Сharacters in the play
Boris Statsenko performs the role of Ruprecht
Ruprecht (baritone),
Renata (soprano),
Landlady (contralto),
Servant (bass),
Fortune-teller (mezzo-soprano),
Jacob Glock (tenor),
Agrippa (tenor),
Mathias/Servant (baritone),
Doctor (tenor),
Mephistopheles (tenor),
Johann Faust (bass),
Innkeeper (baritone),
Mother Superior (contralto),
Inquisitor (bass),
and 2 Young Nuns (soprano).
Creation
The Fiery Angel (Russian: Огненный ангел — Ognenny angel in transliteration) is an opera in five acts by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer, based on the novel The Fiery Angel (1908) by Valery Bryusov.
The full title of Bryusov’s novel gives a good idea of the substance of the opera: The Fiery Angel; or, a True Story in which is related of the Devil, not once but often appearing in the Image of a Spirit of Light to a Maiden and seducing her to Various and Many Sinful Deeds, of Ungodly Practices of Magic, Alchymy, Astrology, the Cabalistical Sciences and Necromancy, of the Trial of the Said Maiden under the Presidency of His Eminence the Archbishop of Trier, as well as of Encounters and Discourses with the Knight and thrice Doctor Agrippa of Nettesheim, and with Doctor Faustus, composed by an Eyewitness. Set in sixteenth-century Germany, the story concerns a young woman named Renata who has fallen in love with a «fiery angel» whom she believes appeared to her during her childhood. She later identifies the «angel» with one Count Heinrich, who takes her as his mistress but then abandons her. She enlists the knight-errant Ruprecht in her efforts to track down her «angel». Though she believes her motives are holy, the presence of Faust, Mephistopheles and assorted demons in the story suggests otherwise. Her obsessive quest leads her and the loyal, lovestruck Ruprecht deep into the realms of the occult. After many bizarre adventures, Ruprecht emerges unscathed, but Renata is condemned by the Inquisition to a fiery death at the stake.
Сontents
Act I
Zdes’, gospodin rycar’ Landlady, Ruprecht
Da, on rassejalsja Renata, Ruprecht
U vas vse vremja sum kakoj-to Renata, Reprecht
Ne dovol’no l’ Landlady, Ruprecht, Renata
Sista . . . sista . . . sista . . . Ruprecht, Renata, Fortune-teller, Landlady, Servant
Act II
Scene 1
. . . iz trech magiceskich krugov Renata
A, Jakov Glok Ruprecht, Renata, Glock
Slysis’ li ty stuk? Renata, Ruprecht
Zaklinaju tebja Ruprecht, Renata
Tam net nikogo Ruprecht, Renata
Entr’act
Scene 2
Magister doctissime Ruprecht, Agrippa
Act III
Scene 1
Genrich, vernis’, vernis’, vernis’! Renata
Ubej ego, Ruprecht! Ruprecht, Renata
Renata, perestan’ ze plakat’ Ruprecht, Renata
Entr’acte
Scene 2
Milostivaja dama, on opasno ranen Matthias, Renata
Act IV
Renata, molju tebja . . . Ruprecht, Renata
Baraniny! Vina i baraniny! Renata, Mephistopheles
Ach, negodjaj! Faust, Mephistopheles, Ruprecht
Act V
Sestra Renata Mother Superior, Renata
Vozljublennye brat’ja i sestry Inquisitor
A . . .! First young nun, Inquisitor, Renata
Duch lukavyi Inquisitor, young nuns
Sestry! Sestry! Sestry! A! Nuns, Inquisitor, Renata, six sisters
Music
3 flutes,
2 piccolos,
2 oboes, english horn,
2 clarinets, bass clarinet,
3 bassoons, contrabassoon,
4 horns,
3 trumpets,
3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, military drum, tam-tam, castanets, tambourine, triangle, bell (off-stage)),
2 harps, strings, and chorus.