Tchaikovsky
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TH 206

Alexander of Macedon

Александр Македонский

Projected opera (1868).

• An unrealised project dating from autumn 1868.
• Libretto based on Aleksandr Ostrovskii's drama Alexander in Babylon [Александр в Бабилоне]

History

On 25 September 1868, Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother Anatolii: "The other day I dined at Ostrovskii’s, and he himself suggested to me a magnificent new libretto. He’s been planning the subject for the last 20 years: until now he’d found no-one to carry this out, but now, finally, he has chosen me. The action takes place in Babylon and in Greece at the time of Alexander of Macedon, who himself will be depicted in the opera. The opera will show the conflict between two great cultures: Jewish and Greek; the hero is a young Jew who, because of his unrequited love for a Jewish girl, is chosen by Alexander for his ambition, and at the end becomes a prophet. You can’t imagine what a magnificent outline this is" [1].

However, in spite of the composer’s apparent enthusiasm, there are no later references to this project.

From: The Tchaikovsky Handbook, vol. 1 (2002), p. 397
Copyright © 2002 Alexander Poznansky and Brett Langston

Notes:

1. Letter 121 to Anatolii Tchaikovsky, 25 September/7 October 1868 [back].