“The Americans” in Russia: the Opera of Yevstigney Fomin and the Ballet of Carlo Canobbio
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Abstract
Yevstigney Fomin’s opera “The Americans” (1788) and Carlo Cannobio’s ballet “The Americans or a Happy
Shipwreck” (1792) were both created by the composers in St. Petersburg. Research of these little-known compositions,
based on documental literary and musical sources, led to unexpected historical, narrative-based and musical parallels.
The compositions are united by an “American” plots: many musical-theatrical performances in the 18th century written
in the genres of prologue, drama, opera and ballet are devoted to the history of the American Indians, the empire of the
Incas and the conquest of them by the Europeans. The stage performance destinies of Fomin’s and Cannobio’s “The
Americans” are similar: they were not immediately performed, having been staged at the Large (Stone) Theater of St.
Petersburg a little while later, at the 1800 season, which makes it possible to presume that the ballet was staged as part of
the opera. The performance of Fomin’s opera, set to the text of Ivan Krylov, was cancelled in 1788 due to the presence
of “revolutionary” elements in its plot; the premiere of the ballet may have been taken off the repertoire for the same
reason. Of special interest in the music of both compositions are the musical depictions of the American Indians within
the framework of the Classical style. They are united by fanciful syncopated rhythms, rough types of melodies, typical
of folk dances, and orchestration in the vein of Janissary music. At the same time, Fomin humorously introduces into the
orchestral ritornellos and vocal themes of the Indians intonations of Russian dance music, juxtaposing the “barbarity”
of the wild tribe with the civilized character of the Europeans. Through the prism of these “American” compositions,
complementing the original stylistic domain of theater music written on exotic subject matter, the perception of 18th
century Russian society on the New World is disclosed.
Keywords: opera, ballet, 18th century Russian musical theater, Empress Catherine II.
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