Kalomiris, Palaiologos, and the Russian Operatic Tradition

Konstantinos Palaiologos (1961, based on Nikos Kazantzakis’s tragedy), the last operatic work of Manolis Kalomiris (1883-1962), and, at the same time, his swan song, stands out from the rest of his output by bringing the founding father of the Greek National School of Composers into dialogue with modernist approaches, against which he had been fighting throughout his life. In this historical opera, Kalomiris’s approach has been discussed predominantly in relation to the way it advances the composer’s post-Wagnerian idiom. Nietzschean references have also been highlighted, especially in light of Kazantzakis’s Nietzschean leanings. At the same time, Kalomiris’s more progressive (by his standards) musical language has been rightfully regarded in the context of advancing the avant-garde in post-war Greece. This paper suggests that a deeper understanding of Kalomiris’s approach in this exceptional work may be attained if we look for artistic prototypes not in the West but in the East of Greece: Russia. Kalomiris’s links with Russian musical culture are well-established. Indeed, his first professional appointment was in Kharkov, Russia (1906-1910), where he immersed himself in Russian music. More importantly, he drew inspiration from the “Mighty Handful” in propagating the founding of the Greek National School of Composers. Katy Romanou has discussed, more specifically, Rimsky-Korsakov’s influence on Kalomiris’s early operas. This paper investigates how Kalomiris drew on the Russian operatic tradition to compose his last and most progressive work: Konstantinos Palaiologos. It brings out (through musical and aesthetic analysis) links especially to Modest Musorgsky’s emblematic opera Boris Godunov, as regards dramaturgy, the musical characterization of certain figures, text setting, and the use of specific symbols to evoke the national element, thus highlighting the complexity of this masterpiece’s musical language and style.