Everything you need to know about Rachmaninov’s passionate first opera in one place – right here!
What is the story?
The opera is based on the 1827 poem The Gypsies by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
The story centres on Aleko, a man with a turbulent past and a deeply ingrained sense of honour, who joins a free-living bohemian community. He and a young woman from the community, Zemfira, fall in love. But when her father tells a story about how Zemfira’s mother left him for another man, Aleko is enraged. Zemfira disagrees. For her, love should be free.
Frustrated with Aleko’s increasingly possessive attitude, she becomes drawn to a younger man, one of her own people, causing Aleko to spiral out of control… How far will his jealousy drive him?