“ARSENAL”
Opera in three acts (seven paintings)
Libretto by A. Levada and A. Malyshko
Translation from the Ukrainian B. Paliichuk
Characters:
Maxim, a worker at the Arsenal plant Alexey, his younger brother Mother Maxim and Alexei Yarina, the bride of Maxim Gorbenko, the Petlyura centurion Maryana, his sister General, Commander of the Troops Kerensky Semko, the chief of the guard at Gorbenko Colonel Drunken Lieutenant Esaul Officer Student anarchist Eser Red Guard The first guard The second guard | Lyric-dramatic baritone Tenor Mezzo soprano Lyrical Coloratura Soprano Dramatic baritone Lyric-dramatic soprano Bass Bass Baritone Tenor Bass Tenor Baritone Tenor Bass |
} | Without speeches |
The action takes place in Kiev in the autumn and winter of 1917.
HISTORY OF CREATION
The opera was written in 1960 to the decade of Ukrainian art. The plot was based on a real event from the Civil War era – the uprising of the workers of the Kiev plant “Arsenal” against the counter-revolutionary Central Rada in 1917-1918. and the heroic defense of the Arsenals during the Petlyura assault. Using historical data, Ukrainian writers A. Malyshko and A. Levada created a libretto in which specific plot positions, actors, and their relationships differ in life’s authenticity and truthfulness.
The opera was written in 11 months. The premiere took place on November 6, 1960 in Kiev and was highly appreciated in the press.