The image of Ivan Susanin in art

In 1613, the Polish invaders tried to kill the heir to the Russian throne, Mikhail Romanov. Kostroma peasant Ivan Susanin volunteered to lead them to the place where the future king was hiding. Susanin deceived the invaders into the forest, thereby saving the life of young Michael. The Poles brutally killed Susanin. His feat is reflected in many works of art.

Musical works about the feat of Ivan Susanin

The first piece of music dedicated to Ivan Susanin was created by Italian composer Katarino Camillo Cavos. In Russia, Kavos served as chief bandmaster of the Imperial Theaters, wrote music. When creating his works, he often turned to Russian history. One of his works was the opera Ivan Susanin, which premiered in 1815. It was the first historical and heroic Russian opera.

After 20 years, another opera with the same name appeared. Its author was the composer M.I. Glinka. It was this work that made the name of Susanin widely known throughout Russia, immortalizing his feat. For several years, M.I. Glinka hatched the idea of ​​creating a Russian opera on a military-patriotic theme. V.A. Zhukovsky, the creator of Russian romanticism and the educator of the future emperor Alexander II, advised him to choose the plot of the feat of the Kostroma peasant Susanin. In 1936, the opera premiered on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg. The opera was a resounding success with the audience and was favorably received by the royal family.

Glinka's opera was originally called "Ivan Susanin." However, in order to avoid confusion with the creation of the same name by Kavos, it was decided to change the name to a more patriotic and sublime. Glinka's opera became known as Life for the Tsar. Both works were on the same stage, without interfering with each other. Kavos was even a conductor at Glinka's performances. The difference is that in the opera of Kavos, Susanin remains alive, and Glinka dies heroically. However, both of them portrayed Susanin as a fearless defender of the Motherland.

The image of Ivan Susanin in painting and literature

The feat of Ivan Susanin was sung by poets of different years. The most famous literary work is the thought of Kondraty Ryleev "Ivan Susanin", written in 1822. "Where are you leading us? … It’s not visible, don't be angry - enemies cried out Susanin with a heart

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"- the title lines of this work. AS Pushkin did not perceive the thoughts as a serious genre with a patriotic message, considering them only a description of historical events. However, he praised Ryleyev's work very highly, noting that every line in it breathes Russian national consciousness. Ryleyev managed to show Susanin the fearless son of the Fatherland, who loves the Motherland so selflessly that he is ready without hesitation to sacrifice his life for the life of future generations. "Without flinching, I will die for the tsar and for Russia!" - his last words.

In painting, the image of Ivan Susanin was reflected in the works of M.I. Scotty "The Feat of Ivan Susanin", M.V. Nesterov's "Vision to Ivan Susanin of the image of Mikhail Fedorovich", A. Baranov "The Feat of Ivan Susanin" and many other lesser-known paintings. It is noteworthy that even a verbal description of Ivan Susanin was not preserved from contemporaries. Therefore, all his images are nothing more than the fiction of artists.