Les Fiançailles au couvent : Prokofiev adapte La Duègne de Sheridan

Abstract

Prokofiev’s musical production is heavily indebted to his encounter with Britain’s literary heritage, with such important works as his ballet Romeo and Juliet after Shakespeare and his four-act opera buffa Betrothal in a Monastery after Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Duenna or The Double Elopement. Written almost at the same time, the two works indicate the composer’s fascination for a different cultural heritage, so far unexploited in his operas inspired by the works of Russian or Italian writers. Betrothal in a Monastery is particularly arresting as it is based on a libretto to be set to music which Prokofiev immediately saw turned into an opera in the style of Mozart or Rossini. What were the composer’s intentions in writing his opera? What drove him to do so in the political context of the time? How does his interpretation, which revives the tradition of opera buffa, compare with Sheridan’s libretto and what personal viewpoint did he adopt? How did the composer use the original text to elaborate his own dramatic construction and develop his own brand of musical and melodic lyricism? These are the questions raised by his opera.

Keywords

• Jewishness
• Prokofiev Sergei
• Mendelson Mira
• Sheridan Richard Brinsley
• Linley Thomas
• Russia