Zarya (opera)


Zarya svobody , is an opera in four acts composed between 1873 and 1877 by Ella Adayevskaya.

Composition

The opera, which was listed by Adayevskaya as her Op. 8, has a libretto by Richard Genée, translated into Russian by Adayevskaya herself. A manuscript piano score bears the title, in German, Die Morgenröte der Freiheit. The opera bears a dedication to Tsar Alexander II.

Synopsis

The opera takes place in Little Russia in 1762. Olga and Pierre have loved each other since childhood, but he is a serf and not of the legal social status to marry her. Olga is encouraged to marry the wicked Nyrkoff, and eventually agrees to do so if he will arrange Pierre's freedom. However, when Pierre learns of Olga's potential sacrifice for his sake, he commits suicide. The marriage is therefore forestalled and Olga retires to a convent, leaving Nyrkoff to his rancour. The opera ends with a prophetic chorus of peasants praising Alexander II's 1861 abolition of serfdom.

Performances

The work was not approved by the Russian censors of the period. No complete performances are documented. The overture and peasant's chorus from the opera were performed at the Théâtre des Italiens in Paris on 23 April 1877; the composer took part in this performance at the piano. On 23 March 1886, the overture and chorus, were played at a concert at the University of Dorpat. In the twentieth century the overture was played at a concert in Saalfeld on 5 May 1953.