Product Description
When Sergei Prokofiev started work on a new opera, having just finished his opera Betrothal in a Monastery, he could not have envisaged that the theme, borrowed from Tolstoy痴 novel War and Peace, would very soon become dreadful reality. It was just two months later that the German invasion of the Soviet Union began. By way of the conscious parallel to Napoleon痴 historic invasion of Russia, Prokofiev痴 opera became an attempt to strengthen the defense morale of his fellow countrymen in this "patriotic war," as Soviet historians of the Second World War call it. Prokofiev痴 opera is divided into two separate parts. The first seven scenes depict the carefree, splendid life amongst the Russian aristocracy and put the love story, which ends through Natasha痴 deception, into the centre. The seventh scene ends with the announcement that war has begun. The following six scenes of part two are dedicated to events during the war, beginning with the battle of Borodino and! ending with the escape of the Grande Armee and the liberation of Moscow. Although the first draft of the opera was meant to have been performed in two parts, on two seperate evenings, the opera was eventually trimmed down to fit into a single performance. However, Prokofiev would not live to see his opera performed in its entirety. SPECIAL FEATURES: The Making Of (79 minutes)