Prokofiev in peace and (cold) war

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

For fans of old-time radio shows, it’s known as the theme for The FBI in Peace and War. But among classical music buffs its title is “March” from Prokofiev’s opera The Love of Three Oranges.

This satirical, fairytale opera had its premiere performance in Chicago on today’s date in 1921, with Prokofiev himself was on hand to supervise the rehearsals. His opera received a lavish production which cost Chicago $250,000 — a staggering amount in 1921. The premiere was a modest success, even though the Chicago Tribune pronounced Prokofiev’s music “too much for this generation.” The production then traveled to New York for one performance which was savaged by the press as “Russian jazz with Bolshevist flourishes.”

Summing up his American experience, Prokofiev wrote, “In my pocket was a thousand dollars; in my head, noise from all the running around and a desire to go away somewhere quiet to work.”

In the 1930s, Prokofiev returned to the Soviet Union, where his music had to toe the Stalinist Party Line. It’s one of life’s little ironies that a theme by a then Soviet composer would be chosen for a radio show about the FBI that aired during the height of America’s postwar “Red Scare.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): March from The Love of Three Oranges; Montreal Symphony; Charles Dutoit, conductor; London 440 331