Tchaikovsky - The Voyevoda (Воевода), op. 3

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky *Voyevoda: a title for a warlord, of common use in Eastern European countries, equivalent to the German Herzog, similar to other countries Prince or Duke. The opera is set in the mid-seventeenth century in a town on the Volga. The opening scene is the garden of Dyuzhoy, a rich merchant. His daughter Praskovya is to marry Shaligin, the Voyevoda; her nurse Nedviga dis-approves, while her sister Mariya is impatient for her own marriage and sings a tale of a girl, imprisoned in a tower, but, as she improvises in a new ending, united with her lover, while her parents and guards sleep. Mariyaʼs lover Bastryukov tries to gain admittance, serenades her and is accepted as her future husband, although the opposition of his enemy, the Voyevoda, is anticipated. They pledge fidelity, but are interrupted by the arrival of the Voyevoda, with Dyuzhoy and his wife, with the Jester. Bastryukov hides, while the Voyevoda demands to see his future wife again, a breach of convention. Mariya rushes in, after an encounter in the bushes with the Jester, who has left the company when no drink came his way. The Voyevoda immediately finds her more acceptable as a wife than her sister, and Dyuzhoy agrees to allow him to marry her. When they have all gone, Bastryukov emerges and, betrayed by the Jester, is only protected from arrest by his servants. The act ends with all determined to achieve their own aims. The second act opens in the entrance hall of Bastryukovʼs house. He is sad at the loss of his beloved Mariya. Dubrovin enters. He has been forced to become a fugitive, after the Voyevoda took his wife and ruined him and will now help Bastryukov. It seems that the Voyevoda is to leave the next day on a pilgrimage and his wife, Olyona, and Mariya will wait in the garden for rescue. The scene changes to the Voyevodaʼs house. Mariya sings of a girl imprisoned and of a nightingale, and freedom. She is joined by Olyona, who explains her own predicament; they are to await rescue the following night. In the third act, set at night in a courtyard, Bastryukov and Dubrovin have made the guards drunk and prepare to carry out their plan. They are joined by Mariya and Olyona, the latter united once more with Dubrovin. They are interrupted by the unexpected return of the Voyevoda, who threatens death and drags Mariya away. Matters are resolved by a deus ex machina in the person of a new Voyevoda, who appears in the nick of time, ensuring a happy ending for the lovers.