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The Maid of Orleans (Орлеанская дева in Cyrillic alphabet, Orleanskaja deva in transliteration) is an opera in four acts, six tableaux, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It was composed during 1878–1879 to a Russian libretto by the composer, based on several sources: Friedrich von Schiller’s Die Jungfrau von Orleans as translated by Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky; Jules Barbier’s Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc); Auguste Mermet’s libretto for his own opera; and Henri Wallon’s biography of Joan of Arc. The premiere performance occurred on 13 February 1881 (Old Style) at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, under the conductorship of Eduard Nápravník, to whom the opera was dedicated. The Prague premiere in 1882 was the first production of a Tchaikovsky opera outside Russia. BackgroundAmong Tchaikovsky's operas, this work represents the composer's closest approach to French grand opera (albeit in the Russian language), especially with its inclusion of a ballet in Act II. The best known number from The Maid of Orleans is Joan's aria in Act I, "Простите вы, холмы, поля родные" ("Farewell, you native hills and fields"), in the French translation as "Adieu, forêts." As regards the period and setting of this opera, a historical sequel can be understood to have been composed to it in 1896-1898 by Tchaikovky's contemporary César Cui, entitled The Saracen. This sequel revives the characters Charles VII and Agnès Sorel, but unlike its predecessor does not include a ballet. Roles
SynopsisPlace of action: France.  This section is a stub. You can help by adding to it.Act I. Important Excerpts
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