Kevin Bartig

Dassia N. Posner

In 1921, Sergei Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges—one of the earliest, most famous examples of modernist opera—premiered in Chicago. Prokofiev's source was a 1913 theatrical divertissement by Vsevolod Meyerhold, who, in turn, took inspiration from Carlo Gozzi's 1761 commedia dell'arte–infused theatrical fairy tale. Only by examining these whimsical, provocative works together can we understand the full significance of their intertwined lineage. With contributions from 17 distinguished scholars in theater, art history, Italian, Slavic studies, and musicology, Three Loves for Three Oranges: Gozzi, Meyerhold, Prokofiev illuminates the historical development of Modernism in the arts, the ways in which commedia dell'arte's self-referential and improvisatory elements have inspired theater and music innovations, and how polemical playfulness informs creation. A resource for scholars and theater lovers alike, this collection of essays, paired with new translations of Love for Three Oranges, charts the transformations and transpositions that this fantastical tale underwent to provoke theatrical revolutions that still reverberate today.

Gozzi, Meyerhold, Prokofiev

Three Loves for Three Oranges

Maria De Simone

Upon its premiere in July 1938 during a time of rising tension between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, Sergei Eisenstein's epic film Alexander Nevsky-with a score by preeminent composer Sergei Prokofiev-was widely lauded by Soviet critics and audiences. The score, which Prokofiev would arrange as a separate cantata the following year, approximates the film's narrative, depicting the Proto-Russian citizens of Novgorod's heroic victory over the invading Teutonic Knights. A transparent allegory of contemporary Soviet might in the fact of Nazi war-mongering, the film is regarded as a classic exemplar of state intervention in the arts, commissioned by Stalin to bolster patriotism and national pride, and Prokofiev's cantata remains one of his most performed works. Drawing from a wide range of archival materials, musicologist Kevin Bartig reassesses the genesis of Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky cantata, as well as the various historical projects that have given the music an enduring place in the international performance canon. Part of The Oxford Keynotes Series, this volume considers the ways in which time, place, socio-political concerns, and critical traditions mediate the various meanings of an iconic work like Prokofiev's, and asks how musicians and listeners alike have encountered its music both historically and today.

Sergei Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky

Upon its premiere in July 1938 during a time of rising tension between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, Sergei Eisenstein's epic film Alexander Nevsky - with a score by preeminent composer Sergei Prokofiev - was widely lauded by Soviet critics and audiences. The score, which Prokofiev wouldarrange as a separate cantata the following year, approximates the film's narrative, depicting the Proto-Russian citizens of Novgorod's heroic victory over the invading Teutonic Knights. A transparent allegory of contemporary Soviet might in the fact of Nazi war-mongering, the film is regarded as aclassic exemplar of state intervention in the arts, commissioned by Stalin to bolster patriotism and national pride, and Prokofiev's cantata remains one of his most performed works.Drawing from a wide range of archival materials, musicologist Kevin Bartig reassesses the genesis of Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky cantata, as well as the various historical projects that have given the music an enduring place in the international performance canon. Part of The Oxford KeynotesSeries, this volume considers the ways in which time, place, socio-political concerns, and critical traditions mediate the various meanings of an iconic work like Prokofiev's, and asks how musicians and listeners alike have encountered its music both historically and today.

Sound film captivated Sergey Prokofiev during the final two decades of his life: he considered composing for nearly two dozen pictures, eventually undertaking eight of them, all Soviet productions. Hollywood luminaries such as Gloria Swanson tempted him with commissions, and arguably more people heard his film music than his efforts in all other genres combined. Films for which Prokofiev composed, in particular those of Sergey Eisenstein, are now classics of world cinema. Drawing on newly available sources, Composing for the Red Screen examines - for the first time - the full extent of this prodigious cinematic career. Author Kevin Bartig examines how Prokofiev's film music derived from a self-imposed challenge: to compose "serious" music for a broad audience. The picture that emerges is of a composer seeking an individual film-music voice, shunning Hollywood models and objecting to his Soviet colleagues' ideologically expedient film songs. Looking at Prokofiev's film music as a whole - with well-known blockbusters like Alexander Nevsky considered alongside more obscure or aborted projects - reveals that there were multiple solutions to the challenge, each with varying degrees of success. Prokofiev carefully balanced his own populist agenda, the perceived aesthetic demands of the films themselves, and, later on, Soviet bureaucratic demands for accessibility.

Kevin Bartig

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