Zacharia Paliashvili, Abesalom da Eteri (1919)

And now: a Georgian opera.  Of course, there are two Georgias: one is a failed ethnostate with a record of serious human rights abuses and a hostility to democratic government.  The other, of course, is a former Soviet republic.  Man, that joke telegraphed itself so hard it should be paying three cents a word.  BUT SERIOUSLY, FOAX...

As I understand it, this is either the best-known Georgian opera or tied with another one by Paliashvili.  It may be impossibly obscure in most of the world, but it's performed all the dern time in its homeland.  And now, I have seen it.  BOOM.

Roughly, the plot concerns a peasant girl, Eteri, with whom the prince, Abesalom (how about that) falls in love.  But also in love with her is the prince's attendant, the villainous Murman.  Eteri and Abesalom get married, but Murman sabotages the proceedings by giving her a poisoned necklace (?), which only he can save her from.  Now she's dying, so Abesalom agrees to let her be taken into the country for her health--by Murman!  He does indeed heal her, and Abesalom wants to go see her.  Obviously.  Why is this controversial?  But she doesn't want to see him, 'cause she's annoyed that he sent her away.  Finally she agrees, but he dies in her arms, as one does, and she stabs herself.  Stab stab stab.  

I keep thinking Murman is actually Mer-Man from Masters of the Universe.  That'd be a twist, wunnit?

I say "roughly" because my entire understanding of the plot is based on the somewhat skeletal synopsis on wikipedia. For that reason, it's a little hard for me to assess the story's dramatic structure or anything like that. And yet, it's well worth seeing in spite of that, because really, you only need ears to realize that this is a magnificent opera. Seriously. Out of all the obscurities I've seen--which is a lot--this may well be the crown jewel. Unlike those Hajibeyov operas, there's nothing overly exotic-sounding about the music: it's romantic stuff with folk elements, the likes of which you may have heard before. But my GOODNESS is it ever powerful stuff. The music made me think of Tchaikovsky, but I'm not exactly sure if that's because of actual musical similarities or just because the level of passion seemed similar. One thing that does differentiate it from other similar operas is that there's not really anything in the way of recitative; it's more or less just one aria, duo, trio, quartet, or massive chorus after another. I loved it. I really, really did.

Here is the production I saw.  If nothing else, you should definitely click through and skip to about the 54:15 mark to listen to the climactic series of folk dances that end the second act.  THIS SHIT IS THE REAL DEAL.  

How do we get these things performed internationally?  The only Georgian opera singer I can name off the top of my head is Anita Rachvelishvili.  Has she ever sung this?  There are several mezzo roles.  Anyway, not that it's her duty or anything, but if she wanted to promote her national opera abroad...well, she probably could, is all I'm saying.