The Portrait (opera)

The Portrait (Russian: Портрет) is an opera in eight scenes composed by Mieczysław Weinberg to a libretto by Alexander Medvedev based on Nikolai Gogol's short story The Portrait. A penniless artist, Chartkov, finds a magical painting that offers him a dilemma – to struggle to make his own way in the world on the basis of his own talents, or to accept the assistance of the magic painting to guaranteed riches and fame. He chooses to become rich and famous, but soon comes to realise that he has made the wrong choice in this satire on artistic integrity and the art market.

The Portrait (opera)

The Portrait (Russian: Портрет) is an opera in eight scenes composed by Mieczysław Weinberg to a libretto by Alexander Medvedev based on Nikolai Gogol's short story The Portrait. A penniless artist, Chartkov, finds a magical painting that offers him a dilemma – to struggle to make his own way in the world on the basis of his own talents, or to accept the assistance of the magic painting to guaranteed riches and fame. He chooses to become rich and famous, but soon comes to realise that he has made the wrong choice in this satire on artistic integrity and the art market.