Tchaikovsky- Polonaise , from ' Eugene Onegin '

Title : Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Polonaise, from 'Eugene Onegin'

From Wikipedia ,Eugene Onegin (Russian: Евгений Онегин, Yevgény Onégin is an opera ("lyrical scenes"), Opus 24, in 3 acts, 7 scenes, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the (brother of the) composer, and is based on the novel in verse by Aleksandr Pushkin. The opera was first performed in Moscow in 1879. Eugene Onegin is a well-known example of lyric opera; the libretto very closely follows Pushkin's original, retaining much of his poetry, to which Tchaikovsky adds music of a dramatic nature. The story concerns a selfish hero who lives to regret his blasé rejection of a young woman's love and his careless incitement of a fatal duel with his best friend. There are several recordings of it, and it is regularly performed. The work's title refers to the eponymous protagonist.
In May 1877, the opera singer Lavrovskaya recommended creating an opera based on the plot of Eugene Onegin to Tchaikovsky. At first this idea seemed wild to the composer, according to his memoirs, however he was soon growing excited about the idea and created the scenarios in one night before starting the composition of the music.
Tchaikovsky used the original verses from Pushkin's novel and chose scenes that involved the emotional world and fortunes of his heroes, calling the opera "lyrical scenes." The opera is episodic; there is no continuous story, just selected highlights of Onegin's life. Since the original story was so well known, Tchaikovsky knew his audience could easily fill in any details that he omitted. A similar treatment is found in Puccini's La bohème. The composer had finished the opera by January 1878Tchaikovsky worried whether the public would accept his opera, which lacked traditional scene changes. He believed that its performance required maximum simplicity and sincerity. With this in mind, he entrusted the first production to the students of the Moscow Conservatory:
The Moscow Premiere took place on 29 March (17 March O.S.) 1879 at the Maly Theatre in Moscow conducted Nikolai Rubinstein, with set designs by Karl Valts (Waltz).
Two years later the first performance at the Bolshoy Theatre in Moscow took place on 23 January (11 January O.S.) 1881 with conductor Enrico Bevignani.
The first performance outside Russia took place on 6 December 1888 in Prague conducted by Tchaikovsky himself. It was sung in Czech and translated by Marie Červinková-Riegrová.
The first performance in England took place on 17 October 1892 at the Olympic Theatre in London with Henry Wood conducting. This performance was translated into English by H. S. Edwards and sung in English.
At the Metropolitan Opera in New York the US premiere was given on 24 March 1920. The opera was sung in Italian.
Other notable performances included one in Hamburg conducted by Gustav Mahler on 19 January 1892.

• Category

  Music

[folsomgurl87]

my favorite composer, hands down :D

[herakles120]

Love Tchaikovsky. One of the most creative genius the human race has ever produced! I bet the gods are envious of him, hahaha!!!

[moirapan999]

good

[Alex Den]

don't talk shit Tchaikovsky is pure Russian in soul and music style

[Igor Frič]

Absolutely gorgeous :)

[TuboEspectador]

Hi Dave. My first hearing of classical music that I can remember was the Nutcracker Suite. But on the flip side of the LP was Tchaikovsky's Mozartiana, which was one of several pieces that really suckered me into classical music. We had an old Webcor portable player (33, 45, and 78) with a maroon covering that I always associate with the Mozartiana. Thank you, too! :)

[TuboEspectador]

Correct!

[Syraniss]

Eugene Onegin? I have read it in its entirety; plus seen the film this piece was featured in.

[amkodess]

Read the poem.

[xaviervandepoll]

Who performed this? Can you please give the name of the conductor and orchestra? Much obliged!

[carp3nt3r]

And you speak on behalf of those who think they know history? Poland never chose to be part of the Russian Empire. Being weakened, it was partitioned by three neighbouring superpowers. In 123 years of lost independence Poland tried to regain independence through several uprisings, revolts and diplomatic action.

[walshamite]

Lovely piece. Part of the afternoon test card sequence on BBC-tv during the 1960s, so like many others, I knew it inside out long before I discovered what it was.