The Fiery Angel (opera)

The Fiery Angel
Opera by Sergei Prokofiev
Scene in a 1973 production, photographed by Paolo Monti
Native title	Огненный ангел (Ognenny angel)
Librettist	Prokofiev
Language	Russian
Based on	The Fiery Angel by Valery Bryusov
Premiere	25 November 1955 (1955-11-25) Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris

Огненный ангел (Ognenny angel)

Sergei Prokofiev's opera, The Fiery Angel (Russian: Огненный ангел, tr. Ognenny angel), Op. 37, could be considered one of the composer’s largest challenges. Writing, production, and location were all factors in the piece’s progress. The journey to completion was not truly over until after Prokofiev’s time, when the piece was first presented in a full performance at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 25 November 1955, and was first premiered at the Venice Festival in 1955.

Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel was based on a novel of the same name by Valery Bryusov. Prokofiev was more intrigued by the “orgies” (here, indulgence of passion) presented in the novel rather than the story ideas. The novel was inspired by Bryusov’s own experiences with one Nina Petrovskaya, and was considered one of the beginnings of the Russian Symbolist movement known as Vesy, or “The Scales.” Nina was the mistress of Andrey Bely. In their time together, Nina also came to know Bryusov in 1904, and this started to cause obvious concerns for Bely. There was an anticipated brawl on a remote road in Moscow, but a mutual friend of Bryusov and Bely prevented the fight. Nina, Andrey, and Bryusov inspired Prokofiev’s characters in his opera, making the novel the prime source of inspiration for the work. The novel was also the basis for the libretto of Prokofiev’s opera, which Prokofiev himself wrote with the help of Demchinsky.

Originally the opera was in three acts and eleven scenes, but was eventually reorganized into five acts and seven scenes. The story of The Fiery Angel has a culturally taboo subject: demonic possession. A full recording can be heard through a YouTube playlist here<.ref>Traeumereien, Valenciennes. “Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel.” YouTube playlist, 2:13:23. Posted by “darkhoneybass,” posted August 10th-16th, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCD660A53D28876B4</ref>