Fomka the Fool
# Fomka the Fool

Fomka the Fool (Fomka-durachok: Russian: Фомка-дурачок) is a one-act opera by Anton Rubinstein to a libretto by M. L. Mikhaylov. It was given its only performance in 1853.

## Background

Fomka was the second of Rubinstein's operas to be performed. It was commissioned, together with two other one-act operas, The Siberian Hunters and Vengeance, by the Grand Duchess Yelena Pavlovna. The first performance was on 12 May [O.S. 30 April] 1853 at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. The title role was sung by Lev Leonov, the son of the pianist John Field.

The performance appears to have been a disaster. The composer wrote 'It was performed in such a way that I gathered everything up and do not intend to give any more of my works on the Russian stage [...] [The performers] missed out whole bars, came in early, forgot their parts [..]' Rubinstein went to the theatre office the next day and insisted that his score be returned to him. The failure was an incentive for Rubinstein to quit Russia to seek a career in Western Europe. Although Rubinstein offered the opera to Franz Liszt to be performed in Weimar in 1854, the score now appears to be lost.

## Roles

| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 12 May [O.S. 30 April] 1853 (Conductor: ) |
| - | - | - |
| Miron, the village starosta | | Zhivov |
| Anyushka, his daughter | soprano | Emilia Lileyeva |
| Fyodor, her fiancé | | Pavel Bulakhov |
| Fomka the Fool | tenor | Lev Leonov |
| Panteley | baritone | Semen Hulak-Artemovsky |
| Stepanova, a matchmaker | soprano | Marya Leonova |
