War and Peace: Biographical Milestones

Svetlana A. Petukhova

Abstract


The article is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive exploration of the creation of Prokofiev’s epic opera War and Peace. In particular, the article focuses on the preconditions of the concept, compositional stages, structural principles of writing a huge piece of music, approaches to its dramaturgic interpretation as well as the recreation of stage life of the opera and the analysis of its perception by critics.

Chronologically, the history of the creation covers almost 12 years (1941– 1953), which is a record period in Prokofiev’s biography. In total, War and Peace underwent five editions. The article analyses the conditions which made the production of this timely work so much anticipated by Russian public impossible in Russia. War and Peace was a unique operatic composition created by a world-famous composer, however, it did not mean the opera would easily reach its audience. Leo Tolstoy is one of Russia’s patriotic classics, which means that any interpreter of his work is supposed to follow the ideological triad of “nationalism, optimism, and realism”. In addition, the plot centered around the Patriotic War of 1812 at the height of the Patriotic War of the 1940s had to be even more patriotic in its nature. In view of the above, Prokofiev was forced to transform the composition for a lyric chamber theater into a grandiose national and historical epic. It is hardly possible to say whether his attempt was a success, since he deliberately did not canonize any of the resulting redactions for future performances.

Two world premieres of War and Peace took place in Prague on June 25, 1948 (first stage redaction) and in Florence on May 26, 1953 (second stage redaction, a one-evening version). Five of the nine Prokofiev’s opera premieres were held abroad. Against the disappointing statistics, these five performances stand out as a symbol of freedom of musical creativity and a memorial to the defeated aspirations of a genius.

Keywords: Prokofiev, War and Peace, epic, history, nationalism, patriotism, concert performance, stage premieres, Prague, Florence

For citation: Petukhova S. A. War and Peace: Biographical Milestones [Electronic source]. In: Sovremennye problemy muzykoznaniya / Contemporary Musicology, 2021, no. 2, pp. 145–219. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.56620/2587-9731-2021-2-145-219


References


Annenkov Yu.P. Aleksey Remizov i Sergej Prokof’ev [Alexey Remizov and Sergei Prokofiev]. In: Annenkov Yu.P. Dnevnik moih vstrech. Tsikl tragediy [Diary of my meetings. The cycle of tragedies]. V 2 t. / Introd. by P.A. Nikolaev, portraits by Yu.P. Annenkov, design by E.A. Polikashin. Reprinted reproduction of the 1966 ed. Moscow: Hudozhestvennaya literatura [The Artistic Literature publishing house], 1991. T. 1. P. 210–244.

Blok V.M. Obrabotka russkoy pesni “Zelyonyi kuvshin” [Arrangement of the Russian song “Green pitcher”]. In: Blok V.M. Metod tvorcheskoy raboty S. Prokof’eva. Issledovanie [Prokofiev’s method of creative work. Study]. Moscow: “Muzyka” [The Music publishing house], 1979. Gl. 3. P. 74–76.

Bruk M.S. Opera “Voyna i mir” [Opera “War and Peace”] [1963]. In: Sovetskaya muzykal’naya literatura / GMPI im. Gnesinyh. Kaf. istorii muzyki. Vyp. 1; uchebnik dlya mus. Uchilishch [Soviet musical literature / State Music and Pedagogical Institute named Gnesins. Department of Music History. Issue 1: textbook for music schools] / Ed. M.S. Pekelis. Moscow: Izd-vo “Muzyka” [The Music publishing house], 1972. Izd. 3-e [Ed. 3]. P. 264–301.

Vishnevetskyi I.G. Voyna [War] (1941–1945). In: Vishnevetskyi I.G. Sergej Prokof’ev. (Seriya ZhZL) [Sergei Prokofiev. (Series “Life of Remarkable People”)]. Moscow: Mol. gvardiya [The Young guard publishing house], 2009. Gl. 8. P. 496–510, 520–523, 549–550.

Volkov A.I. “Voyna i mir” Prokof’eva. Opyt analiza variantov opery [Prokofiev’ “War and Peace”. Experience in analyzing opera options]. Moscow: “Muzyka” [The Music publishing house], 1976.

Volkov A.I. Pis’ma S.S. Prokof’eva k V.V. Derszanovskomu. In: Iz arhivov russkih musykantov / Trudy GTsMMK im. M.I. Glinki [Letters from S.S. Prokofiev to V.V. Derzhanovsky / From the archives of Russian musicians / Proceedings of the Musical Culture Museum named M.I. Glinka]. Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe muzykal’noe izdatel’stvo [State Music Publishing House], 1962. N° 33. P. 93–118.

Vol’kenshtein V.M. Dramaturgiya. Metod issledovaniya dramaticheskih proizvedeniy [Dramaturgy. Research method for dramatic works]. Moscow: Sov. pisatel’ [Soviet writer publishing house], 1960. Izd. 2-e, ispr. i dop. [Ed. 2, rewrite].

Vystupleniya na sobranii kompozitorov i muzykovedov g. Moskvy [Speeches at a meeting of composers and musicologists in the city of Moscow]. In: Sovetskaya muzyka [The Soviet music]. 1948. N° 1. P. 63–102.

Grosheva E.A. Gde zhe vsyo-taki sovetskaya opera? [Where is the Soviet opera after all?]. In: Teatr [Theatre]. 1949. N° 11. P. 50–55.

Davydov D.V. O partizanskoy voyne [About guerrilla warfare]. In: Davydov D.V. Voennye zapiski [War notes] / Pod red. V.N. Orlova. Moscow: Goslitizdat [State literary publishing house], 1940. P. 192–198.

Zayavlenie po radio tovarishcha V.M. Molotova [Radio statement by comrade V.M. Molotov]. [Electronic source]. Available at: http://heninen.net/sopimus/molotov1941.htm (application date accessed: 21.06.2021).

Ivanova N.S. Postanovki opery “Voyna i mir” S.S. Prokof’eva na stsene Malogo opernogo teatra [Stages of the opera “War and Peace” by S.S. Prokofiev on the stage of the Maly Opera House] (1946, 1955). Dipl. rab. [Thesis] / Nauch. ruk. E.V. Tret’yakova. St. Petersburg: GATI [State Academy of Theater Arts], 2010. Gl. 1. P. 18–62.

Izgnanie Napoleona iz Moskvy [Expulsion of Napoleon from Moscow] / Ed. F.A. Garin, introd. by P.G. Ryndzyunskogo. Moscow: Mosk. rabochiy [Moscow worker publishing house], 1938.

Kozlova M.G. Tvorcheskoe nasledie S.S. Prokof’eva [The creative heritage of S.S. Prokofiev]. In: Vstrechi s proshlym / Glavnoe Arhivnoe Upravlenie pri Sovete Ministrov SSSR. Sb. Neopublikovannyh materialov TsGALI SSSR [Meetings with the Past / Main Archives Directorate under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Collection of unpublished materials of the Central State Archives of Literature and Art]. Moscow: izd-vo “Sov. Rossiya” [The Soviet Russia publishing house], 1972. Vyp. I. Izd. 2-e, ispr. [Issue I. Ed. 2, revised]. P. 255–298.

Kurdyumova M.V. Opera S.S. Prokof’eva “Voyna i mir” (pervaya redaktsiya) [Prokofiev’ opera “War and Peace” (first redaction)]. Dipl. rab. [Thesis] / Nauch. ruk. N.P. Savkina. Moscow: Moscow State Conservatory, 2005.

Lihachyov D.S. Poeziya sadov: k semantike sadovo-parkovyh stiley [Poetry of Gardens: Towards the Semantics of Gardening Styles]. Leningrad: Nauka [Science publishing house], 1982. Izd. 2-e, ispr. i dop. [Ed. 2, rewrite].

Martynov I.I. Sergej Prokof’ev. Zhizn’ i tvorchestvo [Sergei Prokofiev. Life and art]. Moscow: “Muzyka” [The Music publishing house], 1974. P. 448–467.

Medvedeva I.A. Istoriya prokof’evskogo avtografa, ili GURK v deistvii [The history of Prokofiev's autograph, or GURK in action]. In: Sergej Prokof’ev. K 110-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya. Pis’ma. Vospominaniya. Stat’i [To the 110th anniversary of the birth. Letters. Memories. Articles] / Ed. M.P. Rakhmanova, M.V. Esipova. Moscow: Musical Culture Museum named M.I. Glinka, 2001. P. 216–239.

Mendel’son-Prokof’eva M.A. O Sergee Sergeeviche Prokof’eve. Vospominaniya [About Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev. Memoirs, 1938–1950]. Dnevniki [Diaries, 1951–1967] / Ed. E.V. Krivtsova. Moscow: Izd-vo “Kompozitor” [The Composer publishing house], 2012. Notes dated December 22 and 24, 1943.

Muzyka vmesto sumbura. Kompozitory i muzykanty v Strane Sovetov [Music instead of confusion. Composers and musicians in the Soviet Country]. 1917–1991 / Ed. L.V. Maximenkov. Moscow: Mezhdunar. fond “Demokratiya” [International Fund “Democracy” publishing house], 2013.

Nest’ev I.V. “Voyna i mir” [“War and Peace”]. In: Nest’ev I.V. Zhizn’ Sergeya Prokof’eva [The Life of Serge Prokofiev]. Moscow: Sov. kompozitor [The Soviet composer publishing house], 1973. Izd. 2-e, pererab. i dop. [Ed. 2, rewrite].

Nest’ev I.V. Nasushchnye voprosy opernogo tvorchestva [Topical issues of operatic creativity]. In: Sovetskaya muzyka [The Soviet music]. 1949. № 8. P. 17–26.

Nest’ev I.V. Opera “Voyna i mir” v kontsertnom ispolnenii [Opera “War and Peace” in concert performance]. In: Literaturnaya gazeta [The literary newspaper]. 1953. August 22.

Nest’ev I.V. Tvortsy sovetskoy muzyki [Creators of Soviet music]. In:Izvestiya. 1947. June 8.

Petuhova S.A. Semantika povtoreniy i vozvrashcheniy v tvorchestve S. Prokof’eva [Semantics of repetitions and returns in the creation of S. Prokofiev]. In: Muzyka v sisteme kul’tury. Nauchnyj vestnik Ural’skoy konservatorii [Music in the system of culture. Scientific bulletin of the Ural Conservatory]. Vyp. 22 / Ed. E.E. Polotskaya. Ekaterinburg: Ural Conservatory, 2020. P. 6–17.

Polyakova L.V. “Voyna i mir” S.S. Prokof’eva. (Putevoditeli po operam) [Prokofiev’ “War and Peace”. (Opera guides)]. Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe muzykal’noe izdatel’stvo [State Music Publishing House], 1960.

Prokof’ev S.S. Avtobiografiya [Autobiography]. Moscow: Vsesoyuzn. izd-vo “Kompozitor” [The Composer publishing house], 1982. Izd. 2-e, dop. [Ed. 2, rewrite].

Prokof’ev S.S. “Voyna i mir”. Avtorskoe perelozhenie dlya fortepi- ano s peniem. Sleklografiya Muzfonda SSSR, [“War and Peace”. Glassography of the USSR Muzfond, 1943]. Umen’shennyj format [Reduced format].

Prokof’ev S.S. “Voyna i mir” [“War and Peace”]. In: Prokof’ev S.S. Sobranie sochineniy [Collected Works]. T. 6 A, B, C / Ed. D.D. Shostakovich. Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe muzykal’noe izdatel’stvo [State Music Publishing House], 1958.

Prokof’ev S.S. Evgeniy Onegin op. 71. Muzykal’no- dramaticheskaya kompozitsiya po odnoimyonnomu romanu A.S. Pushkina dlya chtetsa, aktyorov i symfonicheskogo orchestra. Partitura i avtorskoe perelozhenie dlya fortepiano / Stsenich. kompozitsiya S.D. Krzhizhanovskogo v red. E.L. Dattel’ [Eugene Onegin. Musical dramatic composition based on the novel of the same name by A.S. Pushkin for the reader, actors and symphony orchestra. Score and author’s arrangement for piano / Stage composition by S.D. Krzhizhanovsky, ed. by E.L. Dattel]. Moscow: Sov. kompozitor [The Soviet composer publishing house], 1973.

Prokof’ev S.S. i Myaskovskij N.Ya. Perepiska [Correspondence] / Ed. M.G. Kozlova and N.R. Yatsenko, comm. by V.A. Kiselev, pref. and indexes by M.G. Kozlova. Moscow: Sov. kompozitor [The Soviet composer publishing house], 1977.

Prokof’eva (Lyubera) L.I. Iz vospominanij [From memories, February 1961]. In: Sergej Prokof’ev. 1953–1963. Stat’i i materialy / Sost. i red. I.V. Nest’eva i G.Ya. Edel’mana. Moscow: Vsesoyuzn. izd-vo “Sov. kompozitor” [The Soviet composer publishing house], 1962. P. 160–209.

Sabinina M.D. “Voyna i mir”. Opera S.S. Prokof’eva na moskovskoy stsene [“War and Peace”. Prokofiev’ opera on the Moscow stage]. In: Vechernyaya Moskva [The Evening Moscow]. 1957. November 15.

Sovetskaya opera “Voyna i mir” na stsene florentiyskogo opernogo teatra [The Soviet opera “War and Peace” on the Florentine Opera House’ stage]. In: Pravda [Truth]. 1953. May 28.

Spasskiy S.D. Zametki ob opernom libretto [Notes on the opera libretto]. In: Sovetskaya muzyka [The Soviet music]. 1949. № 8. P. 27–37.

Tarle E.V. Nashestvie Napoleona na Rossiyu [Napoleon’s invasion of Russia]. In: Tarle E.V. Napoleon. Moscow: OGIZ Gospolitizdat [State publishing house of political literature], 1941. Gl. XIII. P. 249–285.

Tolstoy L.N. Voyna i mir. T. 3 [War and Peace. Vol. 3]. In: Tolstoy L.N. Sobranie sochineniy [Collected Works] v 12 t. T. V. Moscow: izd-vo “Pravda” [The Pravda publishing house], 1984.

Tolstoy L.N. Predislovie k sochineniyam Gyui de Mopassana [Preface to the works of Guy de Maupassant]. 1893–1894. In: Tolstoy L.N. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy [Full composition of writings] v 90 t. T. 30: Proizvedeniya [Works] 1882–1898 / Ed. and comm. by V.S. Mishin, N.V. Gorbachyov. Moscow: GIHL [State publishing house of fiction], 1951. P. 18–19.

Uteshev A.P. Istoriya sozdaniya opery Prokof’eva “Voyna i mir” [The history of the creation of Prokofiev’s opera “War and Peace”]. In: Cherty stilya S. Prokof’eva [Features of Prokofiev’s style] / Ed. L.G. Berger. Moscow: Sov. kompozitor [The Soviet composer publishing house], 1962. P. 58–81.

Hohlovkina A.A. “Voyna i mir” [“War and Peace”]. In: Sovetskaya muzyka [The Soviet music]. 1946. № 8–9. P. 15–28.

Shestov L.I. Dobro v uchenii gr[afa] Tolstogo i Nitsshe (filosofiya i propoved’) [Good in the teachings of Count Tolstoy and Nietzsche (philosophy and sermon)]. In: Voprosy filosofii [Philosophy questions]. 1990. № 7. P. 59– 127.

Shnitke A.G. Zametki o dramaturgii pervoy kartiny i muzykal’nom tematizme opery S. Prokof’eva “Voyna i mir” [Notes on the dramaturgy of the first picture and the musical thematism of S. Prokofiev’s opera “War and Peace”]. In: Cherty stilya S. Prokof’eva [Features of Prokofiev’s style] / Ed. L.G. Berger. Moscow: Sov. kompozitor [The Soviet composer publishing house], 1962. P. 32–57.

Yudina M.V. Vysokiy stoykiy duh. Perepiska [High persistent spirit. Correspondence] 1918–1945 gg. Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2006.

Clark P. From The Metropolitan Opera Archives: Early attempts to stage War and Peace at the Met (July 2001) [Electronic resource]. Available at: http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/warandpeace-presskit.htm (accessed: 22.06.2021).

Downes O. Opera outlook: season promises big box-office, even if repertory is little changed. In: New-York Times. 1947. November 9.

Downes O. ‘War and Peace’. Prokofieff’s opera based on Tolstoy’s novel has timely impact. In: New York Times. 1944. January 2. Transl. by A.V. Bulycheva.

Lucký Š. Hudební událost světového významu. In: Kulturni Politika. 1948. 9 července. Transl. by S.A. Petukhova.

Metropolitan obtains ‘War and Peace’ rights. Plans under way to produce Prokofieff opera. In: Herald Tribune. 1946. December 21.

Prokofieff Opera off till next season. In: New-York Herald Tribune. 1947. February 17.

Rinaldi M. Musica. Note e rassegne. In: Nuova Antologia. Rivista di lettere, scienze ed arti. 1953. Anno 88, n° 1831, Luglio. P. 375–381.

Soviet opera in Florence; Prokofieff’s ‘War and Peace’ gets 1st performance in West. In: New York Times. 1953. 28 May.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2021-2-145-219

Copyright (c) 2021 Svetlana A. Petukhova

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/