Fyodor

Composer: Nicholas Lens
Libretto: J.M. Coetzee (in English)
Based on J.M. Coetzee’s novel The Master of Petersburg 

150 mins
Cast: 6 singers
Orchestration: symphony orchestra / male choir

The opera Fyodor is based on the profound and enigmatic novel from Nobel Prize Winner John M. Coetzee, in which the famous writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky is the protagonist.

“A man, Fyodor Dostoyevsky wants to find out what happened to his late stepson, Pavel. It is unclear whether Pavel committed suicide, was murdered by the secret police, or fell victim to radical anarchists. To get closer to his son, Fyodor moves into Pavel’s rented room. He wears his stepson's clothes and becomes involved with Anna Sergeyevna—Pavel’s former landlady—entering into a passionate and confusing relationship with her. At the same time, Fyodor is contacted by Sergey Nechayev, a dangerous and charismatic anarchist who led the group surrounding Pavel. 

Fyodor Dostoyevsky finds himself drawn ever deeper into a web of political tensions, grief, guilt, and fatherhood.”