THE IMAGE OF PETER I IN JOSEPH WEIGL’S OPERA THE YOUTH OF PETER THE GREAT
The Austrian composer Joseph Weigl (1766-1846), who composed more than thirty operas, once turned to the image of the Russian Emperor Peter I. The singspiel “The Youth of Peter the Great” to a libretto by Friedrich Treitschke was presented in Vienna on December 10, 1814. The premiere was timed to coincide with the Сongress of Vienna. The opera was dedicated to the Russian Empress Elizabeth Alekseevna who came to Vienna, a manuscript copy of the score is currently kept in the Russian Institute of Art History (St. Petersburg). The Weigl’s opera is based on the story known in Europe thanks to Voltaire about the work of Peter I at the Dutch shipyard and his subsequent marriage to the peasant Martha, the future Empress Catherine I. The composer and librettist revealed the image of the Russian Emperor by as a concentration of the best human qualities. There are no negative characters in the Singspiel, and the finale is a celebration of the harmonious coexistence of the noble monarch and the people devoted to him.