The Cossacks

About

The idea for the opera The Cossacks, based on Leo Tolstoy’s Caucasian novella, originated with Larisa Gergieva, Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Theatre’s Academy of Young Opera Singers. For composer Leonid Klinichev, himself of Cossack descent, the work continues his long-standing engagement with Cossack themes and Russian classic literature. The score adopts a vivid late‑Romantic idiom with expansive choral scenes, a picturesque “landscape” prologue, and a dashing march at the end of Act I. Klinichev’s own libretto sensitively transfers Tolstoy’s prose to the stage, alternating expressive duets and recitatives with powerful choral tableaux. Created in collaboration with the Academy, the large chorus is drawn entirely from its soloists to highlight the distinctive timbres of “Cossack” voices. The world premiere was given in a concert version at the Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall, closing the 24th White Nights Festival and pointing toward a future fully staged production.