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Alexander Borodin
Prince Igor
Князь Игорь
Alexander Borodin’s epic Prince Igor has its first Met performances since 1917 in a new production staged by noted Russian opera director Dmitri Tcherniakov in his Met debut. Gianandrea Noseda and Pavel Smelkov conduct the lush score, famous for its celebrated “Polovtsian Dances.”
Ildar Abdrazakov sings the title role, a Russian hero whose military maneuvers are complicated by romantic intrigue, political rivalries, and familial disputes. The cast also includes Oksana Dyka in her Met debut as Yaroslavna, Igor’s emotionally vulnerable second wife; Anita Rachvelishvili as the fiery Polovtsian princess Konchakovna; Sergey Semishkur in his Met debut as Vladimir Igorevich, Igor’s son and Konchakovna’s lover; Mikhail Petrenko as Prince Galitsky, Yaroslavna’s brother; and Štefan Kocán as the warlord Khan Konchak.
Left unfinished at the composer’s death, Prince Igor does not have a definitive performing version. Noseda and Tcherniakov have constructed a new version using recent research that incorporates all the known music and orchestration by Borodin, changes the order of some scenes, and includes three pieces of newly orchestrated material by Pavel Smelkov, the Russian composer and conductor
Actors
Yaroslavna
Prince Igor
Konchakovna
Vladimir
Galitsky
Konchak
Crew
Dmitri Tcherniakov: The Russian Opera
ACT I
ACT II
In the court of Prince Galitsky, the men are having a drunken feast. Seeking still more power, Galitsky would like to exile Yaroslavna to a nunnery as part of his plan to replace Igor as the new Prince of Putivl. Skula and Yeroshka now support Galitsky’s claims. The young maidens come directly to Galitsky in a desperate attempt to save their friend, but the mob laughs at them, chasing them away. The drunken brawl reaches its climax; everyone prepares for revolt.
Yaroslavna’s palace. The boyars bring Yaroslavna the tragic news of the army’s destruction and of Igor’s captivity, sending her into turmoil. In the meantime, Galitsky and his followers take advantage of the moment and revolt. Alarm bells announce imminent danger: the enemy advances on Putivl and in the ensuing panic Galitsky is killed.
ACT III
Language
Russian
Runtime
3 hours 59 minutes with two intermissions
Act 1
93 min
Intermission
21 min
Act 2
58 min
Intermission
15 min
Act 3
52 min
2014
16+