Catherine the Great and opera
Catherine II the Great, Empress of Russia was not only an opera fan, a patroness of the arts, music and theatre, but also an opera librettist. She commissioned some well-known Russian and foreign composers to provide music for her texts.
The Imperial opera and ballet theatre were founded by imperial decree in 1783, and the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was built in St Petersburg for opera and ballet performances that surpassed the great European theatres in their brilliance and luxury.
She wrote nine opera texts in addition to fourteen comedies, seven proverbs, and other dramatic writings. In writing these texts she was supervised by other writers including Ivan Perfilevich Elagin, and Alexander Vasilyevich Khrapovitsky.
She was intelligent enough to be self-critical, stating in her letter to Voltaire that her dramatic works were weak in plot and ill-sustained in intrigue, but natural and true in their characterization.
She chose Vasily Pashkevich to compose music for her dramatic fairy tale Fevey. This was staged on April 30, 1786 at the Hermitage Theatre in St Petersburg. The lavish opera production evoked widespread admiration.
The Italian-trained composer Yevstigney Fomin was chosen to compose an opera-ballet to her libretto The Novgorod Hero Boyeslayevich.
The subject of the fairy tale on Fuflych-Bogatyr was suggested by Count Orlov. Catherine made this a parody on her cousin Gustav III, King of Sweden. The libretto was set to music by Vicente Martin y Soler, a Spanish composer settled in Russia in 1788. The opera Gore-Bogatyr Kosometovich with an overture on three Russian tunes had a great success and Great Princes Alexander and Konstantin knew it by heart. However Catherine, to avoid a political scandal, put a note in the printed libretto “Do not perform in the Town Theatre for the foreign ministers”. Prince Potemkin who attended the third performance of the opera agreed to this.
Catherine wished the famous Domenico Cimarosa to set her drama on the subject from early history of Russia, The Early Reign of Oleg, but he was too slow, and she replaced him with Giuseppe Sarti, who composed music for the play's fifth Act. Along with these contributions, the work included contributions of music by Pashkevich and Milanese musician C. Cannobio. The work was first staged on November 2, 1790 at the Hermitage Theatre.
The opera to her libretto Fedul s det'mi and premiered on January 27, 1791 in St Petersburg.
Dramatic works
- О время! комедия в трех действиях – O vremya! also O Tempora!, a comedy in three acts
- Именины г-жи Ворчалкиной, комедия в пяти действиях –Imeniny gospozhi Vorchalkinoy, a comedy in five acts
- Передняя знатного боярина, комедия в одном действии - Perednyaya znatnogo boyarina, a comedy in one act
- Госпожа Вестникова с семьею, комедия в одном действии – Gospozha Vestnikova s semyoyu, a comedy in one act
- Невеста-невидимка. комедия в одном действии – Nevesta-nevidimka, a comedy in one act
- Вот каково иметь корзину и белье, комедия в пяти действиях –Vot kakovo imet’ korzinu I belyo, a comedy in five acts
- Разносторонняя семья осторожками и подозрениями, комедия в пяти действиях – Raznostoronnyaya semya ostorozhkami i podozraniyami, a comedy in five acts
- Недоразумение, комедия в пяти действиях – Nedorazumeniye, a comedy in five acts
- Обманщик, комедия в пяти действиях – Obmanshchik, a comedy in five acts
- Обольщенный, комедия в пяти действиях – Obolshchonny, a comedy in five acts
- Шаман Сибирский, комедия в пяти действиях – Shaman Sibirsky, a comedy in five acts
- Из жизни Рюрика, историческое представление – Iz zhizni Rurika, a historical drama
- Начальное управление Олега, историческое представление – Nachalnoye upravleniye Olega, a historical drama
- Новгородский богатырь Боеслаевич, комическая опера – Novgorodsky bogatyr Boeslaevich, a comic opera
- Горебогатырь Косометович, комическая опера – Gorebogatyr Kosometovich, a comic opera
- Федул с детьми – ''Fedul s det’mi''
Prose
- Сказка о царевиче Хлоре, аллегорическая сказка – Skazka o tsareviche Khlore, an allegorical fairy tale
- Сказка о царевиче Февее, аллегорическая сказка – Skazka o tsareviche Feveye ''The Story of Tsarevich Fevey, an allegorical fairy tale
- Письма Патрикея Правдомыслова– Pis’ma Patrikeya Pravdomyslova
- Письмо к господину Живописцу– Pis’mo k gospodinu Zhivopistsu
- Были и Небылицы и связанные с ними полемические заметки – Byli I nebylitsy I svyazannye s nimi polemicheskiye zametki
- Общества незнающих, ежедневная записка – Obshchestva neznayushchihk, ezhednevnaya zapiska
- Тайна противонелепого общества – Tayna protivonelepogo obshchestva''