Lieutenant Kije

Lieutenant Kije is a film which is now remembered only for its music, which was the first instance of Sergei Prokofiev's new simplicity. The plot is a satire on the bureaucracy of Paul I of Russia. The suite was first performed in Paris in 1937, hence the French spelling "Kije" rather than "Kizhe".

Related Topics:
Sergei Prokofiev - Satire - Bureaucracy - Paul I of Russia - Paris - 1937 - French

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The suite broadly follows the plot.

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• Kije's Birth: The Tzar, listening to a report, mishears a phrase and concludes that a lieutenant exists. He demands that "Kije" be promoted to his elite guard. It is an offence to contradict the Tzar, so the palace administrators must invent someone of that name.
• Romance. The fictional lieutenant falls in love. The double bass has an appropriately ghostly quality.
• Kije's Wedding. Since the Tzar prefers his heroic soldiers to be married, the administrators concoct a fake wedding. The vodka that the Tzar approves for this event is very real.
• Troika. The fairy-tale quality of the story is illustrated by a three-horse open sleigh.
• Kije's Burial. The administrators finally rid themselves of the non-existent lieutenant by saying he has died. The Tzar expresses his sadness, and the civil servants heave a sigh of relief.

The suite exists in two versions, one using a voice and the other using a saxophone. The troika is by far the most popular part, frequently appearing at Christmas time in documentaries involving snow. It also appears during the opening credits of the Woody Allen film Love and Death. Part of the Troika movement is used in the song "I Believe In Father Christmas" by Greg Lake.

Related Topics:
Saxophone - Christmas - Documentaries - Snow - Woody Allen - Love and Death - Greg Lake

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The story of Kije - the conveniently invented fictitious war hero, who ultimately must die as a victim of his own success - was parodied in the first season episode of M*A*S*H, "Tuttle", also being reincarnated in the war hero "Schumann" from Wag the Dog. In her novel Eclipse of the Century (1999), Jan Mark presents a deserter from the Russian army who renames himself Lieutant Kije, as a sign that he no longer exists.

Related Topics:
M*A*S*H - Wag the Dog

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Sting used a melody from Lieutenant Kije in the closing bars of his Cold War song "Russians".

Related Topics:
Sting - Cold War

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