| Mazeppa | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Tchaikovsky | |
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Korsov_Mazeppa_1884_Moscow.jpg) Bogomir Korsov in the title role in the premiere | |
| Native title | Russian: Мазепа |
| Librettist | Victor Burenin |
| Language | Russian |
| Based on | "Poltava" by Pushkin |
| Premiere | 15 February 1884 Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow |
Mazeppa, properly Mazepa (Russian: Мазепа ), is an opera in three acts (six scenes) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Victor Burenin and is based on Pushkin's poem Poltava, part of the cultural legacy of Mazeppa.
Mazeppa is a blood-thirsty tale of crazy love, abduction, political persecution, execution, and vengeful murder. The action takes place in Ukraine at the beginning of the 18th century. The protagonists are the historical figures Ivan Stepanovych Mazeppa (1639–1709), the Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks, and Vasyl Leontiyovych Kochubey (c.1640–1708), a very prosperous Ukrainian nobleman and statesman.