- Kabalevsky wrote his opera Kola Bryun’yon ‘Master iz Klamsi’ (Colas Breugnon “The Master of Clemecy”) in 1938, based on the novel by Romain Rolland.1
- Kabalevsky revised the opera in 1968 and received a Lenin Prize for the revised version in 1972.2
- Story: set in 16th/17th C. Burgundy in France, the clever master sculptor Colas Bruegnon reflects on his life experiences. The opera explores his star-crossed relationship with Selina, who marries his rival, the miller Gifflard; with Jacqueline, the woman he marries instead; and his sneaky revenge against the Duke of Asnois when Gifflard accuses him of rebellion.3
- How sassy is Colas Breugnon? When Gifflard convinces the Duke that Colas incited rebellion in the town of Clamency, the Duke has all of Colas’ sculptures destroyed. Colas promises to create a statue of the Duke to demonstrate his repentance, but when the statue is revealed, it turns out Colas sculpted the Duke sitting backwards on a donkey.4
Sources
- Laurel Fay, “Colas Breugnon,” Grove Music Online (2002), accessed October 30, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000005260.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- “Kabalevsky, Dmitry: Colas Breugnon,” Boosey & Hawkes, accessed October 30, 2019, https://www.boosey.com/pages/opera/moreDetails?musicID=46910.
Cut IDs
41011, 41504, 43526