Vakula the Smith | |
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Opera by Tchaikovsky | |
Native title | Russian: Кузнец Вакула |
Librettist | Yakov Polonsky |
Language | Russian |
Based on | "Christmas Eve" by Gogol |
Premiere | 6 December 1876 Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg |
Vakula the Smith (Russian: Кузнец Вакула, romanized: Kuznets Vakula, lit. 'Smith Vakula' ), Op. 14, is a Ukrainian-themed opera in 3 acts, 8 scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Yakov Polonsky and is based on Nikolai Gogol's 1832 story "Christmas Eve" (Russian: Ночь перед Рождеством, Noch péred Rozhdestvóm). It was written for composer Alexander Serov, who died in 1871 leaving only fragments of an opera on the subject.