Kutuzov's Victory, Prokofiev's Defeat: The Revisions of 'War and Peace'

Abstract

Prokofiev began his opera on Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace (1941–52) soon after the outbreak of the Second World War in the Soviet Union. The completed work was found by the authorities to be incommensurate with the requirements of wartime mobilization, and under supervision the composer began what would become a long process of revision. This article traces the genesis of Prokofiev’s opera within contemporary history, politics, and aesthetics, showing how developments in ideology and subsequent demands on the mass arts made a direct impact on the evolution of the opera. What was originally an intimate work, closely tied to Tolstoy, ended as a grand opera to suit Stalinist taste. Particular attention is given to the presentation of Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, a role that was measured—in the opera as in parallel media and propaganda—against the Stalin cult. The article concludes with the suggestion that Prokofiev’s original opera, which exists in manuscript form, may be due for reevaluation.