Back Живот за царя Bulgarian Una vida pel tsar Catalan Ein Leben für den Zaren German Μια Ζωή για τον Τσάρο Greek Una vida por el Zar Spanish Ivan Sussanin (ooper) Estonian Bizia tsarraren alde Basque Elämä tsaarin puolesta Finnish Une vie pour le tsar French החיים למען הצאר HE
| A Life for the Tsar | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Mikhail Glinka | |
 Osip Petrov as Ivan Susanin in the premiere | |
| Native title | Russian: "Жизнь за царя", Zhizn' za tsarya |
| Librettist |
|
| Language | Russian |
| Premiere | |
A Life for the Tsar (Russian: Жизнь за царя, romanized: Zhizn za tsarya ) is a "patriotic-heroic tragic opera" in four acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka. During the Soviet era the opera was known under the name Ivan Susanin (Russian: Иван Сусанин ).
The original Russian libretto, based on historical events, was written by Nestor Kukolnik, Egor Fyodorovich (von) Rozen, Vladimir Sollogub and Vasily Zhukovsky. It premiered on 27 November 1836 OS (9 December NS) at the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in Saint Petersburg. The historical basis of the plot involves Ivan Susanin, a patriotic hero of the early 17th century who died in the expulsion of the invading Polish army for the newly elected Tsar Michael of Russia, the first of the Romanov dynasty, elected in 1613.[1]
- ^ Osborne 2007, p. 143