The Coachmen at the Relay Station

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The Coachmen at the Relay Station (Russian: Ямщики на подставе), also referred to as Coachmen on a stand, or an accidental game, is a 1787 one-act comic opera by Yevstigney Fomin with the libretto authored by N. A. Lvov,[1] and was dedicated to friend of Lvov and folk song collector S. M. Mitrofanov,[2] although it was specifically written on occasion of Catherine the Great's visit to Tambov. Although the scheduled visit never occurred, the opera was completed and performed without Catherine's appearance to resolve the plot as Fomin intended.[3]

The work is hallmarked by Fomin's usage of the Russian folk song tradition known as the "drawn out song".[1][4] It was premiered that same year on January 2 (November 8), 1787, although its location of premiere is dubious, performances having taken place in both Tambov and Saint Petersburg that year. The latter is considered to be the official place of premiere, however.[5] On its premiere, however, the work was not popular with the audience and as a result, it fell out of performance.[2]

Much of Mikhail Glinka's attempts and artistic recreation of Russian folk music practices originated with Fomin, while the nativist project known as, "The Five", specifically Alexander Borodin, continued the focus on authenticity and realism in the ways they attempted to incorporate the choral practices of Russian folk music into their work.[6]

Roles[edit]

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Character Voice type Premiere cast
Timofey Burakov tenor Mr. Kamushkin
Abram, Timofey's father bass Anton Krutitsky
Fadeevna, Timofey's wife soprano Ms. Bystreeva
Yanka, young coachman bass Yakov Vorobyov
Vakhrush tenor Mr. Suslov
Courier bass Mr. Volkov
Officer on stand no singing Vasily Sharapov
Four coachmen no singing
Bobyl, the coachman no singing Mr. Rakhmanov
Two messengers no singing Mr. Zolin, Mr. Savinov
Two dragons no singing
Coachmen's choir

Musical structure[edit]

The opera itself has 15 scenes but ten musical numbers.[7]

  1. Overture
    • The folk song “Captain’s daughter, don’t go for a walk at midnight” is heard. This corresponds to song No. 16 in Nikolay Lvov and Johann Gottfried Pratsch's 1790 collection of folk songs, Collection of Russian Folk Songs with Their Tunes.[8][9]
  2. Chorus: "Not at the priest's in the green garden..."
  3. Chorus: "The falcon flies high"
  4. Aria: "The zealous heart is valiant..." (Timofey)
  5. Duet: "Between us, coachmen..." (Yanka and Timofey)
  6. Trio: "If only I were a bird..." (Vakhrush, Yanka, Courier)
  7. Duet with chorus: "Should I buy them, Filyushka..." (Yanka, Timofey, Chorus)
  8. Quartet with chorus: "Molodka, regimental soldier..."
  9. Trio with chorus: "In the field the birch was raging..." (Fadeevna, Timofey, Yanka)
  10. Orchestral march
  11. Chorus: "You all give up, give way, good people"

Recordings[edit]

  • 1966: "Russian music of XVII" (Vladimir Yesipov, Melodiya)[10]
  • 2006: "Early Russian opera" (Bomba Music)[11]
  • 2020: Nuits Blanches – Opera Arias at the Court of Russia in the 18th Century (Karina Gauvin and Pacific Baroque Orchestra, ATM Classique)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Taruskin, Richard (1997). Defining Russia Musically: Historical and Hermeneutical Essays. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. [page needed]. ISBN 978-0-691-01156-1 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b K. Yu. Lappo-Danilevsky. "Comments: N. A. Lviv. Coachmen on stand", in Lvov N. A. Selected works, Cologne; Weimar; Vienna: Böhlau-Verlag; St. Petersburg: Pushkinsky House; Rus. Christian. hum. Institute; Publishing house "Acropolis", 1994, p. 408. (in Russian)
  3. ^ "Karina Gauvin soprano Pacific Baroque orchestra", Arte Musica (2020), 7.
  4. ^ Frolova-Walker, Marina (2007). Russian Music and Nationalism; from Glinka to Stalin. New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press. p. [page needed]. ISBN 978-0-300-11273-3 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Опера Фомина «Ямщики на подставе» (The Coachmen at the Relay Station) | Belcanto.ru". 2020-05-21. Archived from the original on 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  6. ^ Frolova-Walker, 170.
  7. ^ "Ямщики на подставе (1787) – Оглавление". www.operalib.eu. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  8. ^ Sobranie russkich narodnych pěsen s ich golosami (Johann Gottfried Pratsch): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  9. ^ Цзиньюй, Цзя (2023). "ИТАЛЬЯНСКИЕ УВЕРТЮРЫ РУССКИХ ОПЕР Е. ФОМИНА". Вестник музыкальной науки (in Russian). 11 (2): 25–35. ISSN 2308-1031.
  10. ^ "Vladimir Esipov. Yurlov. Russian music of XVII. Fomin, Matinsky, Pashkevich. D-018241". www.popsike.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  11. ^ "Ранняя русская опера. Евстигней Фомин: Ямщики на подставе, Степан Давыдов: Леста, днепровская русалка (CD)". www.golddisk.ru. Retrieved 2024-05-10.

External links[edit]

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