Music like Vakula

Vakula the Smith (Russian: Кузнец Вакула, Kuznets Vakula, Smith Vakula), Op. 14, is an opera in 3 acts, 8 scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Yakov Polonsky and is based on Nikolai Gogol's story Christmas Eve (Russian: Ночь перед Рождеством, Noch péred Rozhdestvóm). It was written for composer Alexander Serov, who died in 1871 leaving only fragments of an opera on the subject.

The opera was composed between June and 21 August 1874; it was begun during a holiday in Nizy (in Kharkov province) and finished in Usovo. The work was dedicated to the memory of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, who had died in 1873. When Tchaikovsky anonymously submitted the score for a competition under the motto "Ars longa vita brevis est" ("Art is eternal, life is short"), it won, and the composer received 1500 rubles. The opera was revised as Cherevichki (The Slippers) in 1885.