Song Of The Varangian Guest From The Opera 'sadko' Comments
Song of the Varangian Guest from the Opera 'Sadko'
The waves terrible break up with the roaring on the rocks
And, turning with the white foam, run back.
But firmly the grey cliffs endure the waves rush
...
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Is the final line...their One God or is it their God Odin? (...их Бог Один... or...их бог один... or... их бог Один...?)
Well spotted! It should actually be велик их Один-бог. The mistake arose from a mis-reading in one edition where presumably an over zealous proofreader had never heard of Odin. I have sung this in Russia and always use велик их Один-бог!
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7/20/2025 10:06:19 AM # 1.0.0
Last line is translation from incorrect edition of the work. The Russian should be velikh ikh Odin-bog... (great is their god Odin) which fits the rhythm and metre, not velikh ikh bog odin (great their one God) which does not fit the stress in the musical phrase.
I heard 'Veliki Odin God, ugriumo morie', Great God Odin, perilous sea'. Velikikh would be genitive case of plural, singular of nominative is grammatically correct. I prefer 'perilous' in this context, ugrium suggests gloom and danger.