Composers Datebook

Politically correct and incorrect Glinka


Listen Later

Synopsis

Nineteenth-century Russian composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka founded a distinctive national style of Russian classical music, and he wrote first great Russian opera, which premiered in St. Petersburg on today’s date in 1836.


That opera tells the story of Ivan Susanin, a folk hero of the early 17th century, who gave his life to protect the newly elected Tsar Mikhail, the first of the Romanov dynasty. Glinka’s original title for his opera was Ivan Susanin, but after the then-current Tsar Nicholas I attended a rehearsal, Glinka changed it to A Life for the Tsar, to honor — and frankly flatter the current ruler in the Romanov line. 


After the Bolshevik Revolution deposed Tsar Nicholas II in 1917 and executed his whole family, any opera praising the Romanovs, no matter how culturally significant, was unperformable in the Soviet Union. But in 1939, Glinka’s opera returned to Russian stages under its original title Ivan Susanin, thanks to a Soviet poet who removed all references to the Tsar from its libretto and adjusted its storyline to be “politically correct” for Stalinist Russia.


These days, when Glinka’s landmark opera is staged, it’s under its original title and with its original, pro-Tsarist storyline restored.


Music Played in Today's Program

Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857): A Life for the Tsar Overture; USSR State Symphony; Yevgeny Svetlanov, conductor; Regis RRC 1142

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Composers DatebookBy American Public Media

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

168 ratings


More shows like Composers Datebook

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,069 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,115 Listeners

BirdNote Daily by BirdNote

BirdNote Daily

1,186 Listeners

All Songs Considered by NPR

All Songs Considered

3,108 Listeners

The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters by American Public Media

The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

3,010 Listeners

Piano Puzzler by American Public Media

Piano Puzzler

500 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,639 Listeners

Marketplace Morning Report by Marketplace

Marketplace Morning Report

883 Listeners

Marketplace by Marketplace

Marketplace

8,648 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,152 Listeners

Marketplace All-in-One by Marketplace

Marketplace All-in-One

1,357 Listeners

Brains On! Science podcast for kids by American Public Media

Brains On! Science podcast for kids

13,261 Listeners

Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Gastropod

3,595 Listeners

YourClassical Daily Download by American Public Media

YourClassical Daily Download

235 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,681 Listeners

In The Dark by The New Yorker

In The Dark

27,506 Listeners

Make Me Smart by Marketplace

Make Me Smart

5,497 Listeners

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast by Joshua Weilerstein

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

2,086 Listeners

Smash Boom Best: A funny, smart debate show for kids and family by American Public Media

Smash Boom Best: A funny, smart debate show for kids and family

13,483 Listeners

Garrison Keillor's Podcast by Prairie Home Productions

Garrison Keillor's Podcast

1,127 Listeners

Forever Ago by American Public Media

Forever Ago

5,868 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

15,937 Listeners

This Is Uncomfortable by Marketplace

This Is Uncomfortable

3,599 Listeners

Classical Breakdown by WETA Classical

Classical Breakdown

200 Listeners

The Wirecutter Show by The New York Times

The Wirecutter Show

1,073 Listeners