The Opera "Prince Igor" and Its Music Written by Alexander Borodin

Prince Igor: Overview

Prince Igor is Alexander Borodin’s only opera, comprising of four acts accompanied by a prologue. “The Lay of Igor's Host”, a medieval epic poem dating back to the 12^th century, was the libretto that Borodin adapted for his piece. It describes Prince Igor Svyatoslavich of Russia’s military struggles against the invading Cuman tribes in 1185. Two Kievan chronicles were also utilized toward this composition, but despite all these, Borodin’s passing in 1887 left behind an unfinished work Prince Igor. This was subsequently picked up, edited and finished by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov. Its first performance was staged in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the year 1890.

Scores & other equipments for opera Prince Igor

More about Prince Igor: Borodin’s Magnum Opus Imperfectus

Alexander Borodin led a dual life as a chemist and a composer, which hampered his musical progress, and as a result, he couldn’t complete many musical works, including Prince Igor. He worked on his opera for about 18 years, alternating between the lyrics and the musical score, with an intention to compose a one-of-a-kind piece. This was based on a legendary ballad about a Russian hero’s courageous battle with invading central Asian hordes.

The Polovtsian Dances in the opera is the most famous part of it, and these accompany the banquet arranged by the Khan of the Polovtsy. Incredibly brilliant with an irresistible barbaric tone, it is intended to please the audience in the best way, it is even more overwhelming when performed alongside the original choral parts. These dances became even more popular when one of the tunes were used for "Stranger in Paradise" in the Broadway musical Kismet in 1953. Prince Igor derives influences from the French grand opera style, particularly while depicting Polovtsy, which matched the composer Mussorgsky’s signature harmonic style.

The operatic prologue begins in the Poultivle market area where Prince Igor of Seversk resides. A solar eclipse, considered a bad omen, is in effect, whereby, he is requested by everyone to forego his departure. Igor ignores this, and along with Vladimir Igorevich, his son, he leaves in pursuit of the Central Asian invaders, who have been pushed to the plains by Prince Sviatoslav of Kiev. Prince Igor’s brother, Prince Galitzky, is left to govern Poultivle and oversee Princess Yaroslavna.

We now break down the opera into its individual acts.

Act I - Scene I

In this, we are exposed to the fact that Prince Galitzky is a traitor, who wishes to usurp the throne by winning over the subjects. He plans to accomplish this with Eroshka and Skoula’s assistance, who have deserted Igor’s army.

Act I - Scene II

Here, we are introduced to Princess Yaroslavna listening to young girls complaining that their friend had been kidnapped. They expect the princess to protect them against Prince Galitzky. This is followed by Yaroslavna confronting her brother and sending him away. News of Igor’s defeat and imprisonment is also brought in, with the enemy moving toward Poultivle.

ACT II

The act opens with the Polovtsian camp where Igor’s son, Vladimir, has fallen for Khan Konchak’s daughter Konchakovna. She is quite sure of her father’s consent, although Vladimir is doubtful about his father. Igor is offered the freedom on the promise of peace by Konchak, which the former refuses.

ACT III

Igor escapes Khan Konchak’s camp upon learning about the impending attack on his city, but Vladimir decides to stay with Konchakovna. The Khan keeps Vladimir as a hostage, blesses his marriage to his daughter, but doesn’t pursue Igor.

ACT IV

The final act shows that the grieving Yaroslavna is happy upon her husband’s return, and they are seen entering the Kremlin together.

Recent performances of Prince Igor include a 2011 Moscow concert by the Helikon Opera. It was based on Pavel Lamm's version. In 2014, a reconceived version was performed by New York City’s Metropolitan Opera, which was sung in Russian. Here, the majority of the tunes, which were written by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov, were left out by Gianandrea Noseda and Dmitri Tcherniakov, conductor, and director, respectively. However, Borodin’s orchestrations were retained.

In February 2014, at the Winter Olympics in Russia, Borodin's music was played under an eclipsed crescent sun, which moved across the upper center of the stadium, showcasing Russian History through Prince Igor’s story.

Prior to the above, 92 surviving manuscripts by Borodin were used to create a new edition, published in 2012, by Anna Bulycheva, a musicologist.

Prince Igor is a great part of Russian musical heritage, that, though originally unfinished, bore a huge potential for greatness. Borodin’s only operatic piece, despite his professorial duties, helped bring an obscure Russian epic poem into global prominence.

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