Vakula the Smith

Vakula the Smith
Opera by Tchaikovsky
Cover of a piano reduction
Native title
Russian: Кузнец Вакула
LibrettistYakov Polonsky
LanguageRussian
Based on"Christmas Eve"
by Gogol
Premiere
6 December 1876 (1876-12-06)
Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg

Vakula the Smith (Russian: Кузнец Вакула, romanizedKuznets Vakula, lit.'Smith Vakula' listen), Op. 14, is a Ukrainian-themed opera in 3 acts, 8 scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Yakov Polonsky and is based on Nikolai Gogol's 1832 story "Christmas Eve" (Russian: Ночь перед Рождеством, Noch péred Rozhdestvóm). It was written for composer Alexander Serov, who died in 1871 leaving only fragments of an opera on the subject.

Nikolay Gogol
(1809–1852)