Eclipse of Power the Opera: in the Third Act, Igor, Devastated by His Defeat, Evokes the Sun Again: “I Will Save My People

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ARTS dark? What does it mean? It is a sign from heaven,” sings the chorus, begging the soldiers not to go to war. “The Sun is a crescent, like the Moon.” The solar motif runs through Eclipse of power the opera: in the third act, Igor, devastated by his defeat, evokes the Sun again: “I will save my people ... the Sun will shine again.” Jay M. Pasachoff and Naomi Pasachoff appraise Ultimately, Borodin throws off the pall of Alexander Borodin’s solar-inspired opera. superstition to show that humans — not celestial events — are in charge. At the very end, the prince, with an abruptness that we mong the astronomical phenomena the first time here Prince Igor found unconvincing, begins to salvage wood that spur composers to creativity, — certainly makes The Metropolitan Opera, from the ruins to rebuild his city, once again total solar eclipses figure rarely. A for an effective New York City. leading his people. Agreat exception is the one that inspired the spectacle. Projected Until 8 March. Some six years before this magnificently Live in HD worldwide nineteenth-century opera Prince Igor by video footage in transmission on 1 March, staged and sung psychological drama Alexander Borodin. Borodin, a composer, black and white then available on DVD. reached the Met stage, we were on our way surgeon and research chemist, based the with vivid touches to Siberia to reconnoitre ahead of a total work on a twelfth-century epic poem about of colour (such as red on a bloodied face) solar eclipse. Stopping off in St Petersburg, Russia’s foundation, The Lay of the Host of fleshes out aspects of the story. For instance, we encountered the eclipse-centred story Igor, which features a momentous eclipse. in the first act, conceived as a dream sequence of Prince Igor for the first time. A stunning Now, for the first time in nearly a century, of Igor’s as he lies wounded in the field, the 1942 painting by Russian artist Nicholas Prince Igor is being performed at New York’s battle scenes are shown in this way. These Roerich in the State Russian Museum Metropolitan Opera, with star bass Ildar are lent a certain poignancy by the fact that shows Igor and his soldiers viewing the Abdrazakov in the title role. Borodin had worked as a military surgeon for corona-rimmed lunar silhouette in the sky. The opera had a convoluted genesis. a year. (He was, however, primarily a chemist. Intrigued, we later consulted maps to find After working on it intermittently for Best known for his research on aldehydes, he that there were indeed total solar eclipses vis- 18 years, Borodin died in 1887, leaving it was also one of two independent discover- ible from the Russian steppes in the twelfth unfinished; Russian composers Nikolai ers of the aldol reaction, a means of forming century. Totality from the 1 May 1185 eclipse Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov carbon–carbon bonds in organic chemistry.) ended in what is now Ukraine — the very then provided most of the orchestrations. The opera’s plot hinges on the defeat, territory in which Prince Igor was jolted by The Met’s new production, a joint venture psychological journey and redemption of daytime darkness. ■ with Amsterdam’s De Nederlandse Opera, Prince Igor Svyatoslavich. A historical ruler reconceives the work, making use of decades of Putivl in modern-day Ukraine, he is at Jay M. Pasachoff is Field Memorial of musicological research. Director Dmitri war against the Polovtsy nomads, who have Professor of Astronomy at Williams College, Tcherniakov and conductor Gianandrea laid waste to Russia. The eclipse appears just Williamstown, Massachusetts, and Chair Noseda have jettisoned much of the Rimsky- five minutes into the prologue, a portent of the American Astronomical Society’s Korsakov and Glazunov material, incor- of Igor’s military fail- Historical Astronomy Division. Naomi porated newly found pieces by Borodin ure. The light coming NATURE.COM Pasachoff, a research associate at Williams himself, and rearranged some scenes after through the windows For more on science College, is a biographer of Marie Curie and referring to Borodin’s notes. darkens for a few sec- and opera: other scientists. This fresh version — sung in Russian for onds. “The sky grows go.nature.com/dqsxzs e-mail: [email protected] ALEXEY BUSHKIN/RIA NOVOSTI

Nicholas Roerich’s 1942 painting Igor’s Campaign depicts the eclipse at the heart of Prince Igor.