Composer

:

Sergey Prokofiev

Genre

:

Opera

Style

:

Opera

Compose Date

:

1939

Average_duration

:

159:26

Semyon Kotko is an opera composed by Sergey Prokofiev in 1939-1940. The libretto was written by the composer himself, based on the novel of the same name by Valentin Katayev. The opera premiered on June 23, 1940, at the Kirov Theatre in Leningrad. The plot of Semyon Kotko is set during World War I and the Russian Revolution. Semyon Kotko, a young Ukrainian peasant, is in love with a girl named Sofya. However, their happiness is threatened by the arrival of the German army, which occupies their village and kills Semyon's father. Semyon joins the Red Army to fight against the Germans, leaving Sofya behind. In the army, Semyon meets a woman named Frosya, who falls in love with him. However, Semyon remains loyal to Sofya and rejects Frosya's advances. Meanwhile, Sofya is forced to marry a wealthy landowner, who mistreats her. Semyon returns to his village after the war, but finds that Sofya has been arrested by the local authorities. He tries to rescue her, but is captured and sentenced to death. Frosya helps him escape, and they flee to the forest. In the end, Semyon and Sofya are reunited, but Frosya is killed by the pursuing soldiers. The music of Semyon Kotko is characterized by Prokofiev's distinctive style, which combines modernist harmonies and rhythms with traditional Russian melodies and folk tunes. The opera is divided into six movements, each of which corresponds to a different act of the story. The music ranges from lyrical love duets to dramatic battle scenes, and includes several memorable arias and choral numbers. Despite its initial success, Semyon Kotko fell out of favor with the Soviet authorities in the 1940s, due to its portrayal of the Red Army as being less than heroic. The opera was not performed again until the 1970s, when it was revived by the Kirov Theatre. Today, it is considered one of Prokofiev's most powerful and emotionally intense works, and is performed regularly in opera houses around the world.

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