Life with an Idiot

Life with an Idiot (Russian: Жизнь с идиотом, romanized: Zhizn s idiotom) is an opera by the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke to a Russian libretto by Viktor Erofeyev. Written as an allegory of oppression under the Soviet Union,[1] the opera was first performed at Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, on 13 April 1992.

Life with an Idiot
Opera by Alfred Schnittke
The composer
Native title
Жизнь с идиотом
LibrettistViktor Erofeyev
Premiere
13 April 1992 (1992-04-13)
Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam

Roles
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 13 April 1992[2]
Conductor: Mstislav Rostropovich
I baritones Dale Duesing/Romain Bischoff
Wife soprano Teresa Ringholz
Vova tenor Howard Haskin
Guard bass Leonid Zimnenko
Marcel Proust baritone Robbin Leggate

Synopsis
Act 1
As a punishment for not working hard enough, "I" is forced by the authorities to live with an idiot. He chooses Vova from a lunatic asylum. Vova is only capable of speaking a single word: "Ech".
Act 2
At first Vova behaves well but then he suddenly begins to make a nuisance of himself, including tearing up I's wife's copy of the works of Marcel Proust. I and his wife go to live in another room and Vova calms down. I's wife falls in love with Vova and becomes pregnant by him. Then Vova and I turn on the wife. Vova kills her and I becomes an idiot.

Recordings
  • Life with an Idiot (live recording of premiere cast), Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Rostropovich (Sony)

References
  1. Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Discs. Penguin. 1993. p. 382.
  2. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Life with an Idiot, 13 April 1992". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).

Further reading
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