Man, earlier I jokingly noted that I'd like to see this, but that given what blatant Soviet propaganda it looked like, it seemed unlikely I'd get the chance. Well, it seems I wasn't paying attention, because I'm wrong: here we have this Mariinsky production on disc. So let's check it out!
Semyon, a soldier, has returned to his village after World War I, where he is reunited with his mother and sister Froska. He wants to marry his sweetheart Sofya, but her father Tkachenko, a rich landowner, is opposed, in spite of having previously agreed to it. However, Semyon meets Remeniuk, the local Soviet chairman, along with his friend the sailor Tsaryov and Tsaryov's fiancée Lyubka; they agree to help, the idea being that with their authority on Semyon's side, Tkachenko will have to give in. But they're interrupted when some Germans invade and occupy the village. I thought the war was over? Unclear. But they're here, along with some anti-Bolshevik Cossacks, and it turns out that Tkachenko is secretly working for them: he betrays his countrymen, and Tsaryov and several others are hanged and the village set ablaze. Lyubka goes mad; Semyon is able to escape along with his sister's boyfriend Mikola. In the woods, they meet up with a Red Army unit commanded by Remeniuk. Naturally, Semyon wants revenge, all the more so when Froska appears and gives the news that Tkachenko wants to force his daughter into a marriage with a former landowner who likewise helped to sell them out to the Germans. So Semyon and Mikola return to strike a blow at the enemy. They come just as Sofya's forced marriage is about to take place, and Semyon disrupts the proceedings by throwing a grenade into the church, but is then captured. Tkachenko is psyched that they're going to be executed, but then the Red Army led by Remeniuk storms the village and everyone is saved. Tkachenko is going to be executed, but he doesn't actually die on-stage. And there you have it.
Phew. So is this fairly craven Soviet propaganda? Definitely. It's also my favorite Prokofiev opera by an extremely wide margin. You can't help getting involved in the story, and there are some truly jaw-dropping musical moments, notably the climax of the second act as the village is being burned. Holy shit, is the only thing you can say. Did I like the music more on account of I liked the story more, or is it the other way 'round? Hard to say, but there you are. As usual, the Mariinsky Theatre comes through with a lush, visually spectacular performance. Viktor Lutsyuk is appropriately ingenuous in the title role, and possible nazi Evgeny Nikitin adds gravitas as Remeniuk. It's probably not fair to note that he might be a nazi every time you mention him, but it's sort of hard not to. Sorry!
I've actually seen most of Prokofiev's operas at this point. Most of the ones I haven't are pieces of juvenilia that are incomplete and/or lost. The only big one I'm missing is his last, Story of a Real Man. Is this an opera about toxic masculinity? Perhaps, but I'm still extremely keen to have a look should I ever get the chance.
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