Rogneda (opera)

Rogneda (opera)

Rogneda (Russian: Рогнеда) is an opera in five acts, composed by Alexander Serov between 1863 and 1865. The scenario, by the composer, was based on the novel Askold's Grave (Аскольдова могила, 1833) by Mikhail Zagoskin and the poem Rogneda (ca. 1825) by Kondraty Ryleyev. The actual Russian libretto was created by Dmitry Averkiev in the same manner as with the composer's previous opera, Judith, with the words written to fit the vocal lines after the music had been composed.

This opera forms a sequel of sorts to Alexey Verstovsky's highly successful singspiel, Askold's Grave, which premiered in 1835, just the year before Glinka's A Life for the Tsar reached the stage. No less a patriotic opera than those two, Rogneda in its plot combines elements of the life of the title character with the Christianization of Russia, dated in 988 with the conversion of Vladimir I of Kiev. With its huge cast and sprawling plot, the opera demands spectacle of a Meyerbeerian order.