The Lawsuit (opera)

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The Lawsuit is a comic opera in one act by composer Svetlana Nesterova. The opera uses a Russian libretto by Vera Kupriyanova and the composer which is based upon Nikolai Gogol's fragmentary scene "The Lawsuit". The opera was commissioned by the Mariinsky Theatre along with two other new operas, Anastasia Bespalova's Shponka and His Aunt and Vyacheslav Kruglik's The Carriage , all based on stories by Gogol. The three operas premiered together on 21 June 2009 during the Mariinsky Theatre's summer festival. [1]

Opera Artform combining sung text and musical score in a theatrical setting

Opera is a form of theatre in which music has a leading role and the parts are taken by singers, but is distinct from musical theater. Such a "work" is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor.

Composer person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition

A composer is a musician who is an author of music in any form, including vocal music, instrumental music, electronic music, and music which combines multiple forms. A composer may create music in any music genre, including, for example, classical music, musical theatre, blues, folk music, jazz, and popular music. Composers often express their works in a written musical score using musical notation.

Svetlana Nesterova is a Russian composer and violinist. Since 2002 she has served on the musical instrument faculty at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.

Roles

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The Carriage is an opera in one act by composer Vyacheslav Kruglik. The opera uses a Russian libretto by Vera Kupriyanova and the composer which is based upon the story of the same name by Nikolai Gogol. The opera was commissioned by the Mariinsky Theatre along with two other new operas, Svetlana Nesterova's The Lawsuit and Anastasia Bespalova's Shponka and His Aunt, all based on stories by Gogol. The three operas premiered together on 21 June 2009 during the Mariinsky Theatre's summer festival.

Vyacheslav Kruglik is a Russian composer and conductor. He is a member of the orchestral conducting faculty at the Saint Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts.

Anastasiya Bespalova is a Russian composer.

Fyodor Petrovich Komissarzhevsky Russian singer and music educator

Fyodor Petrovich Komissarzhevsky was a Russian opera singer and teacher of voice and stagecraft. A leading tenor at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, he created many roles in Russian operas, including the Pretender in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and the title role in Tchaikovsky's Vakula the Smith. He had a voice described in the Grove Book of Opera Singers as small but with a "velvety timbre" and as a singer was known for not only for his clear diction and beautiful phrasing but also for his skill as an actor. He was the father of the actress Vera Komissarzhevskaya and the director Theodore Komisarjevsky.

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The Gamblers, Op. 63, is an unfinished opera by Dmitri Shostakovich, to his own libretto based on Nikolai Gogol's comedy The Gamblers (1842). The surviving first act lasts around 47 minutes.

Dead Souls is a 1976 Russian-language opera in three acts by Rodion Shchedrin based on the verse-novel Dead Souls by Gogol, to a libretto by the composer. It was premiered at the Kirov in 1977, and overseas in Boston in 1988.

References

  1. George Loomis (July 2009). "ST. PETERSBURG — The Lawsuit, Shponka and His Aunt, The Carriage (4/1/09), May Night (4/2/09), The Fair at Sorochintsy (4/4/09), Kirov Opera". Opera News . 74 (1). Retrieved July 6, 2009.