Opera Mazeppa Program Notes Sheet Music and Recordings

Program Notes & Analysis

A "Hero" Who Is a Villain: Tchaikovsky's Darkest Portrait

When Tchaikovsky chose Alexander Pushkin’s Poltava as the subject for his sixth opera, he was, as always, walking a "tightrope" between his "European" heart and his "Russian" soul. The story of Ivan Mazeppa, the Ukrainian Hetman who betrayed Tsar Peter the Great, was a "nationalist" epic, the "bread and butter" of his rivals, "The Mighty Handful." But Tchaikovsky was not interested in Pushkin's "historical" pageant of the "Battle of Poltava." He was, as always, interested in the people. He and his librettist, Viktor Burenin, tore Pushkin's poem apart and re-assembled it as a "domestic" tragedy, a "psychological" thriller. He shifts the focus from the "battle" to the "love story," and in doing so, he creates one of the most "anti-heroic" portraits in all of opera. Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa is not the "Romantic hero" depicted by Lord Byron or Franz Liszt. He is a "vulture," a 70-year-old man driven by a "sickly," "obsessive" lust for a teenage girl, Mariya, his own goddaughter. This "love" is not "transcendent"; it is "destructive," and it is the "engine" that drives the entire, bloody, and "Shakespearian" plot of "betrayal, torture, execution, and madness."

A "Mussorgsky" Opera, Written by Tchaikovsky

Mazeppa is Tchaikovsky's most "Mighty Handful" opera. It is his direct "answer" to Modest Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. He, like Mussorgsky, uses "historical" Russia as a backdrop for a "psychological" drama. He, too, builds his score on "realistic" declamation and the "raw" power of the "chorus" (the "people"). The "Execution Scene" in Act II of Mazeppa is a "direct," "unflinching" response to the "Kromy Forest" scene in Boris. It is a masterpiece of "naturalism." We hear a "drunken Cossack" sing a "bawdy" song, the "clatter" of the crowd, the "solemn" prayers of the victims, and, finally, the "brutal, horrifying" orchestral "thud" of the executioner's axe. This is verismo ("realism") a decade before the verismo movement even began in Italy. This is Tchaikovsky the "symphonist" proving that he could be just as "raw," "brutal," and "Russian" as his "rivals." And yet, he cannot help but be Tchaikovsky. He "smooths out" Mussorgsky’s "radical" edges, and "pours" his own, "incomparable" melodic gift into the "brutality." The result is a "hybrid" opera: a "Russian" plot, with an "Italianate" bel canto heart.

The "Love" that Destroys

The entire opera is a "love triangle" of "obsessions." At the center is Mariya, the "soprano," a "dreamy," "un-awakened" girl. She is torn between two "impossible" loves: her "filial" love for her father, Kochubey (the "bass"), and her "erotic" fascination with Mazeppa (the "baritone"). This "choice" is her "fatal flaw." But Tchaikovsky also gives her a third "suitor," the "tenor" Andrey, a "pure," "heroic," "Lensky-like" character (from Eugene Onegin) who loves her with a "hopeless," "idealistic" passion. The opera is the "story" of how Mazeppa's "obsessive" lust destroys all of them. He "steals" Mariya, "betrays" her father, "tortures" him, and "executes" him. This "act" of "patricide-by-proxy" is the "trauma" that "shatters" Mariya's mind. This is a "classic" Tchaikovsky theme: "love" is not "gentle"; it is a "dark," "all-consuming," and "fatal" force.

A Score of Dark "Ukrainian" Color and "Symphonic" Power

Tchaikovsky, who had "Ukrainian" roots, infused the score with "local color." He uses authentic "Ukrainian" folk melodies to "paint" the "pastoral" world of Act I. The "Hopak" (a "fiery" folk dance) that interrupts the "opening scene" is a brilliant "show-stopper," a "splash" of "nationalist" color in the "vein" of Rimsky-Korsakov or Borodin. But Tchaikovsky's "true" genius is in the "orchestral" writing. The opera is "symphonic" in its "scope." The "prelude" is a "dark," "brooding" "tone poem." The "Battle of Poltava," a "purely" "orchestral" "interlude" that opens Act III, is a "masterpiece" of "programmatic" music, a "terrifying," "cinematic" "depiction" of the "battle" that "crushes" Mazeppa's "ambition." The "score" is "built" on "leitmotifs," but Tchaikovsky's "motifs" are "lyrical," not "intellectual." Mazeppa's "theme" is not just a "tag"; it is a "dark," "passionate," "descending" "love theme" that "paints" his "psychology."

The "Doomed" Characters

Tchaikovsky's "true" "voice" is in his "arias" for the "doomed."

• Kochubey's Prayer: In the "dungeon scene" of Act II, Kochubey (the "bass") "awaits" his "execution." He "sings" a "profound," "dark," "Russian Orthodox" "prayer" ("O, Maria, Maria!"). It is a "moment" of "sublime" "resignation," a "direct" "ancestor" of Mussorgsky's "Dosifei" in Khovanshchina.

• Mazeppa's Monologue: In Act II, Mazeppa, "at the peak" of his "power," "looks" at the "sleeping" Mariya. He "sings" a "dark," "introspective" "arioso" ("O, noch' upoitel'na" - "O, voluptuous night"). He "knows" he is "old," he "knows" he is "risking" "everything" (his "soul," his "country") for this "one" "obsession." It is a "chilling" "glimpse" into the "mind" of a "tyrant."

• Mariya's Lullaby: The "finale" of the "opera" is its "most famous" "moment." It is the "ultimate" "Tchaikovsky-an" "tragedy." Mariya, now "completely mad" (her "mind" "broken" by her "father's" "execution"), "stumbles" onto the "battlefield." She "finds" her "childhood" "sweetheart," Andrey, "dying" (he has "just" "been" "shot" by "Mazeppa"). She "does not" "recognize" him. She "thinks" he is a "lost child." "Forgetting" "all" the "horror," she "cradles" the "dying" "tenor" in her "arms" and "sings" him a "haunting," "childlike" "lullaby" ("Spi, mladenets moy prekrasnyy" - "Sleep, my beautiful infant"). It is an "ending" of "unbearable" "pathos," a "descent" into "madness" that is "far" "more" "terrifying" than "any" "execution."

A "Flawed" but "Powerful" Epic

Mazeppa, like its "contemporaries" Boris Godunov and Prince Igor, is often "criticized" as a "dramaturgical" "mess." The "hero" (Mazeppa) "disappears" before the "final" "scene." The "plot" is "episodic." The "premiere" in 1884 was a "moderate" "success," but it "never" "achieved" the "popularity" of Eugene Onegin or Queen of Spades. Why? Because it is "unforgiving." It is Tchaikovsky at his "most" "brutal." There is "no" "redemption." There is "no" "hope." It is a "dark," "political," "verismo" "thriller" "disguised" as a "historical" "pageant." It is a "raw," "violent," and "demanding" "opera" that "shows" us the "dark," "Mussorgsky-an" "soul" "hiding" "behind" the "lyrical, 'Western'" "facade" of Russia's "greatest" "symphonist."

The Story of the Opera

Act I

Scene 1: Kochubey's Estate. In a garden on the banks of the Dnieper River, a group of village girls sings and tells fortunes. Mariya, the daughter of the wealthy nobleman Kochubey, is not interested. She is in love with their guest, the aging, powerful Cossack Hetman, Ivan Mazeppa. Mariya's childhood sweetheart, the young Cossack Andrey, confesses his love for her, but she gently, and sadly, rejects him. Kochubey hosts a grand feast for Mazeppa. A "Hopak" (a fiery folk dance) is performed. After the feast, Mazeppa takes Kochubey aside and asks for Mariya's hand in marriage. Kochubey is horrified. He is shocked, not only because Mazeppa is "ancient," but because he is Mariya's godfather, a "sacred" "familial" "bond" in the "Orthodox" "faith." He refuses. Mazeppa, "furious," "threatens" him. He "calls" for Mariya and "demands" she "choose" "between" "him" and her "father." Mariya, "torn" by "love" and "duty," "chooses" Mazeppa. He "abducts" her, and they "flee" "together."

Scene 2: A room in Kochubey's manor. Kochubey's wife, Lyubov, is in despair over the "loss" of her "daughter." She "urges" her "husband" to "raise" the "Cossacks" and "attack" Mazeppa. But Kochubey has a "darker," "more" "certain" "plan." He "knows" that Mazeppa is "secretly" "plotting" to "betray" Tsar Peter the Great and "ally" with the "Swedes." Kochubey decides to "denounce" Mazeppa to the Tsar. This will "destroy" his "rival" and "avenge" his "family's" "honor." Andrey, his "heart" "broken" by Mariya's "betrayal," "volunteers" to be the "messenger" who "carries" the "denunciation" to Moscow.

Act II

Scene 1: A dungeon in Mazeppa's castle. Kochubey's "plan" has "failed." Tsar Peter, "trusting" his "Hetman" Mazeppa, "believes" Kochubey's "denunciation" is a "lie," a "personal" "vendetta." He has "handed" Kochubey "over" to Mazeppa "for" "justice." Kochubey is "chained" to a "pillar." Mazeppa's "henchman," Orlik, "interrogates" him, "demanding" he "reveal" the "location" of his "hidden" "treasure." Kochubey "refuses." Orlik "orders" the "torturer" to be "brought" "in."

Scene 2: A room in Mazeppa's castle. Mazeppa "paces" in his "room," "tormented" by his "decision" to "execute" Kochubey. He "sings" of his "love" for Mariya and his "ambitious" "plans" to "create" an "independent" "Ukraine" ("O, noch' upoitel'na"). Mariya "enters." She "notices" he is "cold" and "distant." She "does not" "know" her "father" is in the "dungeon" "below" "them." Mazeppa, in a "cruel" "psychological" "test," "asks" her: "Who" "do" "you" "love" "more," "your" "father" "or" "your" "husband?" She "passionately" "reaffirms" her "love" for "him." "Just" as he "embraces" her, Mariya's "mother," Lyubov, "bursts" "in." She "hysterically" "tells" Mariya that "her" "father" is "about" to "be" "executed." Mariya, "horrified," "faints."

Scene 3: The execution field. A "huge" "crowd" has "gathered." A "drunken" "Cossack" "sings" a "bawdy" "song." Mazeppa and Orlik "watch" "from" "horseback" as the "prisoners," Kochubey and his "friend" Iskra, "are" "led" to the "scaffolding." They "sing" a "final," "solemn" "prayer." "Just" as the "axe" "is" "about" to "fall," Mariya and Lyubov "rush" "through" the "crowd," "screaming" for "mercy." They "are" "too" "late."

Act III

A "symphonic" "interlude" ("The Battle of Poltava") "depicts" the "total" "defeat" of Mazeppa and the "Swedes" by Tsar Peter's "army." The "scene" "is" "Kochubey's" "ruined" "estate." Andrey, "now" a "soldier" in the "Tsar's" "army," is "searching" the "battlefield" for Mazeppa, "vowing" "revenge." Mazeppa and Orlik, "fleeing" the "battle," "stumble" "in." Andrey "confronts" Mazeppa and "challenges" him. Mazeppa, "without" "hesitation," "shoots" Andrey with a "pistol." At "that" "moment," Mariya "appears." She is "now" "completely" "insane." Her "mind" "shattered" by her "father's" "execution," she "does not" "recognize" Mazeppa. She "sings" "fragmented" "songs." Mazeppa, "seeing" she is "lost" to "him," "abandons" her and "escapes" with Orlik. Mariya, "alone," "wanders" the "battlefield" "among" the "dead." She "finds" the "dying" Andrey. "Mistaking" "him" for a "sleeping" "child," she "cradles" "him" in her "arms" and "sings" her "final," "haunting" "lullaby" ("Spi, mladenets moy prekrasnyy"). The "opera" "ends" as "Andrey" "dies" and Mariya, "lost" in her "madness," "rocks" "him" "gently."