been restored. Russian bass, Evgeny Nesterenko magnificently sings the dramatic role of Ivan Susanin, the tragic hero who leads the Polish enemy on a false path in their search for the Tsar, thereby permitting the Tsar's escape. With Marina Mescheriakova, Alexander Lomonosov and the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
Ivan Susanin - Evgeny Nesterenko
Antonida - Marina Mescheriakova
Sobinin - Alexander Lomonosov
Vanja - Elena Zaremba
Polish Commander - Boris Bezhko
ACT I:
01 Overture
02 In The Storm
03 I Look Across The Open Fields
04 Why All This Talk Of Weddings?
05 O Boundless Joy!
ACT II:
06 In The Land Of Our Foes
07 'Krakowiak'
08 'Waltz'
09 'Mazurka'
10 Where Are You From?
ACT III:
11 They Killed The Mother Of A Little Bird
12 We Go To The Woods To Work
13 Antonida, Dear Children
14 So, Thank God, I Have Lived
15 Spring Waters Flood Into The Meadows
16 What Has Happened?
ACT IV:
17 For Miles We Haven't Met A Soul
18 My Poor Horse Fell In The Field
19 We're Tired, We're Cold
20 Was It So Long Ago?
EPILOGUE:
21 Glory To Holy Rus!
22 Rejoice In Your Heart |
[ NTSC ]