A Life for the Tsar
Music by Mikhail Glinka · libretto by Karl Georg Woldemar von Rosen · premiered 1836 · at Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre
A Life for the Tsar (Russian: Жизнь за царя, romanized: Zhizn za tsarya ) is a "patriotic-heroic tragic" opera in four acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka. During the Soviet era the opera was known under the name Ivan Susanin (Russian: Иван Сусанин ), due to the anti-monarchist censorship. The original Russian libretto, based on historical events, was written by Nestor Kukolnik, Egor Fyodorovich (von) Rozen, Vladimir Sollogub and Vasily Zhukovsky. It premiered on 27 November 1836 OS (9 December NS) at the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in Saint Petersburg. The historical basis of the plot involves Ivan Susanin, a patriotic hero of the early 17th century who died in the expulsion of the invading Polish army for the newly elected Tsar Michael of Russia, the first of the Romanov dynasty, elected in 1613.
Text from the Wikipedia article "A Life for the Tsar", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Mikhail Glinka is the composer of record for this opera.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Mikhail Glinka", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.