1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: I'm tre C V Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. We 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: have a sponsored episode today. This episode is being sponsored 5 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: by Hulu and their new series The Great, which comes 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: out on So. The Great is a not exactly historical 7 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: series about Catherine the Great, that is somebody who previous 8 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: hosts Katie and Sarah did a three part series on 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: back in August. Even at three parts, though, there are 10 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: so many other things that we could talk about with 11 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,160 Speaker 1: Katherine the Great, and so we had tons and tons 12 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: of ideas. When Hulu asked us about sponsoring the show. 13 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: We wanted to choose something that was more towards the 14 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: fun end of the spectrum, because The Greats tone is 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: pretty satirical and comedic. Uh So, something else that is 16 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: often comedic was the operas that Catherine the Great route, 17 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:05,680 Speaker 1: and that is what we're going to talk about today. 18 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: We don't want to repeat too much of what is 19 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: already in the archive, but we do want to give 20 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: folks a quick refresher on who Catherine the Great was, 21 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:18,479 Speaker 1: just so you have some context. In seventeen twenty nine. 22 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: She was born Sophie Frederica Auguste, a princess from Prussia, 23 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: and when she was fourteen, she was selected to marry 24 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: the man who would become Russian Emperor, Peter the Third. 25 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: After arriving in Russia and converting to Russian Orthodoxy, Sophie 26 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,320 Speaker 1: became known as Katerina, which is anglicized as Katherine. Catherine's 27 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: marriage to Peter did not go well. He was virtually 28 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: her opposite, stubborn, rebellious, amateur, uncultured and ill mannered, without 29 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: the aptitude or temperament to be a good emperor, and 30 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: he also humiliated her in public. They both had affairs, 31 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: and it's possible that he did not father any of 32 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: her children. Nearly all of their eighteen year marriage took 33 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: place before Peter became emperor, and during that time he 34 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: increasingly showed himself to be incapable of ruling. Then Empress Elizabeth, 35 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: who was Peter's aunt, died on December seventeen sixty one, 36 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: that's in the old style calendar, that would be January 37 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: five of seventeen sixty two under the new style, and 38 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: with that Peter finally ascended to the throne. He did 39 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 1: not stay there long, though. Less than six months later, 40 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: he was overthrown in a coup that Catherine had helped orchestrate, 41 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,639 Speaker 1: and he was assassinated a few days after that. Katherine 42 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: took his place, becoming Empress Catherine the Second, and she 43 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,679 Speaker 1: reigned for thirty four years. That made her Russia's longest 44 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: ruling female monarch. Following the Enlightenment ideal of the enlightened despot, 45 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: Catherine planned to modernize and reform the government, cultivate the 46 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: sciences and the arts, and improve the lives of Russia's 47 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: poorest people. She wanted to update the criminal code and 48 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: overhaul the justice system. She established Russia's first school for girls, 49 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: appointed its first professor of Russian law, and established a 50 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: society to translate great works of foreign literature into Russian 51 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: Russia also expanded its industry, trade, and infrastructure under Catherine's rule, 52 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: but a lot of Catherine's attempts at reforms fell very 53 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: far short. During her reign, Russia was politically pretty stable, 54 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: but frequently at war. She annexed most of Ukraine and 55 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: took control of part of Poland after an uprising in 56 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: seventeen That, of course, expanded the Russian Empire, but it 57 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: didn't necessarily help the people who had just been annexed, 58 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: and although she had planned to emancipate Russia's serfs, by 59 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: the end of her reign, serfdom was actually more widespread, 60 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 1: and in a lot of cases people were living in 61 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: worse conditions than they had before. This was especially true 62 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: in ukrain Raine, where the peasant class lost a lot 63 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: of the freedoms that it had previously enjoyed. It took 64 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: almost two hundred years for Catherine and her rule to 65 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: start to get an honest historical reckoning. For decades, people 66 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: instead focused on her twelve documented lovers, who were spread 67 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,479 Speaker 1: out over forty four years, and on salacious rumors about 68 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 1: her love life. Or they wrote her off as a 69 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: conniving German interloper from an insignificant family who schemed her 70 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: way onto the Russian throne. Or they dismissed her as vain, 71 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: as a frivolous woman who was more focused on the courts, 72 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: theatrical pomp and splendor than un ruling. Even though she 73 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: and Peter the Great had some similar ambitions, his were 74 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: praised as groundbreaking and innovative, while hers were disparaged as 75 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: derivative and ineffective. There were certainly people who tried to 76 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 1: glorify Katherine's time as an empress, but she also had 77 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,919 Speaker 1: a lot of very vocal detractors. Katherine was not the 78 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 1: only Russian empress whose leg see was treated this way. 79 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:06,160 Speaker 1: Women ruled Russia for most of the eighteenth century. Between 80 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: seventeen twenty five and seventeen nineties, six four empresses were 81 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,359 Speaker 1: on the throne, with really very little interruption between them. 82 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: But that stretch of empresses was book ended by a 83 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: society that was far more patriarchal. Before the eighteenth century, 84 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 1: Russia's royal and aristocratic women had been sequestered away from 85 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: the public and specifically from men, in almost monastic buildings 86 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: and palace wings called terrems, and after Catherine's death, Russia's 87 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: law of succession was changed to keep women off of 88 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 1: the throne, including specifically keeping the emperor's wife out of 89 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 1: the line of succession. Between Catherine the Great's death and 90 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 1: the Russian Revolution, the Russian monarchy and society as a 91 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 1: whole really tried to downplay the contributions of all four 92 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: of these eighteenth century empresses. I mean, it was like 93 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: these women had been in charge for roughly seventy five years. 94 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 1: Some people wanted to kind of sidestep that whole idea, 95 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: and those downplayed contributions by these women included their fostering 96 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: of the arts, which is what brings us back to opera. 97 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: Various members of the Russian aristocracy started theater troops in 98 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: the first half of the eighteenth century. The monarchy started 99 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: to be more formally involved under Empress Elizabeth, who came 100 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 1: to the throne in seventeen forty one, and in many ways, 101 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: Elizabeth's reign paved the way for Catherine's, both in terms 102 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: of her rule and her focus on the arts. In general. 103 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: The Imperial court was also very theatrical, with state ceremonies 104 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: and dinners and similar events involving a whole lot of spectacle, 105 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: and with monarchs regularly hosting events like masquerades, staged equestrian tournaments, concerts, recitations, ballets, 106 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,919 Speaker 1: and theatrical productions. Catherine the Second's interest in culture and 107 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: the arts started long before she became empress, and it 108 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: extended well beyond her work in opera. Catherine just enjoyed writing. 109 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,919 Speaker 1: She was quoted as saying, quote, I cannot see a 110 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: blank sheet of paper without wanting to write on it. 111 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: And her written work included literary journals, fairy tales, conduct manuals, 112 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: treatises on how to raise children, and an ABC book. 113 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: She also wrote a series of non opera dramatic works 114 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: in the seventeen seventies and seventeen eighties. Some of Catherine's 115 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: plays were written after the style of William Shakespeare, who 116 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: really was not all that well known in Russia. Yet. 117 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: One such work, whose title translated to how to Have 118 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: both the Linen and the Basket, was based on The 119 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: Merry Wives of Windsor. I love that title a whole lot. 120 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: Catherine was also interested in incorporating Western European influences into 121 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: Russian culture. She brought composers from Italy and Spain to 122 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: the Russian court, and some of them composed music for 123 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: her operas. She was particularly interested in French literature for 124 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: plosophy and art. She kept up a correspondence with Voltaire 125 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 1: that lasted from seventeen sixty three until his death in 126 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,480 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy eight. She also bought Denis de de Rou's 127 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 1: library and she hired him as a librarian. She had 128 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: a relationship with Baron Friedrich Melchior Grimm, who was originally 129 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: from Germany but started a French cultural newsletter and was 130 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: a huge proponent of French culture. Catherine's affinity for French literature, philosophy, 131 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: and culture was not universal, though she was not as 132 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: fond of Russo because she found some of his work 133 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 1: to be anti Russian, while she really really loved more 134 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:41,440 Speaker 1: Western European culture and art. Catherine has also been described 135 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,199 Speaker 1: as more Russian than the Russians. She wanted the Russian 136 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: arts to be Russian, not simply to be imitations of 137 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: foreign work. So while she was drawing from European influences, 138 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 1: she was also writing in Russian and working with Russian 139 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: playwrights and composers. She incorporated Russian idiot ms and colloquialisms 140 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: into her work. She also wrote specifically about Russia, including 141 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: grounding her plays and stories and operas in Russian history 142 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: and folklore. Catherine's work as a librettist really drew on 143 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: her love of Russia and her desire to create an 144 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 1: authentic Russian style of opera and theater. And we're gonna 145 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: start getting deeper into that after we have a little 146 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 1: sponsor break. Katherine the Second was crowned Empress of Russia 147 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,559 Speaker 1: in seventeen sixty two. In seventeen sixty three, she had 148 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: an opera house built at the Winter Palace. Then in 149 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: the seventeen eighties she replaced that opera house with the 150 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: Hermitage Theater. She also founded the Imperial Theatrical School in 151 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:52,559 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy nine. Opera in particular, became the theatrical genre 152 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 1: of the Imperial court. Her fostering of theater and culture 153 00:09:56,120 --> 00:10:00,480 Speaker 1: went beyond these more formal activities. She also encouraged whole 154 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: of the Russian aristocracy to become patrons of the arts. 155 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: If you were part of the wealthy elite, it was 156 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: expected that you would commission works of art, hire music 157 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: tutors for your children, and produce creative works of art yourself. 158 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: There were, of course, people who thought all this emphasis 159 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 1: on theater and the arts was really excessive, and that 160 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: it showed that the Empress was too focused on the 161 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: trappings of luxury. But Catherine really saw all of this 162 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: as an opportunity to shape Russia as an empire. As 163 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: the monarch, she had the ability to influence or even 164 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,680 Speaker 1: dictate Russian culture, and she could use that ability to 165 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: influence how people both within and outside of Russia regarded 166 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 1: Russia itself and her as the Empress. In other words, 167 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,560 Speaker 1: she was using theater to create an image of herself 168 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: as monarch and of Russia as an empire to present 169 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 1: to the rest of the world. Some of this was 170 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:57,079 Speaker 1: about Russia's place among the nations. If Russia was producing 171 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,320 Speaker 1: great works of art, literature, music, and theater, and that 172 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: was evidence that it was equal to the great powers 173 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: of Europe. But it was also about educating the Russian people. 174 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:12,120 Speaker 1: Eighteenth century Russian theater was really didactic. Stories often had 175 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: a very clear moral Heroic characters overcame obstacles and demonstrated 176 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 1: admirable qualities like bravery, modesty, and generosity. Bad behavior, on 177 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,960 Speaker 1: the other hand, was satirized and mocked. So Catherine's stories 178 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: and plays and operas also were reinforcing ideas of what 179 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,680 Speaker 1: a monarch should be and how the people should view 180 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 1: the monarch. Some of this was to reinforce how people 181 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 1: should treat her as the Empress. It was kind of 182 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:43,360 Speaker 1: her own pr machine, but it was also about paving 183 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:46,959 Speaker 1: the way for her son and presumed air Pavel Petrovitch 184 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:51,479 Speaker 1: anglicized as Paul. She was creating works that would illustrate 185 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 1: how a prince should behave and how a prince should 186 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 1: be treated, for him and for her other descendants. Catherine's 187 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 1: opera skaskas or opera tails fit right into this. Skoska 188 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 1: is a Russian word for story, but it is also 189 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 1: often used to mean a fairy tale, and these were 190 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:12,200 Speaker 1: comic operas with both sung and spoken dialogue, along with 191 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: dances and musical interludes. Most of them played for the 192 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: aristocracy at the Hermitage Theater and for the public at St. 193 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: Petersburg's Comedy Theater. These were lighter works, They had happy endings, 194 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 1: and they often wrapped up with the main character getting married. 195 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: Katherine thought of the opera skotska as a distinctly Russian 196 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: form of opera, equal to comic opera forms in Italy, France, 197 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,840 Speaker 1: and Germany. Katherine wrote the librettos for these opera scoskas, 198 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,439 Speaker 1: although she didn't write verse, so she left the poems 199 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,679 Speaker 1: and the song lyrics to her collaborators. She was still 200 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: really involved in this part of the libretto, though she 201 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: usually had a direction in mind for the songs and 202 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: the musical themes, and she personally selected the composers and 203 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 1: the lyricists and then worked with them to carry that 204 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: direction when it came to producing the performance. She also 205 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,840 Speaker 1: had an active hand in the costumes and the sets 206 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: and the direction. A lot of times she went to 207 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: multiple rehearsals and gave the actor's notes. Wouldn't everyone want 208 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: to get notes from the Empress? That sounds terrifying. I mean, 209 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: like I did theater in high school. I studied it 210 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:25,959 Speaker 1: in college. It was my major, and getting notes from 211 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 1: anybody was excreciating. The idea of getting notes from the 212 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: ruler of the country. Oh h. During her lifetime, Catherine 213 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:38,560 Speaker 1: was not often credited by name when the opera was 214 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: performed or when it's libretto was published, but especially when 215 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 1: it came to the performances for the Aristocracy at the 216 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 1: Hermitage Theater, people generally knew that they were watching something 217 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 1: that the Empress had written, so chronologically by when they 218 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: were staged. Katherine's four opera skoskas were five e Bolslavich, 219 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: Champion of Novgorod, The Brave and Bold Night, a Critic, 220 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:08,080 Speaker 1: and the Woebegone Hero Kasametovic. These were performed for the 221 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: first time between seventeen eighty six and seventeen eighty nine. 222 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: All four of them tell the story of a teenage 223 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 1: prince who grows and matures over the course of the opera, 224 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: and two of them, the princess mother is a widow 225 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: who's raising him alone. And in general, the female characters 226 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: and each of these operas are all women and girls 227 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: who support the prince somehow, so they're the mothers, the 228 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 1: sisters that nurses, the nanny's and the prince's eventual bride. 229 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 1: Feavy was first staged in April of seventeen eighty six, 230 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:40,120 Speaker 1: and it was based on an earlier skuzka that Catherine 231 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: had written, called The Tale of Prince Klore, which was 232 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 1: printed in English as Ivan Serrevich or The Rose without 233 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: Prickles that Stings. Not another great title, It tells the 234 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 1: story of a prince who is not allowed to travel 235 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 1: until he has shown that he has the right traits 236 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: to rule the country, traits like modest generosity, obedience, and boldness. 237 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: To make sure the opera's use of Russian colloquialisms and 238 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 1: folk tales rang true, Catherine got her servant Christian Brazinski 239 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: to review it. Count Valentine estra Hazy, who was the 240 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: French ambassador to the Russian court, wrote to his wife 241 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 1: about seeing a later staging of this opera at the 242 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: Hermitage Theater, saying quote, I have never seen a spectacle 243 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: more varied nor more magnificent. There were more than five 244 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,680 Speaker 1: hundred people on stage, while there were hardly fifty of 245 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 1: us spectators, even though the little Grand Dukes and the 246 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:39,040 Speaker 1: four little Grand Duchesses were there with their governors and governesses. 247 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: So exclusive is the Empress in granting admission to her hermitage. 248 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: Both Leovich Champion of Novgora debut at the Hermitage Theater 249 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: in November of six It was adapted from a story 250 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: in Levshan's Russian folk Tales. This was a collection of 251 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: Russian fairy tales, but like many early collections of Russian tales, 252 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: it is not clear how many were folk tales, how 253 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: many were adaptations, and how many were just popular stories. 254 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: Boslovich Champion of Novgorod follows the general structure of a 255 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: Russian epic poem or by Lena. The Brave and Bold 256 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: Night A critic was first staged in September of seventeen seven, 257 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 1: and this one is really rooted in Russian fairy tales 258 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,239 Speaker 1: and folklore. It features a lot of more magical elements 259 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: like Lacy's or wood goblins Bobby yagas in there. There's 260 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: a flying carpet and a tablecloth that magically produces a 261 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,040 Speaker 1: meal and servants to attend it when it's unfolded. There 262 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: are other magical items in this one as well. The 263 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: hero of this one is Russian folk character Ivan Saravitch, 264 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: who has to save his sisters from all kinds of 265 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: fairy tale peril that sounds borderline Miyazaki um in and 266 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: lastly the woebegone hero. Because Metovitch was a very silly satire. 267 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,120 Speaker 1: It was first staged in January of seventeen eighty nine. 268 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:04,080 Speaker 1: It's target is widely interpreted as Sweden's King Gustav the Third. 269 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 1: It made its debut during the Russo Swedish War of 270 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: seventeen to seventeen nineteen, and it was pulled from their 271 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: repertoire at the Hermitage Theater after the war was over. 272 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: This isn't the only reason that it's interpreted as being 273 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 1: about Gustav. Katherine and Gustav were cousins, and the similarities 274 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 1: were strong enough that Katherine's adviser, Gregory Potempken, advised her 275 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: that the show might annoy Gustav and prolong the war. 276 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,880 Speaker 1: The music for this one was by Spanish composer Vicente 277 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: Marte Soelaer, who was very famous in his day, but 278 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:39,720 Speaker 1: also didn't speak Russian, so in addition to the show's 279 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,199 Speaker 1: really satirical tone, there was something of a disconnect between 280 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: the music and the lyrics. According to one of the 281 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: books that I read when I was working on this, 282 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,359 Speaker 1: Katherine does not seem to have really mind that like 283 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: sort of disconnect, because he was really really famous and 284 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 1: she was glad to have him working on the show. 285 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:58,720 Speaker 1: I think for a comic opera might actually also be 286 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:02,439 Speaker 1: a little fantastic to have things slightly offbeat and not 287 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: quite matched up, having like a musical tone that doesn't 288 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: quite match what the dialogue is saying. It would almost 289 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 1: be hard to do if you tried to do it 290 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 1: without it involving people that really are not from the 291 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:19,000 Speaker 1: same culture or language background. These four opera skazkas had 292 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: a lot in common, but they also fell into four 293 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:25,760 Speaker 1: different genres. Favy was a morality tale, The Brave and 294 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 1: Bold Night a critic was a magical tale. Both Leovich 295 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: Champion of Novgorod was a heroic epic, and the Woebegone 296 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 1: hero Kausa Metovich was a satire. In the decades that followed, 297 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 1: each of these evolved into their own genres, with their 298 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,400 Speaker 1: own standards and tropes within the Russian theater and opera. 299 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 1: So these were all comic operas, but the nine operas 300 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:50,800 Speaker 1: that Katherine penned included some more serious work as well. 301 00:18:51,160 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: We'll get to more on that after a sponsor break. So, 302 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 1: as we mentioned a moment ago, the operas that we 303 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:08,040 Speaker 1: talked about before the break, we're all comic operas, generally light, 304 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:11,879 Speaker 1: often very fanciful, with happy endings, usually with the wedding. 305 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: But Catherine also wrote librettos for operas that were closer 306 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,199 Speaker 1: to opera siria. So that's the Italian opera style that 307 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: developed in the late seventeenth century. As its name suggests, 308 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: opera siria tempts to follow a more serious heroic or 309 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: epic theme. Catherine's most notable work along these lines was 310 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,480 Speaker 1: the Early Reign of a Leg which was situated roughly 311 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,159 Speaker 1: between opera syria traditions that had been imported to Russia 312 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: from Italy and Russian heroic operas that developed in the 313 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: nineteenth century. The Early Reign of a Leg was really 314 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,879 Speaker 1: the middle installment of a trilogy, but it was the 315 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 1: only one of the three to be staged as an opera. 316 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 1: As was the case with some of the operas that 317 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 1: we talked about earlier, it wasn't specifically credited as Catherine's 318 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:02,400 Speaker 1: work when it was first perform Instead, the script described 319 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: it as quote an imitation of Shakespeare, not observing customary 320 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,840 Speaker 1: theatrical laws. The Early Reign of a Leg is a 321 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,680 Speaker 1: five act opera covering some of the same historical material 322 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:16,440 Speaker 1: that we talked about in our episode on Olga of Kiev. 323 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:20,680 Speaker 1: It's drawn from the Russian Primary chronicles account of the Roosts, 324 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,760 Speaker 1: including the reigns of Princes Oleg and Igor, the founding 325 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: of Moscow, the interplay between Christianity and Paganism, and conflicts 326 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,600 Speaker 1: between the roots and the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople. So 327 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: there was a nationalist element in this choice of subject matter. 328 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,119 Speaker 1: The name Russia comes from russ and this was an 329 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:44,800 Speaker 1: opera that essentially glorified early Russian history. In some ways, 330 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 1: a Leg was a stand in for Katherine as an emperor, 331 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,840 Speaker 1: but this opera also had direct parallels to Katherine's hopes 332 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: for Russia. Her so called Greek Project proposed for Russia 333 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 1: to annex the eastern part of the Ottoman Empire and 334 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:03,639 Speaker 1: revived the former Scantine Empire with Catherine's grandson Constantine on 335 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 1: the throne in Constantinople. There were several parallels to this 336 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: idea in the early Reign of a Leg, including a 337 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,399 Speaker 1: Leg's defeat of Constantinople through a show of force and 338 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: a play within a play drawn from Euripides is Alcestis. 339 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:21,439 Speaker 1: The music in the early Reign of a Leg was 340 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,159 Speaker 1: the work of a team of Italian and Russian composers. 341 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,399 Speaker 1: It again drew from Russian folk songs, with many of 342 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 1: its musical numbers being inspired by a collection of folks 343 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:36,120 Speaker 1: songs by Nikolay Levov and Ivan Proc that first came 344 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:40,200 Speaker 1: out in seventeen nine. The Levov proc collection of folk 345 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,680 Speaker 1: songs had some of the same challenges as other eighteenth 346 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: century Russian folk song collections we mentioned earlier, as far 347 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: as basically how to categorize the songs and whether all 348 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,120 Speaker 1: of them were truly folk songs. Even so, this collection, 349 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,120 Speaker 1: which had about a hundred songs and its first printing, 350 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: became hugely influential to Russian composers like Migael Glinka and 351 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: Modest Missourski, as well as composers from outside Russia, including 352 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 1: Levig von Beethoven. Catherine started working on The Early Reign 353 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: of a Leg in seventeen eighty six, but not long 354 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: after that she had to put it aside. Russia went 355 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,400 Speaker 1: to war with Turkey in seventeen eighty seven and then 356 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:24,159 Speaker 1: with Sweden in sevent so Catherine had other things to 357 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:27,440 Speaker 1: focus on, and she also recognized that the opera's themes 358 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:30,359 Speaker 1: would have more impact if they were staged after a 359 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:34,720 Speaker 1: Russian victory, or at least when victory seemed likely. When 360 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: The Early Reign of a Leg was staged in the 361 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,919 Speaker 1: fall of seventeen ninety, Russia had signed a peace treaty 362 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,560 Speaker 1: with Sweden and had won a series of battles in 363 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:44,879 Speaker 1: the war with Turkey, which seemed to be coming to 364 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: a close. It was staged for a second time in 365 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: seventeen and it's libretto was published in multiple editions. People 366 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: who have studied this opera, and more recent decades have 367 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: pointed out a lot of parallels between the opera and 368 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,200 Speaker 1: throne's objectives and policies. It's really deeply connected to Russian 369 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,199 Speaker 1: identity and politics, and one of its themes was that 370 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: Russia had been a great empire that could be restored 371 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:15,480 Speaker 1: to greatness. Like Katherine's comedic work that we talked about earlier, 372 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,640 Speaker 1: the Early Reign of a leg was definitely something that 373 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:22,160 Speaker 1: she wrote for a specific purpose. It's a really good 374 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: example of how Catherine shows exactly when and how to 375 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:28,119 Speaker 1: stage her operas when she wanted them to have a 376 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: particular impact. Catherine's influence on the development of Russian opera 377 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 1: wasn't confined to just the five specific works we've talked 378 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: about today. She wrote other works as well, including, as 379 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: we've mentioned, nine total operas and various other plays ranging 380 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 1: from one to five acts. But beyond that, she also 381 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: strongly encouraged the aristocracy, as we said, the commission and 382 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,040 Speaker 1: stage works of their own. Thanks to the ongoing advocacy 383 00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:57,719 Speaker 1: of Catherine and Russia's other eighteenth century monarchs, at least 384 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty Russian comic operas were written in 385 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:06,960 Speaker 1: the seventeen hundreds. Collectively, these works established Russian folk songs 386 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 1: as a major source of musical influence for Russian composers. 387 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,439 Speaker 1: They also laid the groundwork for combining Western musical and 388 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: theater traditions with Russian culture, and they established a number 389 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: of common themes and tropes and Russian comic opera, including 390 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 1: peasants and merchants as characters, monarchs masquerading as peasants and 391 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,120 Speaker 1: vice versa, and comic operas that ended with a big, 392 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,720 Speaker 1: elaborate wedding. As a more serious opera, the early Reign 393 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,159 Speaker 1: of a leg was also one of the precursors to 394 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:40,439 Speaker 1: the Russian tradition of nationalist historic opera. It also combined 395 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: European and Russian musical traditions with a focus on Russian history. 396 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:48,239 Speaker 1: Catherine's comic and serious operas and the standards that they 397 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,399 Speaker 1: helped set in the eighteenth century really helped build the 398 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:55,399 Speaker 1: foundation for the Golden Age of Russian opera that was 399 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: really more in the nineteenth century. In the eighteen twenties 400 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,920 Speaker 1: and thirties, when various composers were describing their own work 401 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,639 Speaker 1: as Russia's first opera, for the most part, they were 402 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,640 Speaker 1: talking about compositions that had a lot in common with 403 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 1: what Katherine and others had been doing at least fifty 404 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: years earlier. These nineteenth century first operas in quotation marks 405 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: also combined Russian folk music and elements of Russian history, 406 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,119 Speaker 1: are folk tales, and influence from both Russian and European 407 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:29,160 Speaker 1: music and theater, just like Catherine had done. This idea 408 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 1: that nineteenth century composers wrote Russia's first operas has persisted 409 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:39,440 Speaker 1: until today. For example, a two thousand four encyclopedia of 410 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:41,960 Speaker 1: Russian History that was part of the background reading that 411 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: Tracy did for this episode described Mikhail Ginka's A Life 412 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,439 Speaker 1: for the Czar, which came out in eighteen thirty six, 413 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,679 Speaker 1: is the first Russian national opera. It cited the works 414 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,520 Speaker 1: retelling of Russian history with a libretto in Russian and 415 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: a musical style that combined European techniques with Russian melodies. 416 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: Even though the early reign of a leg had done 417 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:07,480 Speaker 1: all of those same things, nineteenth century composers definitely developed 418 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 1: and standardized Russian music and opera. That happened, for sure. 419 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:15,439 Speaker 1: A group of composers known as the Mighty Five intentionally 420 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:19,320 Speaker 1: set out to create a national school of Russian music, 421 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,000 Speaker 1: one that was uniquely and distinctly Russian. The Mighty Five 422 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: included people like Modeskue Mazurski, and Nikolay Rinsky Korsakov. Other 423 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:33,639 Speaker 1: famous Russian composers of this same Golden Age era included 424 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 1: Petore Iliot Chakovsky, and these and other people, mostly men, 425 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:43,840 Speaker 1: unquestionably produced musical masterpieces during this time, but a lot 426 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:46,600 Speaker 1: of the writing of that time made it seem as 427 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 1: though these nineteenth century composers did it all from scratch, 428 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: rather than building on the eighteenth century work that was 429 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,639 Speaker 1: developed and propagated thanks in large part to Catherine the Great. 430 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 1: Like they had a quick meeting and said, we got 431 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,400 Speaker 1: to write musical masterpieces. You guys, you know what we're 432 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:07,440 Speaker 1: gonna do. We're gonna invent Russian opera from scratch. A 433 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 1: big reason for this erasure is that after Catherine's death, 434 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,439 Speaker 1: her opera legacy was treated much the same way her 435 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: legacy as empress had been. When her son Paul became emperor, 436 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: he intentionally rolled back a lot of her reforms and 437 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 1: otherwise tried to erase her legacy. He was also the 438 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 1: one who implemented the law of succession that we talked 439 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: about earlier, which would have kept Catherine off the throne 440 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,359 Speaker 1: if it had been in place when she lived. It 441 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:37,679 Speaker 1: was also Paul who decided to exhume the remains of 442 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: Peter the Third, crown them, and have Catherine's body lie 443 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:46,280 Speaker 1: in state next to them, with Catherine specifically not crowned, 444 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: before then burying them side by side. Yeah, there was 445 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,920 Speaker 1: as much effort as possible to undo what she had done, 446 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,680 Speaker 1: and the treatment of her literary legacy was really similar 447 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: to the treatment of her legacy as ruler. Paul and 448 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:03,360 Speaker 1: his successor destroyed Katherine's manuscripts and memoirs, although a lot 449 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,680 Speaker 1: of them survived thanks to copies that were in other 450 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:09,960 Speaker 1: people's possession. They also banned her courtiers and associates from 451 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:14,399 Speaker 1: publishing their own journals and memoirs. Government censors refused to 452 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:18,119 Speaker 1: allow biographical material about Catherine to be published, both to 453 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,439 Speaker 1: keep her from overshadowing her successors and to keep her 454 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,760 Speaker 1: reputation from tarnishing theirs. There was just an intentional effort 455 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 1: to minimize her legacy overall as a writer and as 456 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: a Lorettist. And to be clear, Katherine was not a composer. 457 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,919 Speaker 1: She worked with composers to create the musical elements of 458 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,080 Speaker 1: her operas, but the traits that came to be regarded 459 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 1: as hallmarks of the Golden Age of Russian opera were 460 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: all things that she intentionally put into her own work 461 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: and encouraged others to do in the second half of 462 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:51,719 Speaker 1: the seventeen hundreds. It's possible that if Catherine had focused 463 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 1: her own efforts differently in the eighteenth century, or if 464 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 1: she hadn't cared about opera at all, Russian opera could 465 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,520 Speaker 1: have evolved quite differently. Yeah, what would it have been 466 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:04,160 Speaker 1: like if she just didn't have any of those Russian 467 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,200 Speaker 1: folk tales and fairy tales as part of so many 468 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 1: comic operas. Uh, I would need to learn a lot 469 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: more about Like I would need to be a sort 470 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,920 Speaker 1: of total Russian opera expert, which I am not to 471 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: really speculate on that what you're not. I do love Chakowski, 472 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: but that's more on the ballet end of things. Uh. 473 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,000 Speaker 1: Are you are you an expert on listener mail? I 474 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,160 Speaker 1: have some listener mail. Uh. When I read this listener mail, 475 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 1: I got choked up, and then I decided to do 476 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 1: something that choked me up more. So we're gonna see 477 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 1: how this goes all right, Um, this is from Becky. 478 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,360 Speaker 1: Becky says dear Tracy and Holly. Hi, I hope that 479 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,120 Speaker 1: you and yours are doing okay in these scary times. Um. 480 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:53,600 Speaker 1: We're recording this on Aprie. It is still scary. Thank 481 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 1: you for all of the hard work that you've been doing. 482 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,680 Speaker 1: Keep to keep making podcasts. I've really been enjoying the 483 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:01,720 Speaker 1: Offbeat History episode as well as all the behind scenes 484 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: commentary and you'r April third episode. You mentioned that you 485 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: wanted to do a story on Emily Dickinson and that 486 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:09,880 Speaker 1: you wanted to visit Amherst and see it all the 487 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 1: places where she lived and worked. I lived near Amherston. 488 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:14,880 Speaker 1: A few years ago I found her grave in the 489 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:18,360 Speaker 1: old town Cemetery. The top of her gravestone was covered 490 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:20,920 Speaker 1: with flowers and stones that people had left for her. 491 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,040 Speaker 1: A few people left pens and pencils on her grave too, 492 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: which I found very moving. What had the biggest impact 493 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: on me, though, was that one person had copied out 494 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,080 Speaker 1: the poem hope is the thing with feathers and wrote 495 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 1: at the end, thank you. It was really beautiful to 496 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 1: see all of these tangible markers of how much her 497 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 1: poetry meant to people, and I hope that you get 498 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:43,040 Speaker 1: to see it too, someday in the future when we 499 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:48,480 Speaker 1: can all travel again. Untill then, take care and stay safe, Becky. 500 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,960 Speaker 1: The reason that I'm so moved by this email is 501 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:53,920 Speaker 1: because that poem is very moving, and I felt like 502 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,120 Speaker 1: it would be a very good thing to read in 503 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: these times that we're in, and it is Emily Dickinson's 504 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 1: Hope is the thing with others. Hope is the thing 505 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: with feathers that purchases in the soul and sings the 506 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 1: tune without the words and never stops at all, and 507 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,200 Speaker 1: sweetest in the gale is heard and sore. Must be 508 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,920 Speaker 1: the storm that could abashed the little bird that kept 509 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 1: so many warm. I've heard it in the chilliest land 510 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,240 Speaker 1: and on the strangest see and never an extremity. It 511 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 1: asked a crumb of me. I did that in one take. 512 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,560 Speaker 1: I was ready. I was standing by in case. Uh. 513 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: For whatever reason, UM, yesterday was just one of the 514 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: harder psychological days of UM. All of our sheltering in 515 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:41,720 Speaker 1: place and whatnot that we've been doing so far, UM, 516 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:43,920 Speaker 1: and so when I got when I was reading through 517 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,960 Speaker 1: email UM to find a listener mail Uh yesterday this 518 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:50,240 Speaker 1: UM really got to me. And then when I was 519 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:52,400 Speaker 1: like I should read that poem, that really got to me. 520 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: But I felt like it's just obviously such a hopeful 521 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,640 Speaker 1: poem to be reading right now. Hopefully when we do 522 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:01,960 Speaker 1: q A on this episode, I don't realize that I 523 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 1: skipped a word and have to do it over again. UM. 524 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 1: So thank you so much Becky for your note. Hope 525 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:15,120 Speaker 1: everyone is taking care of themselves as as much as 526 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:19,240 Speaker 1: they possibly can UM. At this point, this episode is 527 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:23,600 Speaker 1: coming out on May six. I know some places have 528 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:29,120 Speaker 1: talked about their reopening between now and then. Fingers crossed, 529 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:33,000 Speaker 1: we're all being as safe as possible. UM. If you'd 530 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 1: like to write to us at History Podcast at I 531 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 1: heart radio dot com, and then we're all over social 532 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: media app miss in History. That's where you find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, 533 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:45,400 Speaker 1: and Instagram. UM. You can also subscribe to our show 534 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:48,560 Speaker 1: on Apple podcast and the iHeart radio app and anywhere 535 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:56,560 Speaker 1: else get your podcasts. Stuff you missed in History Class 536 00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,680 Speaker 1: is a production of I Heart Radio. 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