The Demon

Libretto based on a fantasy poem by Mikhail Iurievitch Lermontov (R,G)

S,M,2A,T,Bar,2B; chorus; ballet;
picc.2.2.corA.2.bcl.2-4.2.3.1-timp, perc-harp-pianino(or harp)- org-strings

In Grusinia, during the time of the Tatar raids

The setting of the Demon is somewhere between heaven, hell and earth – just as the demon himself is a fallen angel, an inwardly torn character, a negating power and adversary of the angel at the same time. Unable to love and still be humble, he falls in love with Tamara, who is about to marry the Prince of Sinodal, and kills the bridegroom. The bride escapes to a convent and is visited by the demon, who promises to renounce evil and pictures their future as eternity and boundless power. Tamara, yielding to temptation, is killed when he kisses her. In the struggle for her soul, the angel keeps the upper hand, for "he who loves belongs to paradise". For the demon, nothing has really changed: he carries on living in eternal damnation and loses his hope in the shape of Tamara, with whom he shared his solitude, his longing for love, his thirst for knowledge and the sadness resulting from it all.

Dramatic, Romantic, Tragic