After you have read the text

1. Answer the following questions about the text.

1. Who composed the libretto and music of the opera “Khovanshchina”?

2. Why is “Khovanshchina” a modern opera in Rostropovich's opinion?

3. When was the opera written?

4. Which forces are represented in “Khovanshchina”?

5. What are the characteristic features of Vasily Golitsyn? Do you like him?

6. How does the author portray the oldbelievers?

7. Why does the composer feel sympathies for Raskolniki?

8. How do the rulers decide the fate of oldbelievers and streltsy?

9. How does the orchestra fulfill the statements of Maestro Rostropovich?

10. Which instruments sound in the orchestra?

11. What scenery do the spectators see on the stage?

12. Why are the singers called “top-notch”?

13. Which points of the production reduced its success?

14. What is your opinion of the following statement: “The author must be partial, he must hate and love his heroes, not only show and portray”?

15. Does this statement concern the performer as well?

2. Choose the correct word.

1. This aria may be sung addressing the (right, left, government's) box. 2. The opera was written in the 19th (years, century, months). 3. The score of “Khovanshchina” consists of three (forces, heroes, parts). 4. One of the forces is the party of young Peter, (sovereign, king, emperor) of Russia. 5. Moussorgsky (justified, loved, honoured) only Marfa and Dosifei with a “living melody”. 6. The composer created an (ardent, eternal, elegant) Russian picture. 7. The Bolshoi Theater made the opera “Khovanshchina” (sacred, topical, dubious). 8. The main hero of Moussorgsky's opera is (the chorus, Peter, Vasily Golitsyn). 9. The ascetic scenery conflicted with the (gloomy, vain, succulent) stage-management. 10. Composer Modest Moussorgsky (felt, fell, cried) out of the production's conception. 11. The listeners were (delighted, partial, addressed) by separate sounds. 12. There was no expressly pronounced (sounds, words, attitude) of the author. 13. Moussorgsky was not (fond, ashamed, proud) of his partiality. 14. The authors of the production (unlike, like, according to) the composer of the opera, show but do not convince, portray but do not love.

3. Select the correct meaning of the words.

1) chimes a)наивысшая точка

2) oldbelievers b) безжалостность, жестокость

3) graciously c) страдание

4) precisely d) режиссура

5) ruthlessness e) оживляться

6) suffering f) пророк

7) top-notch g) обусловлено, условно

8) light up h) точно, именно

9) score i) милостливо

10) melt j) партитура

k) подходить, соответствовать

l) староверцы

m) колокола

n) опора

о) таять

4. Give an annotation of text A in written form.

5. Give a description of an opera you have once listened to.

6. Read and retell text B.

Text в from the history of opera

Opera means a drama or a play with scenery and acting, which is in general sung throughout to the accompaniment of an orchestra. Some operas have speaking parts or melodramatic scenes (spoken text against musical background), or spoken dialogue between musical numbers (usually in comic opera). The opera is a highly complex form, enlisting many different arts in its service: music (both vocal and instrumental), drama, poetry, acting, dance, stage design, costuming, lighting etc., and this fact accounts in part for both its widespread appeal and the equally widespread criticism directed against its artistic impurity.

Although the combination of drama with music is a very old art form, found in the tragedies and comedies of the ancient Greeks as well as in the liturgical plays of the Middle Ages, the opera proper arose shortly before 1600. Operatic production started in Florence, but soon spread to Venice and Rome. From about 1670 on, opera was cultivated in France, Germany and England. In the l8th century Naples became the center of operatic activity. It is noteworthy that of many thousands of operas produced before Mozart only a handful have survived or have been revived, for example, Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice” and “Iphigenia”.

The climax of 18th-century opera is represented by Mozart's “Marriage of Figaro” (1786) and “Don Giovanni” (1787), while his “Magic Flute” (1791) is a forerunner of 19th-century German Roman­tic opera. Mozart's operas are outstanding in sharpness and subtlety of characterization, unparalleled beauty of the music, integration of vocal and instrumental factors, and the adaptation of the classical symphonic style. The same traits are also represented in Beethoven's “Fidelio” (1805 - 1814). The French “grand opera” is characterized by extended historical plots. Somewhat aside from the main development stands the German Romantic opera, for example, Weber's “Freischütz”.

The main point of Italian opera with its melodramatic plots, popular melodies and effective vocal numbers is reached in Verdi's works “Rigoletto” (1851), “La Traviata” (1853) and “Aida” (1871).

As to Russian opera it was heralded by Glinka's “Life for the Czar”, produced in St. Petersburg in 1836. An alternative title currently used is “Ivan Susanin”. The opera is a landmark in the history of music because it was the first popular opera in the Russian language, inaugurating a nationalistic movement in Russian music. “Boris Godunov” by Moussorgsky (to his own libretto, based on Pushkin's drama) is another outstanding masterpiece of Russian national opera. Its musical style is remarkably advanced for its time, and many innovations have been traced to this work. Particularly striking is the prominence of the chorus, representing the Russian people. The tradition of creating operas on historical plots was continued by the great Russian composer Alexander Borodin with his opera “Prince Igor”, completed after his death by N. Rimski-Korsakov and A. Glazunov and produced in St. Petersburg in 1890. The pearls of Russian operatic art were created by P.I. Tchaikovsky, “Eugene Onegin” (1879) and “The Queen of Spades” (1890). Both based on Pushkin's works, they are on a par with the brilliant originals in talent and expressiveness and rise to great heights of artistic accomplishment. The mere enumeration of Russian operas proves that they enriched the treasure of world music enormously. “Sadko” and “The Golden Cockerel” by N. Rimski-Korsakov, “Mavra” and “The Rake's Progress” by I. Stravinsky, “War and Peace” by S. Prokofiev, “The Nose” and “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” by D. Shostakovich, stood the test of time and are performed nowadays all over the world.

Proper Names

Venice [‘venis]

Rome [roum]

Naples [neiplz]

Christoph Willibald Gluck [‘krIstOf ‘vIlIbAlt ‘gluk]

“Orpheus and Eurydice” [‘LfjHs qnd juq’rIdIsI]

“Iphigenia” [I,fIGI’nQIq]

Figaro [‘fIgqrou]

“Don Giovanni” [,dOn Giou’vRnI]

“Fidelio” [fi’deIlIou]

Carl Maria von Weber [‘kArl mR’rIq fOn ‘vebqr]

“Freischutz” [‘frQISuts]

Giuseppe Verdi [Gu’sepq ‘vFqrdJ]

“Rigoletto” [,rIgq’letou]

“La Traviata” [lA trA’vIqtq]

“Aida” [R’Idq]

Macbeth [mek’beT]