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Mazepa

Мазепа

Opera in 3 acts and 6 scenes (1881–83).

Catalogue References:	TH 7 ; ČW 7.
Date:	June 1881–April 1883.
Libretto:	Composer and Viktor Petrovich Burenin (1841–1926), after the narrative poem Poltava (Полтава) (1829) by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin (1799–1837).
Language:	Russian.
Tempo/Section Listing:	3 acts, 6 scenes (see below).
Performers:	Mazepa (Мазепа)—baritone; Kochubei (Кочубей)—bass; Liubov´ (Любовь)—mezzo-soprano; Mariia (Мария)—soprano; Andrei (Андрей)—tenor; Orlik (Орлик)—bass; Iskra (Искра)—2nd tenor; Drunken Cossack (Пьяный казак)—2nd tenor.
Instrumentation:	Solo voices, Chorus (SATB) + Piccolo, 3 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Cor Anglais, 2 Clarinets (A, B♭), 2 Bassoons + 4 Horns (D, F), 2 Cornets (A, B♭), 2 Trumpets (D, C, E♭, F, E), 3 Trombones, Tuba + Timpani, Triangle, Tambourine, Side Drum, Cymbals, Bass Drum + Harp, Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses
Arrangements:	Also arranged by Tchaikovsky for voices with piano, 1883.
First Performance:	Moscow, Bol'shoi Theatre, 3/15 February 1884, conducted by Ippolit Al’tani.
Autograph Location:	Moscow: Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (full score and Acts I and III from vocal score).
First Publication:	Moscow: P. Jurgenson, 1883 (vocal score), 1899 (full score).
Average Duration:	150 minutes.
External Links:	Internet Music Score Library Project (downloadable score). Wikipedia (article).

Contents

Tchaikovsky's original score contains an introduction and 19 individual numbers. The first two acts are divided into two and three scenes respectively. The titles of numbers in Russian (Cyrillic) are taken from the published score, with English translations added in bold type. Vocal incipits are given in the right-hand column, with transliterations below in italics. The numbering, titles and tempo are taken from the first edition of the full score (published in 1899).

History

Composed at Kamenka and Grankino (except for some scenes created in Rome) in the period from June 1881 to September 1882. The first act was orchestrated in Kamenka and Moscow between September and December 1882, and the remaining acts in Paris between January and April 1883.

On 5/17 May 1881, soon after arriving at Kamenka, Tchaikovsky asked the composer Karl Davydov to send him a previously unused libretto on the subject of Pushkin’s poem Poltava: "I am feeling inclined to start an opera once again, and the subject of Poltava is greatly tempting to me" [1].

On 10/22 May, Karl Davydov forwarded Tchaikovsky the libretto, the author of which was Viktor Burenin [2]. However, the decision to write an opera had, it seems, not been firmly settled, since the libretto did not stir the Tchaikovsky’s interest [3], and he had set about other work (the All-Night Vigil, and editing Bortnianskii's works).

"I do not know how long I will be disinclined to write anything", the composer wrote to Eduard Nápravník on 18/30 June 1881, "but if circumstances change and I am again seized with the urge to write then the thing which above all else stirs me to try my hand again at an opera is a libretto on the subject of Pushkin’s Poltava" [4].

Judging from Tchaikovsky’s diary for 1881 [5], he spent most of June working on the opera. The evidence for this includes notes of parts of the text for Andrei’s aria in Act I (No. 2), dated 8/20 and 10/22 June. Mariia’s solo from the same scene (G minor, 3/2), was evidently composed at the same time, since the sketches for a preliminary version of this solo date from 13/15 May 1881 (the music was written to an extract from Canto V of Dante's Inferno, sketched on a printed copy of the Obikhod). On 15/27 June a further sketch was made with the note "Trostianka. Dances. Mazepa", and under it the note "See 4 March". The diary entry for the latter date (at the start of his work on the opera) contains sketches with the heading "For the storm". Evidently this sketch was conceived as the start of another work, but was used as the E♭ theme of the Gopak (No. 4 in the opera, grazioso). His diary entry for 23 June/5 July again includes musical sketches, similar to the opening of the quarrel scene (No. 6).

In a letter of 23 August/4 September–25 August/6 September, Tchaikovsky told Sergei Taneev: "I thought I was starting an opera; I had in my hands a mighty libretto, and in just a few spare hours I wrote four numbers. But all this was indifferent to me, and these four numbers were merely the product of an effort of will. Then I did as Mr Cui eternally reproaches me for failing to do, i.e. I became "self-critical". And then what? As soon as I began this process, the tap immediately ran dry because I before I had not been "self-critical", and produced only music that was commonplace and mediocre" [6].

The composer quickly abandoned his work. "Mazepa displeases me, and it cannot engage me", he wrote in a letter of 3/15 October 1881 to Anatolii Tchaikovsky [7]. However, the composer continued to consider other possible subjects [8], before returning once again to Poltava.

At Rome in late November/early December 1881, Tchaikovsky began to composer music for the scene with Mazepa and Mariia (No. 11 in the opera) [9]. He later wrote about this phase of work: "In one wonderful day I re-read the libretto and re-read Pushkin's poem, and was moved by the beauty of some of the scenes and verses to start on the scene between Mariia and Mazepa, which was preserved unchanged from the poem in the libretto... Although generally I composed steadily without having great feeling for the characters, I now realise that this was something successful after all. As far as Karl XII is concerned, I must disillusion you, my friend. I did not have this in mind, since the drama between Mazepa, Mariia and Kochubei is only indirectly comparable" [10].

Two editions of the poem Poltava are preserved in Tchaikovsky’s personal library (1869 and 1880), which contain notes characteristic of the composer’s artistic processes. Tchaikovsky’s chief concern was to preserve the moments of psychological drama—the scenes between Mariia and Mazepa, Mariia and her mother. The latter scene is significantly altered and expanded when compared with Pushkin’s original. Real-life historical events served as the basis for the opera, depicting Peter the Great’s Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. Tchaikovsky’s work on the libretto ran in parallel with his composition of the music. This is evident from his Notebook No. 6, in which his notes for the text alternate with the musical sketches.

In Rome, Tchaikovsky regularly forced himself to write for several hours each day [11], but finding inspiration lacking, he discontinued work on the opera and resumed composition of the Piano Trio and other works [12].

It was only in May 1882 at Kamenka that the composer returned to the subject he had set aside. "I am in a position to write", he wrote to Adolph Brodsky, "and provided nothing intervenes I should be able work well" [13], but on 15/27 May in a letter to Modest Tchaikovsky he reported: "I’m working assiduously, but not with enthusiasm, and I’m not experiencing a twentieth of that inspiration and love for my creation that I usually feel" [14]. On 21 May/2 June in another letter to Modest, Tchaikovsky again referred to the opera: "I’m writing an opera, or in any case some scenes for Mazepa, which barely holds my interest. I am writing with difficulty. However, something of substance is emerging..." [15].

Returning to Kamenka in order to work on Mazepa, in early June Tchaikovsky left for Grankino, where he stayed until 25 July/6 August. At Grankino work was resumed, and in the course of the summer and early autumn the composer completed the rough sketches for the opera. The surviving notebooks and sketches and numerous references in his letters enable us to establish with some precision the course of work during this period. The composer amended the text of the libretto and his original outline sketches for the earliest scenes of the opera, supplementing them with freshly-written material.

First came sketches for Act III: themes for Andrei’s aria (No. 16) and the last scenes (Nos. 17, 18, 19). At the same time the composer outlined the themes for the Introduction and the opening of the Chorus of Maidens (No. 1). In late May/early June (according to the authors’ date in his notebook) came sketches for the remaining scenes of Act I: themes for Finale (No. 8), Mariia’s arioso and her scene with Andrei (No. 2). Evidently while continuing to make rough sketches, the composer was occupied with bringing them to their final form. On 24 June/6 July in a letter to Nadezhda von Meck we read: "I am working with as much zeal as possible; now the opera is coming along in such a manner that, provided I remain alive and healthy, I will be able to begin the instrumentation in the autumn" [16], and on 30 June/12 July he told her: "I am working very enthusiastically and punctiliously. I am gradually experiencing, if not a passion for my subject, then at least a warming towards the characters. Like a mother who feels a love for her children, even though they cause her worries, anxieties and agitations, I am already experiencing a paternal tenderness for my new musical offspring, which on many occasions has caused me moments of despondency and disappointment, and yet despite all this it is now taking shape and growing healthily" [17].

On 5/17 July the composer wrote to Nadezhda von Meck: "This week I hope to complete the rough sketches for a second act of the opera [18], but there is still one whole enormous act in three scenes still to write" [19]. I hope to finish this work by early autumn, and then travel abroad to some peaceful corner—Clarens, for instance—and make a start on the instrumentation" [20]. On 13/25 July he reported: "Today I completed a second third of the opera, i.e. one out of three acts" [21].

Returning from Grankino to Kamenka on 25 July/6 August, Tchaikovsky continued working on Mazepa. "Writing is by no means as easy as before, it is slow, cautious, and without pleasure or enthusiasm", he wrote to Sergei Taneev [22].

During late July/early August, the composer’s notebooks show that he worked on the dungeon scene. After a trip to Moscow (between 5/17 August and 20 August/1 September), the composer wrote to Modest Tchaikovsky from Kamenka on 23 August/4 September, reporting that he had resumed his work on the opera: "I’ve already managed to write very successfully the introduction to the second act" [23]. "After a successful start I think that in four more weeks the opera shall be completely ready in draft", he wrote two days later to Nadezhda von Meck [24]. From late August/early September, Tchaikovsky simultaneously worked on the opera and the Six Pieces (Op. 51) for piano [25].

"My work is progressing", the composer noted on 9/21 September in a letter to Nadezhda von Meck, "but I cannot hide the fact that I am very tired" [26]. "I have assigned myself such an improbably difficult task (to write the remaining three scenes of the opera, and at the same time six pieces for piano)", we read in a letter to Modest Tchaikovsky of 10/22–13/25 September, and further on in the same letter: "I’m going all out to finish the rough sketches of the opera" [27]. Tchaikovsky wrote to Nadezhda von Meck about his work on the opera: "Never have I had such difficulties with a large scale composition as with this opera. I do not even know whether this is due to my waning talents or, possibly, I have become more strict with myself... I used to give myself up to the task of composition with such ease and naturalness, like a fish swimming in the water or a bird flying through the air. But no longer. Now I have become a person who takes a costly and heavy burden upon himself, that must be carried through to the bitter end. And I will carry it through..." [28].

On 15/27 September the composer wrote to Petr Jurgenson: "I have finished composition of the opera and am setting about the orchestration. In my opinion this will be a good opera" [29].

Two days later he told Modest Tchaikovsky: "Now I have completely finished the sketches for the opera and piano pieces, and have set about the instrumentation of the opera. This task is pleasant, and not difficult" [30]. After several days he wrote to him again: "I’ve started orchestrating the opera. There is a good effect in the introduction (where I have Mazepa furiously galloping on his horse!) [31]. "I have been working a great deal recently", the composer told Eduard Nápravník in a letter of 21 September/3 October. "The urge to write has returned to me, and I hope in the spring to submit the opera Mazepa to the Directorate of Theatres" [32].

Tchaikovsky remained at Kamenka until mid/late November, where he orchestrated Act I. Initially he worked with ease and enthusiasm [33]. Between 1/13–7/19 October he had to spend time revising The Maid of Orleans, which made him extremely tired, and the pace of work on the instrumentation of Mazepa slowed. "I very much want to finish the first act of Mazepa at Kamenka, but am unlikely to do so—for some reason this work is taking me longer than before" [34].

In a letter to Nadezhda von Meck on 3/15 November, Tchaikovsky wrote: "My work is gradually moving forward; in a few days I hope to finish the full score of the first act of the opera, which comprises three sections in all". Later in the same letter Tchaikovsky expressed very interesting ideas which reveal his relationship to the genre of opera. "I will not say, like you and many others, that opera is the lowest class of musical art; on the contrary, it seems to me that in combining so many disparate elements to serve a single purpose, opera may be one of the richest musical forms. But I feel that I am personally more inclined towards symphonic form. At least, I certainly feel that I have more freedom and independence when I am not subservient to the rigours and constraints of theatrical conventions" [35]. On 13/25 November the composer told Aleksandra Levenson: "I have worked a great deal over the last three months, and my opera has come on markedly. I hope to finish it by the spring" [36].

In mid/late November, Tchaikovsky travelled to Moscow, where he completed the instrumentation of Act I [37]. "I’ve finished my work at last" [38], he wrote in a letter of 12/24 December to Nadezhda von Meck, "and tomorrow evening I leave, completely exhausted to the point of foolhardiness" [39]. During a short stay in Saint Petersburg, according to Modest Tchaikovsky, the composer was busy "copying out" Mazepa [40].

Evidently, work on the opera continued while Tchaikovsky was abroad. In a letter to Lev Davydov of 25 December/6 January the composer made the following request: "Please instruct Stepan to find my yellow notebook, which I have had with me the whole summer during my travels. It contains almost the whole of my opera, and is essential to me. Send this notebook to Jurgenson, who will forward it to me wherever I am stopping, since I don’t yet know myself where I will be going. Please do all this quickly, since without this notebook my opera is lost" [41].

At the end of December/beginning of January, Tchaikovsky left for abroad. In early/mid January, he reported to Nadezhda von Meck from Paris: "I have begun to work with great enthusiasm and during my two days here I have written for six hours each day" [42]. While awaiting an answer from Eduard Nápravník to his letter concerning possible changes and cuts to the libretto of the opera [43], the composer put aside the instrumentation of Act II, and moved on to Act III, writing on 11/23 January: "My work is going very well, and I have almost orchestrated half an entire act" [44].

However, the speed of work soon slowed. In a letter to Sergei Taneev of 2/14 February, the composer lamented: "The orchestration of Mazepa is going at a snail’s pace. In five weeks I have barely managed to score three fifths of one act" [45]. This is corroborated by a letter to Petr Jurgenson of 26 February/10 March 1883: "All my available time must be devoted to the opera, which strains me terribly. However, I am in a good frame of mine, notwithstanding my pains in giving birth to my offspring" [46].

In March, Tchaikovsky received a commission to compose a cantata Moscow and the Coronation March, and proceeded to compose these works; the full scores of the new compositions, together with the completed Act III of Mazepa were sent to Saint Petersburg on 26 March/7 April [47]. After scoring each act the composer made a piano arrangement. In a letter of 26 March/7 April to Petr Jurgenson, Tchaikovsky reported that the arrangement of Act III was ready (without the parts for soloist and chorus), and he was working on Act II [48].

As he neared the end of the work, so the strain increased: "I am governed by an overwhelming desire to finish the opera", we read in a letter to Modest Tchaikovsky of 9/21 April 1883 [49]. "I’m writing now with a feverish haste, and am extremely tired, but the work is going quickly", the composer told his brother two days later, and on 16/28 April he reported that he had finished the full score and the piano arrangement [50].

On 28 April/10 May he wrote to Petr Jurgenson: "Tomorrow, the 29th [OS], I will be sending you by express delivery the following parts of Mazepa: 1) A revised ending to the eighth scene and opening of the ninth scene in the first act—in other words, the point where I divided the first act into two scenes. The alterations are minor, involving just a few bars. These changes need to be inserted into the piano arrangement; I have written them on separate sheets, which can be pasted into the score. 2) The libretto for the opera Mazepa in the form in which it should be printed. 3) The whole of the second act, which is divided into three scenes. The piano arrangement is written on the bottom of the full score, except in the third scene where there was insufficient space, and it, i.e. the arrangement, has been done separately, leaving space for the voice parts to be inserted. And so now my opera Mazepa is entirely finished, and in your hands. For two years I have sat over it, and it has caused by a great deal of trouble. I entrust its future fate to you" [51].

During the summer of 1883, Tchaikovsky left Moscow for his brother Anatolii’s dacha at Podushkino, where he was corrected the proofs of the opera. On 14/26 July he wrote to Modest Tchaikovsky: "I’m busy with the proofs... I’ve now developed an unhealthy obsession with the misprints and errors which disfigure the majority of my compositions. I’m doing all three sets of proofs myself in an enormous rush, so that I am ready to leave at the beginning of August [NS]" [52]. Throughout July the composer was weighed down with the enormous burden of proof-reading [53]. The proofs were completed at the end of July/beginning of August [54].

The piano arrangement was passed by the censor on 27 July/8 August 1883. After the first edition of the opera had been issued, it seems that at the first rehearsals Tchaikovsky fulfilled a request from Bogomir Korsov, performing the role of Mazepa, that he should write an additional arioso for Mazepa to text by Vasilii Kandaurov (Act II, Scene 2, No. 10a), to be performed in Moscow [55].

There appear to have been two versions of this arioso. Tchaikovsky’s notebook for 1883 contains a note dated 30 November/12 December: "Left Ivan’s for Jurgenson’s (not home) and to Korsov’s. The latter rejected my arioso, requiring a love melody". Nikolai Vil’de, son of an artist at the Malyi Theatre, later wrote of this: "I remember meeting Tchaikovsky at the dress rehearsal of Mazepa, and recall that he had written an additional arioso "O, Mariia" at Korsov’s request. I remember... Korsov rejected the number... which Tchaikovsky had brought rolled up in his hands... Tchaikovsky unrolled the manuscript and sat at the piano... and can still remember its theme. It began with the words "I will subdue with the sounds of death", but it did not satisfy Korsov. "Not that", he said. "It needs to be something amorous which depicts the feelings of Mazepa and Mariia, and needs love and passion". "I will think about it...", said Tchaikovsky. And a few days later... the arioso "O, Mariia" was ready" [56].

In March 1884, returning from a trip abroad, Tchaikovsky decided "to make some slight changes" to the scoring of Mazepa [57]. On 26 March/7 April the composer, having completed the changes, wrote about them to Eduard Nápravník: "I have made the following changes: 1) At the end of the first scene in Act I, after Mazepa’s words "So men, to your horses" [Эй люди, на коней], I have made a shorter ending in E major in order not to hold up the action, which suffers here from an excess of music... 2) In the second scene of Act II, I have made an enormous cut in the scene between Mazepa and Mariia (here Mazepa’s part is not only cut, but is practically written afresh... Mariia also has something new, but very brief). 3) In the last number of Act III the lullaby has been somewhat lengthened, and it now concludes the opera" [58].

Further on in this same letter, Tchaikovsky touched on the scene with the Drunken Cossack, which had been criticised by Eduard Nápravník: "Regarding the Drunken Cossack, I assure you that with a good performance this will not seem inappropriate, and in any case I would not want to make a change here, since I feel deeply that this whole number is constructed in such a rounded manner that making cuts or alterations would render it meaningless". On 1/13 April, Tchaikovsky wrote to Sergei Taneev: "I have made three important changes in Mazepa. One of them you will be upset about—but I had to do this to for the sake of the staging" [59].

The changes in Act I affected the finale to the first scene, where a significant cut was made. In the second scene of Act II, Tchaikovsky shortened the scene between Mariia and Mazepa, which required some alterations to the music. In its first version the whole scene was conducted as a dialogue. The new version culminated in a more dramatic duet (Molto ritenuto—Moderato: "You are everything to me" («Ты мне всего»). Leaving Maria’s part untouched, the composer joined it to Mazepa’s part, preserving the preceding words, which were now set to new music. However, from bar 13 the entire scene was written afresh, as a result of which it was shortened by 69 bars. In Act III, Tchaikovsky changed the finale, abandoning the end of the scene with Mariia’s impulsive suicide, and concluding the opera with the lullaby which Mariia sings over Andrei’s body.

In October 1884, Bogomir Korsov pressured Tchaikovsky into making a further small change to the scene between Mazepa and Mariia (replacing some bars of Mariia’s recitatives to Mazepa with the words: "Is it your father or your husband who is dearest to you?" («Отец пли супруг тебе дороже») [60]. This change was included in the Moscow production that autumn, and in a letter of 5/17 January 1885 Tchaikovsky suggested to Eduard Nápravník that it should also be made in the Saint Petersburg production. It is not known whether the latter complied with this request.

In Act I the Chorus "There is no way through" («Нету, нету тут мосточка») uses the folk song "There is no crossing, there is no ford" («Нету хода, нету брода»). The finale to the first scene of Act I includes the Ukrainian folk-song "Spring is coming" («А вже весна»); in the Crowd Scene (No. 13), Tchaikovsky used the song "At the end of the street" («Как из улицы в конец»). In the symphonic picture The Battle of Poltava, the traditional folk-hymn "Glory" («Слава»), and the prayer "Lord, preserve thy people" («Спаси, господи, люди твоя») are heard.

The posthumous edition of 1899 by Petr Jurgenson (vocal score and piano score), described on the title page as "Second edition, corrected by the author" [61] only includes the first three cuts made by Tchaikovsky; the others described to Eduard Nápravník were not included.

From: Музыкальное наследие Чайковского (1958), pp. 60–68
English text copyright © 2006 Brett Langston

Notes:

1. Letter 1740 to Karl Davydov, 5/17 May 1881 [back]
2. See letter from Karl Davydov to Tchaikovsky, 10/22 May 1881 — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
3. See letter 2034 to Nadezhda von Meck, 29 May/10 June 1882 [back]
4. Letter 1786 to Eduard Nápravník, 17/29 June 1881 [back]
5. Preserved only in a copy of the diary made by Modest Tchaikovsky — Klin House-Museum Archive [back]
6. Letter 1839 to Sergei Taneev, 23–25 August/4–6 September 1881 [back]
7. Letter 1860 to Anatolii Tchaikovsky, 2/14–3/15 October 1881 [back]
8. These rejected ideas included Romeo and Juliet and Vanka the Steward [back]
9. See letter 1906 to Nadezhda von Meck, 1/13–4/16 December 1881 [back]
10. See letter 2034 to Nadezhda von Meck, 29 May/10 June–3/15 June 1882 [back]
11. See letter 1906 to Nadezhda von Meck, 1/13–4/16 December 1881 [back]
12. See letter 1912 to Nadezhda von Meck, 14/26–15/27 December 1881, and letter 1918 to Eduard Nápravník, 26 December 1881/7 January 1882 [back]
13. Letter 2013 to Adolph Brodsky, 4/16 May 1882 [back]
14. Letter 2021 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 15/27 May 1882 [back]
15. Letter 2025 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 19/31 May–21 May/2 June 1882 [back]
16. Letter 2051 to Nadezhda von Meck, 24 June/6 July 1882 [back]
17. Letter 2055 to Nadezhda von Meck, 30 June/12 July 1882 [back]
18. Evidently Tchaikovsky had in mind Act III, completed after the first act [back]
19. i.e. Act II [back]
20. Letter 2057 to Nadezhda von Meck, 30 June/12 July 1882 [back]
21. Letter 2061 to Nadezhda von Meck, 12/24–13/25 July 1882 [back]
22. Letter 2071 to Sergei Taneev, 28 July/9 August 1882 [back].
23. Letter 2085 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 23 August/4 September 1882 [back]
24. Letter 2084 to Nadezhda von Meck, 22–25 August/3–6 September 1882 [back]
25. See letter 2090 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 30 August/11 September 1882 [back]
26. Letter 2101 to Nadezhda von Meck, 9/21 September 1882 [back]
27. Letter 2103 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 10/22–13/25 September 1882 [back]
28. Letter 2107 to Nadezhda von Meck, 14/26 September 1882 [back]
29. Letter 2108 to Petr Jurgenson, 15/27 September 1882 [back]
30. Letter 2109 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 17/29 September 1882 [back]
31. Letter 2112 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 20 September/2 October 1882 [back]
32. Letter 2114 to Eduard Nápravník, 21 September/3 October 1882 [back]
33. See letters 2118 and 2123 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 28 September/10 October and 1/15–4/16 October 1882 [back]
34. See letter 2137 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 18/30 October 1882 [back]
35. Letter 2149 to Nadezhda von Meck, 30 October/10 November–3/15 November 1882 [back]
36. Letter 2159 to Anna Aleksandrova-Levenson, 13/25 November 1882 [back]
37. See letters 2168 and 2171 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 2/14 and 8/20 December 1882 [back]
38. i.e. the orchestration of Act I [back]
39. Letter 2173 to Nadezhda von Meck, 12/24–13/25 December 1882 [back]
40. Tchaikovsky sometimes used the term "copying out" for his work on making the arrangement for voices with piano [back]
41. Letter 2177 to Lev Davydov, 25 December 1882/6 January 1883 [back]
42. Letter 2189 to Nadezhda von Meck, 3/15–5/17 January 1883. See also letter 2188 to Petr Jurgenson, 3/15 January 1883 [back]
43. See letter 2182 to Eduard Nápravník, 29 December 1882/10 January 1883 [back]
44. Letter 2195 to Nadezhda von Meck, 11/23 January 1883 [back]
45. Letter 2216 to Sergei Taneev, 2/14 February 1883 [back]
46. Letter 2230 to Petr Jurgenson, 26 February/10 March–1/13 March 1883 [back]
47. See letter 2248 to Petr Jurgenson, 25 March/6 April 1883 [back]
48. Letter 2250 to Petr Jurgenson, 26 March/7 April 1883 [back]
49. Letter 2258 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 9/21 April 1883 [back]
50. See letters 2260 and 2266 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 11/23 April and 16/28 April 1883 [back]
51. Letter 2280 to Petr Jurgenson, 28 April/10 May 1883 [back]
52. Letter 2310 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 14/26 July 1883 [back]
53. See letters to Modest Tchaikovsky, Nadezhda von Meck, Petr Jurgenson from July 1883 [back]
54. See letter 2321 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 1/13 August 1883 [back]
55. See the reviews of the Moscow production in Московские ведомости, 9/21 February 1884, and Санкт Пемербургские ведомости, 719 February 1884 [back]
56. Nikolai Vil’de, «Возобновление в воспоминаие (Большой театр. «Мазепш»)», Рампа н жизнь, (1917), pp. 4–5 [back]
57. See letter 2455 to Petr Jurgenson, 16/28 March 1884 [back]
58. Letter 2458 to Eduard Nápravník, 26 March/7 April 1884. In the original ending, Mariia was watched by a crowd as she rushed into the river [back]
59. Letter 2459 to Sergei Taneev, 1/13 April 1884 [back]
60. Letter 2564 to Bogomir Korsov, 8/20 October 1884 [back]
61. Passed by the censor on 28 August/9 September 1899 [back]