It was a time of political upheaval everywhere in Europe, and music--especially opera--was very much part of the movement:
Glinka discovered him in Kiev, brought him to St. Petersburg for further education, and organized a benefit concert that permitted Hulak-Artemovsky further study in Paris and Florence. He worked for the Russian Imperial Opera in St. Petersburg for two decades and spent his last two years in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater. (1)
His signature work is Zaporozhets za Dunayem (Cossack(s) in Exile, 1864 after completing the libretto in 1862), 'one of the best-known Ukrainian comic operas depicting national themes.'(2) It was written for the composer's Russian audience, but is now primarily performed in Ukrainian translation. Its orchestration has been reworked by Glière and Maiboroda. You can find the entire opera here.
The story is based on the end of the Zaporozhian Host in 1775 under Catherine the Great after the annexation of the Zaporozhian Cossack tribes by the Russian Empire and the Cossack exile to the Ottoman Empire in present-day Romania.
Following are the Overture, Andriy's prayer, Oksana's Romance, Andriy's and Oksana's duet, and Ukrainian dances, followed by two scenes from a live performance of The Cossacks in Sacramento, CA, the first of which illustrates the comical nature of the story. This is romanticism at its most engaging.
The opera inspired the 1939 Edgar G. Ulmer movie Cossacks in Exile and a Cossack Beyond The Danube Fantasie for violin & orchestra composed by Oleg Bezborodko (2005).
At YouTube we also find a number of beautiful Hulak-Artemovsky songs, some of which are considered Ukrainian folk songs. Enjoy!
Oi, Kazala Meni Maty.
Girl and Cuckoo.
There are reapers on hill.
Sycamore is tilting on water.
Ой i не стелися хрещатий барвiнку. (Google's translator is no help here.)
To conclude a lyrical dance on a Ukrainian melody performed on folk instruments.
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(1)"The performance Cossacks in Exile will be dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Semen Hulak-Artemovsky." Odessa Opera News, 03/09/2013. (http://opera.odessa.ua/en/news/2013/03/1521.html (12/31/2013))
(2)"Zaporozhets za Dunayem." Wikipedia entry. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaporozhets_za_Dunayem (12/31/2013))
- The Belgian Revolution (1830) was sparked by a Night at the Opera. The opera was the French composer Daniel Auber's La Muette de Portici, based on Masaniello's revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs in 17th century Naples.One such composer in Ukraine was Semen Stepanovych Hulak-Artemovsky (Semyon Gulak Artemovsky, 1813 - 1873), a friend of Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine's great poet and artist. Successful baritone and actor, Hulak-Artemovsky's compositions include operas and lighter stage fare, beautiful Ukrainian folk songs, and orchestral works.
- Richard Wagner was involved in the May Uprising in Dresden (1949) and fled via Paris to Switzerland, one of many controversies he regularly managed to get himself into, some of which blemish his reputation to the present day.
- Giuseppe Verdi played a role in the Italian Risorgimento movement. The Va, pensiero chorus (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) is, rightly or wrongly, most often mentioned in this context.
- All this came on the heels of nationalist operas such as Weber's Der Freischütz and Rossini's William Tell.
Glinka discovered him in Kiev, brought him to St. Petersburg for further education, and organized a benefit concert that permitted Hulak-Artemovsky further study in Paris and Florence. He worked for the Russian Imperial Opera in St. Petersburg for two decades and spent his last two years in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater. (1)
His signature work is Zaporozhets za Dunayem (Cossack(s) in Exile, 1864 after completing the libretto in 1862), 'one of the best-known Ukrainian comic operas depicting national themes.'(2) It was written for the composer's Russian audience, but is now primarily performed in Ukrainian translation. Its orchestration has been reworked by Glière and Maiboroda. You can find the entire opera here.
The story is based on the end of the Zaporozhian Host in 1775 under Catherine the Great after the annexation of the Zaporozhian Cossack tribes by the Russian Empire and the Cossack exile to the Ottoman Empire in present-day Romania.
Following are the Overture, Andriy's prayer, Oksana's Romance, Andriy's and Oksana's duet, and Ukrainian dances, followed by two scenes from a live performance of The Cossacks in Sacramento, CA, the first of which illustrates the comical nature of the story. This is romanticism at its most engaging.
The opera inspired the 1939 Edgar G. Ulmer movie Cossacks in Exile and a Cossack Beyond The Danube Fantasie for violin & orchestra composed by Oleg Bezborodko (2005).
At YouTube we also find a number of beautiful Hulak-Artemovsky songs, some of which are considered Ukrainian folk songs. Enjoy!
Oi, Kazala Meni Maty.
Girl and Cuckoo.
There are reapers on hill.
Sycamore is tilting on water.
Ой i не стелися хрещатий барвiнку. (Google's translator is no help here.)
To conclude a lyrical dance on a Ukrainian melody performed on folk instruments.
_____________________________________________________________________
(1)"The performance Cossacks in Exile will be dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Semen Hulak-Artemovsky." Odessa Opera News, 03/09/2013. (http://opera.odessa.ua/en/news/2013/03/1521.html (12/31/2013))
(2)"Zaporozhets za Dunayem." Wikipedia entry. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaporozhets_za_Dunayem (12/31/2013))