About the work
Opera in four acts by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov to a libretto written for him by Ilya Tyumenev, set in Poland of the 16th–17th centuries. Composed in 1902–03, it premiered on 16 October 1904 in the Great Hall of the St Petersburg Conservatory.
Plot
The powerful landowner Pan Voyevoda desires the orphaned noblewoman Maria and has her seized despite her betrothal to Chaplinsky; when he resists, the Voyevoda condemns him to death. His jealous former lover Yadviga then obtains poison for a plot of revenge, but it misses its intended target: instead of the bride, it kills the Voyevoda himself, leaving Maria and Chaplinsky free to be together.
Cultural significance
With its melodramatic, deliberately apolitical plot, Pan Voyevoda is among Rimsky-Korsakov's less frequently staged operas; its Polish dances, such as the krakowiak and polonaise, and its moonlit nocturne duet are its most admired numbers.