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{{Short description|Opera fragment by Tchaikovsky}}
{{Otheruses|Undine}}
{{Other uses|Undine (disambiguation)}}
{{Tchaikovsky operas}}
{{Infobox opera
⚫
'''''Undina''''' (sometimes ''Undine'' or ''Ondine'') ({{lang-ru|'''Ундина'''}}) is an [[opera]] in 3 acts by [[Pyotr Tchaikovsky]]. The work was composed in 1869. The [[libretto]] was written by [[Vladimir Sollogub]], and is based on [[Vasily Zhukovsky]]'s translation of [[Friedrich de la Motte-Fouqué]]'s ''[[Undine (novella)|Ondine]]''.
| name = Undina
| type = [[Opera]] fragment
| composer = [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]
| image_upright = yes
| image = Youngtchaik.jpg
| caption = Photography of Tchaikovsky as a student at the Moscow Conservatory, 1863
| alt = A clean-shaven man in his teens wearing a dress shirt, tie and dark jacket
| native_name = {{lang-ru|Ундина|links=no}}
| librettist = [[Vladimir Sollogub]]
| language = Russian
| based_on = {{based on|''[[Undine (novella)|Ondine]]''|De la Motte Fouqué}}
| premiere_date =
| premiere_location =
}}
⚫
'''''Undina''''' (sometimes ''Undine'' or ''Ondine'') ({{lang-ru|Ундина|link=no}} {{Audio|Ru-Undina.ogg|listen}}) is an [[opera]] in three acts by [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]. The work was composed in 1869. The [[libretto]] was written by [[Vladimir Sollogub]], and is based on [[Vasily Zhukovsky]]'s translation of [[Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué]]'s novella ''[[Undine (novella)|Ondine]]''.


==History==
The opera was composed during the months of January to July, 1869, but
Tchaikovsky destroyed the score in 1873, preserving only a few numbers from the opera. The opera has never been performed in its entirety.
The opera was composed during the months of January to July 1869, but Tchaikovsky destroyed the score in 1873, preserving only a few numbers from the opera. The opera has never been performed in its entirety.


The only extracts which survive are:
The only extracts that survive are:
#Introduction
#Introduction
#Aria: ''"Waterfall, my uncle, streamlet, my brother"'' (Undina)
#Aria: "Waterfall, my uncle, streamlet, my brother" (Undina)
#Chorus: ''"Help, help! Our stream is raging"''
#Chorus: "Help, help! Our stream is raging"
#Duet: ''"O happiness, O blessed moment"'' (Undina, Huldbrand)
#Duet: "O happiness, O blessed moment" (Undina, Huldbrand)
#Chorus: ''"O hours of death"'' (soloists, chorus)
#Chorus: "O hours of death" (soloists, chorus)


At least three of these pieces - the aria, the duet, and the final chorus - were performed at the Moscow premiere at the [[Bolshoi Theatre]] in [[Moscow]] on 28 March 1870.
At least three of these pieces – the aria, the duet, and the final chorus – were performed at the Moscow premiere at the [[Bolshoi Theatre]] in Moscow on 28 March 1870.


Some music from the opera was subsequently re-used in Tchaikovsky's other works:
Some music from the opera was subsequently re-used in Tchaikovsky's other works:
*The bridal procession of Act 3 was adapted for the Andantino marziale of his [[Symphony No. 2 (Tchaikovsky)|''Symphony No. 2'']] (1872).
*The bridal procession of act 3 was adapted for the Andantino marziale of his [[Symphony No. 2 (Tchaikovsky)|Symphony No. 2 "Little Russian"]] (1872).
*The introduction was used unchanged as the introduction to his [[incidental music]] to [[Aleksandr Ostrovsky|Ostrovsky's]] ''Snow Maiden'' (1873).
*The introduction was used unchanged as the introduction to his [[incidental music]] to [[Alexander Ostrovsky|Ostrovsky's]] play ''[[The Snow Maiden (play)|The Snow Maiden]]'' (1873).
*Undina's aria was somewhat altered and put to use as the first song of Lel in ''Snow Maiden''.
*Undina's aria was somewhat altered and put to use as the first song of Lel in ''The Snow Maiden''.
*The duet was recycled as the duet (No. 13-V) of Siegfried and Odette in Act 2 of ''[[Swan Lake]]'' (1875–1876). The vocal parts were replaced by solo cello and violin.
*The duet was recycled as the duet (No. 13-V) of Siegfried and Odette in act 2 of ''[[Swan Lake]]'' (1875–1876). The vocal parts were replaced by solo cello and violin.


==Roles==
==Roles==
[[File:John William Waterhouse - Undine.JPG|thumb|''Undine'' (1872) by [[John William Waterhouse]]]]
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles, voice types, premiere cast}}
!|Role
!Role
!|Voice type
![[Voice type]]
!|Premiere cast<br>March 28 [OS March 16], 1870<br>(Conductor: Eduard Merten)
!Premiere cast<br>28 March [OS 16 March] 1870<br>Conductor: Eduard Merten<ref>Eduard Merten became 2nd conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre shortly before 1870. He was "a talented pianist and composed romances, but was completely inexperienced as a conductor" (Kashkin, ''Erinnerungen'', 64, 66) [https://books.google.com/books?id=6-hXsTRgw7IC&dq=eduard+merten+conductor&pg=PA179 Edward H. Tarr, ''East Meets West: The Russian Trumpet Tradition from the Time of Peter the Great'']</ref>
|-
|-
|Goldmann, ''an old fisherman''
|Goldmann, ''an old fisherman''
|[[bass (vocal range)|bass]]
|[[bass (voice type)|bass]]
|
|
|-
|-
Line 35: Line 52:
|
|
|-
|-
|Undina, ''their adopted daughter''
|[[Undine|Undina]], ''their adopted daughter''
|[[soprano]]
|[[soprano]]
|A. Alexandrova-Kochetova
|A. Alexandrova-Kochetova
Line 55: Line 72:


==Instrumentation==
==Instrumentation==
*Strings: violins, violas, cellos, and double basses
⚫
Source: [http://www.tchaikovsky-research.net/ www.tchaikovsky-research.net]
*Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (B-flat), 2 bassoons
*''Strings'': Violins, Violas, Cellos, and Double Basses
*''Woodwinds'': Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets ( B-flat), 2 Bassoons
*Brass: 4 horns (all F), 2 trumpets (B-flat), 2 trombones, tuba
*Percussion: timpani, triangle, cymbals, bass drum
*''Brass'': 4 Horns (all F), 2 Trumpets (B-flat), 2 Trombones, Tuba
⚫
*Other: harp, piano
*''Percussion'': Timpani, Triangle, Cymbals, Bass Drum
⚫
Source<ref>[http://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Undina "''Undina''"], tchaikovsky-research.net</ref>
⚫
*''Other'': Harp, Piano


==Synopsis==
==Setting==
''Time'': The 15th century
''Time'': The 15th century


''Place'': [[Germany]], near the [[Danube]]; Ringstetten Castle (Burg Ringstetten)
''Place'': Germany, near the [[Source of the Danube|springs of]] the [[Danube]]; Ringstetten Castle (Burg Ringstetten)


==Recordings==
==Recordings==
'''Vocal and orchestral numbers'''
'''Introduction'''
*"Excerpts from the Opera ''Undine''" [[Tamara Milashkina]] (Undine), Yevgeny Raikov (Gulbrand), Moscow Radio Chorus (Konstantin Lebedev, director), [[Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra]], [[Yevgeny Akulov]], conductor. Melodiya / ABC Westminster Gold WGS 8300, 1975. LP.<br />Features three selections from ''Undina'': act 1: Undine's Song; act 1: Finale; act 3: Duet of Undine and Gulbrand.
*Gauk, USSR Radio Large Symphony Orchestra
*"''Undine'': fragments from the unfinished opera" Tamara Milashkina (Undine), Yevgeny Raikov (Gulbrand), Moscow Radio Chorus, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Yevgeny Akulov. Melodiya, 1988. CD.<br />A CD reissue of the above LP, subsequently re-released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (Petaluma, California) in 1989. It features the same three selections as in the 1975 issue, plus the introduction (Ouverture), with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by [[Alexander Gauk]].
'''Vocal Numbers'''
*"Vodopad moy dyadya" from ''Undina'', On ''Guilty Pleasures''. [[Renée Fleming]], soprano, [[Philharmonia Orchestra]], Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor. London/Decca B0019033-02, 2013. CD.
*Akulov, USSR TV and Radio Symphony Orchestra, Milashkina, Raikov
*''Undina'': surviving fragments. [[Anna Aglatova]] (Undina), Aleksey Tataritsev (Gulbrand), [[Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra]] and Chorus of the Popov Academy of Choral Arts, [[Vladimir Fedoseyev]], conductor. Published 23 November 2015.<ref>{{YouTube|CWxeHUtNBUs|''Undine'' concert performance}}</ref><br />Concert performance of all five surviving numbers, including the previously unrecorded "Bridal March", recorded 13 November 2015 at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, with Mikhail Fillipov reciting extracts from [[Vasily Zhukovsky|Zhukovsky]]'s story.

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMSLP2|id=Undina (Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich))|cname=Ундина}}
* {{IMSLP|work=Undina, TH 2 (Tchaikovsky, Pyotr)|cname=''Undina'' (Tchaikovsky)}}

*[http://web.archive.org/web/20070219133016/http://www.tchaikovsky-research.org/en/Works/th002.html Essay by Brett Langston]
{{Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky}}
{{Portal bar|Opera}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Undina (Tchaikovsky)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Undina (Tchaikovsky)}}
[[Category:Operas by Pyotr Tchaikovsky]]
[[Category:Operas by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]
[[Category:Russian-language operas]]
[[Category:Russian-language operas]]
[[Category:1869 operas]]
[[Category:1869 operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Operas based on plays]]

[[Category:Lost operas]]
[[es:Undina (Chaikovski)]]
[[Category:Operas set in Germany]]
[[fr:Ondine (opéra)]]
[[Category:Operas set in the 15th century]]
[[ru:Ундина (опера)]]
[[Category:Works based on Undine (novella)]]

Latest revision as of 14:48, 17 March 2023

For other uses, see Undine (disambiguation).
Undina
Opera fragment by Tchaikovsky
A clean-shaven man in his teens wearing a dress shirt, tie and dark jacket
Photography of Tchaikovsky as a student at the Moscow Conservatory, 1863
Native title
Russian: Ундина
LibrettistVladimir Sollogub
SpracheRussian
Based onOndine
by De la Motte Fouqué

Undina (sometimes Undine or Ondine) (Russian: Ундина listenⓘ) is an opera in three acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The work was composed in 1869. The libretto was written by Vladimir Sollogub, and is based on Vasily Zhukovsky's translation of Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's novella Ondine.

History

[edit]

The opera was composed during the months of January to July 1869, but Tchaikovsky destroyed the score in 1873, preserving only a few numbers from the opera. The opera has never been performed in its entirety.

The only extracts that survive are:

  1. Einführung
  2. Aria: "Waterfall, my uncle, streamlet, my brother" (Undina)
  3. Chorus: "Help, help! Our stream is raging"
  4. Duet: "O happiness, O blessed moment" (Undina, Huldbrand)
  5. Chorus: "O hours of death" (soloists, chorus)

At least three of these pieces – the aria, the duet, and the final chorus – were performed at the Moscow premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on 28 March 1870.

Some music from the opera was subsequently re-used in Tchaikovsky's other works:

  • The bridal procession of act 3 was adapted for the Andantino marziale of his Symphony No. 2 "Little Russian" (1872).
  • The introduction was used unchanged as the introduction to his incidental music to Ostrovsky's play The Snow Maiden (1873).
  • Undina's aria was somewhat altered and put to use as the first song of Lel in The Snow Maiden.
  • The duet was recycled as the duet (No. 13-V) of Siegfried and Odette in act 2 of Swan Lake (1875–1876). The vocal parts were replaced by solo cello and violin.

Roles

[edit]
Undine (1872) by John William Waterhouse
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast
28 March [OS 16 March] 1870
Conductor: Eduard Merten[1]
Goldmann, an old fisherman bass
Bertha, his wife mezzo-soprano
Undina, their adopted daughter soprano A. Alexandrova-Kochetova
Huldbrand, a knight tenor Aleksandr Dodonov
The Duke bass
Berthalda, the Duke's daughter mezzo-soprano
Chorus, silent roles: People

Instrumentation

[edit]
  • Strings: violins, violas, cellos, and double basses
  • Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (B-flat), 2 bassoons
  • Brass: 4 horns (all F), 2 trumpets (B-flat), 2 trombones, tuba
  • Percussion: timpani, triangle, cymbals, bass drum
  • Other: harp, piano

Source[2]

Setting

[edit]

Time: The 15th century

Place: Germany, near the springs of the Danube; Ringstetten Castle (Burg Ringstetten)

Recordings

[edit]

Vocal and orchestral numbers

  • "Excerpts from the Opera Undine" Tamara Milashkina (Undine), Yevgeny Raikov (Gulbrand), Moscow Radio Chorus (Konstantin Lebedev, director), Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Yevgeny Akulov, conductor. Melodiya / ABC Westminster Gold WGS 8300, 1975. LP.
    Features three selections from Undina: act 1: Undine's Song; act 1: Finale; act 3: Duet of Undine and Gulbrand.
  • "Undine: fragments from the unfinished opera" Tamara Milashkina (Undine), Yevgeny Raikov (Gulbrand), Moscow Radio Chorus, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Yevgeny Akulov. Melodiya, 1988. CD.
    A CD reissue of the above LP, subsequently re-released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (Petaluma, California) in 1989. It features the same three selections as in the 1975 issue, plus the introduction (Ouverture), with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Gauk.
  • "Vodopad moy dyadya" from Undina, On Guilty Pleasures. Renée Fleming, soprano, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor. London/Decca B0019033-02, 2013. CD.
  • Undina: surviving fragments. Anna Aglatova (Undina), Aleksey Tataritsev (Gulbrand), Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Popov Academy of Choral Arts, Vladimir Fedoseyev, conductor. Published 23 November 2015.[3]
    Concert performance of all five surviving numbers, including the previously unrecorded "Bridal March", recorded 13 November 2015 at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, with Mikhail Fillipov reciting extracts from Zhukovsky's story.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Eduard Merten became 2nd conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre shortly before 1870. He was "a talented pianist and composed romances, but was completely inexperienced as a conductor" (Kashkin, Erinnerungen, 64, 66) Edward H. Tarr, East Meets West: The Russian Trumpet Tradition from the Time of Peter the Great
  2. ^ "Undina", tchaikovsky-research.net
  3. ^ Undine concert performance on YouTube
[edit]
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