About the work
The Oprichnik is an opera in four acts and five scenes by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, to his own libretto based on Ivan Lazhechnikov's tragedy “The Oprichniks.” Tchaikovsky worked on the score from 1870 to 1872; it premiered on 24 April 1874 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, conducted by Eduard Nápravník.
Plot
Seeking revenge, the young nobleman Andrei Morozov joins Ivan the Terrible's bodyguard, the oprichniks, and must renounce all family ties to do so. When he breaks his oath to save his beloved Natalya from the Tsar's summons, he is sentenced to death; his mother, who had earlier cursed him, witnesses his execution.
Cultural significance
Tchaikovsky himself was dissatisfied after rehearsals, calling it a work of “no movement, no style, no inspiration,” while his publisher Vasily Bessel later recalled a “real triumph” that rekindled the composer's interest in opera. It became the first Tchaikovsky opera to be staged on Russian provincial stages as well.