NOT LOVE ALONE (Shchedrin) St.Petersburg 2024 Yekaterina Sergeyeva, Alexander Trofimov, Andrei Serov, Yekaterina Latysheva
NOT LOVE ALONE by Rodion Shchedrin
Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia
December 15, 2024
CAST
Varvara Vasilievna: Yekaterina Sergeyeva
Volodya Gavrilov: Alexander Trofimov
Fedot Petrovich: Andrei Serov
Natasha: Yekaterina Latysheva
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Conductor: Zaurbek Gugkaev
Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater
Chorus of the Mariinsky Theater
Chorus Master: Pavel Teplov
Choreographer: Gali Abaidulov
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Stage Director: Alexander Kuzin
Stage Designer: Alexander Orlov
Costume Designer: Irina Cherednikova
Lighting Designer: Alexander Sivaev
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Not Love Alone (also translated Not for Love Alone or Not Only Love; Russian: Не только любовь, romanized: Ne tol’ko lyubov) is the first opera of Rodion Shchedrin, written 1961, revised in 1971.
Irina Arkhipova created the role of Varvara, and recorded Varvara’s aria on her Arias recital for Melodiya 1967.
A well-known piece from this opera (usually played by cello and piano) is the humorous Quadrille from the second Act (Scene 15: The arrival of Varvara Vasilyevna and quadrille).
Setting:
The opera is set in a Soviet village in the 1950s, after World War II.
Characters:
Varvara Vasilievna: The middle-aged chairwoman of the collective farm, who experiences a passionate and unexpected love for Volodya.
Volodya Gavrilov: A young man who has returned to the village after studying and working in the city.
Natasha: Volodya’s fiancée, a young woman from the village.
Act I:
The opera opens with the villagers idle due to bad weather. Volodya returns home and is met with mixed reactions from the villagers. The act introduces the love triangle and the tensions it creates.
Act II:
A village celebration takes place where Volodya and Varvara dance together. This act highlights the conflict between the urban and rural cultures, with some villagers criticizing Volodya’s city ways.
Act III:
Varvara and Natasha confront each other, and Varvara begins to doubt her own actions and desires. The act culminates in a limerick that reflects the opera’s central question: what to do with love.
Themes:
The opera explores themes of love, desire, and social conflict, particularly the tension between traditional rural life and the changing Soviet society. The opera also touches on the themes of maternal tenderness and the complexities of human relationships.
Musical Style:
The opera incorporates elements of operetta and features ditties with irony and passion, reflecting the characters’ emotions and the opera’s dramatic conflict