Servilia (opera)
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| Servilia | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | |
 The composer in 1898 | |
| Native title | |
| Librettist | Rimsky-Korsakov |
| Language | Russian |
| Based on | drama by Lev Mey |
| Premiere | 1902 Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg |
Servilia (Russian: Сервилия, romanized: Servilya ⓘ, the name of a main character), is an opera in five acts by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The work was completed in 1901, and was first performed in 1902 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The composer wrote the libretto, which is based on the drama by Lev Alexandrovich Mey. The story is set in Ancient Rome during Nero's reign.
The world premiere took place in St. Petersburg on 14 October (O.S. / 1 October) 1902 at the Mariinsky Theatre. It was the only one of Rimsky's late operas not performed in Mamontov's private theatre - conducted by Feliks Blumenfeld. A second performance took place in 1904, and a third in 1944.[1] An LP of extracts from Act 3 scene 5 and Acts 4 scenes 5 and 6 was recorded in 1951 under Onisim Bron with Olga Piotrovskaya in the role of Servilia, Georgi Nelepp as Valery and Pavel Lisitsian as Egnaty.
Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducted the opera in 2016 at Moscow's Boris Pokrovsky Chamber Music Theatre, where it was recorded, though not released. Using the 2016 production as a starting point, it was revived on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in December 2025 conducted by Anton Grishanin, with Ramilya Minikhanova in the title role.[2]
One aria, "My flowers" from Act 3 for Servilia («Цветы мои, и вы в палящий полдень»), has survived in the concert repertoire, and has been recorded by Galina Pisarenko, Renée Fleming and Nicole Car.
