Undina (Tchaikovsky)
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by De la Motte Fouqué
| Undina | |
|---|---|
| Opera fragment by Tchaikovsky | |
 Photography of Tchaikovsky as a student at the Moscow Conservatory, 1863 | |
| Native title | Russian: Ундина |
| Librettist | Vladimir Sollogub |
| Language | Russian |
| Based on | Ondine by De la Motte Fouqué |
Undina (sometimes Undine or Ondine) (Russian: Ундина ⓘ) 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.
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:
- Introduction
- Aria: "Waterfall, my uncle, streamlet, my brother" (Undina)
- Chorus: "Help, help! Our stream is raging"
- Duet: "O happiness, O blessed moment" (Undina, Huldbrand)
- 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
| 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
- 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
Time: The 15th century
Place: Germany, near the springs of the Danube; Ringstetten Castle (Burg Ringstetten)
