Life with an Idiot
# Life with an Idiot

Life with an Idiot (Russian: Жизнь с идиотом, romanized: Zhizn s idiotom) is an opera by the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke to a Russian libretto by Viktor Erofeyev. Written as an allegory of oppression under the Soviet Union, the opera was first performed at Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, on 13 April 1992.

## Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast :

| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 13 April 1992 Conductor: Mstislav Rostropovich |
| - | - | - |
| I | baritones | Dale Duesing/Romain Bischoff |
| Wife | soprano | Teresa Ringholz |
| Vova | tenor | Howard Haskin |
| Guard | bass | Leonid Zimnenko |
| Marcel Proust | baritone | Robbin Leggate |

## Synopsis

### Act 1

    As a punishment for not working hard enough, "I" is forced by the authorities to live with an idiot. He chooses Vova from a lunatic asylum. Vova is only capable of speaking a single word: "Ech".

### Act 2

    At first Vova behaves well but then he suddenly begins to make a nuisance of himself, including tearing up I's wife's copy of the works of Marcel Proust. I and his wife go to live in another room and Vova calms down. I's wife falls in love with Vova and becomes pregnant by him. Then Vova and I turn on the wife. Vova kills her and I becomes an idiot.

## Recordings

* Life with an Idiot (live recording of premiere cast), Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Rostropovich (Sony)
