Semyon Kotko, op. 81
Opera
Semyon Kotko (Russian: Семён Котко), Op. 81, is an opera in five acts by Sergei Prokofiev to a libretto by Sergei Prokofiev and Valentin Katayev based on Katayev's 1937 novel I, Son of Working People (Russian: Я, сын трудового народа…). It was premiered on 23 June 1940 at the Stanislavsky Opera Theatre in Moscow.
Synopsis
Place: Ukraine
Time: 1918.
The newly established Bolshevik government has reached peace with the Germans, but some of their forces still occupy the territory. The advancing Red Army is hampered by Ukrainian nationalists and the remaining Germans. Semyon, a demobilized soldier and prominent young man in his village, is hoping to marry Sofya, daughter of the wealthy Tkachenko. The latter hopes to restore the old order and plots with loyalist elements and Germans to undermine the revolution and to thwart Semyon's marital intentions. In the end, Semyon, after Tkachenko's intrigues have cost the lives of two friends, is reunited with Sofya, and Tkachenko is arrested and executed leaving behind the merry chorus of the Red Army.
- Introduction. Andante
- Semyon and His Mother. Moderato
- The Betrothal. Moderato
- The Southern Night. Adagio
- Execution. Allegro moderato
- The Village Is Burning. Andante - Moderato
- Funeral. Andante
- Ours Have Come. Vivace
Synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.