As you live, so you will be known, or the St. Petersburg Drawing Room

The main articles are:

• Pashkevich Vasily Alekseevich
• History of music in Russia

Actors

• Skvalygin, merchant, bass
• Solomonida, his wife, mezzo-soprano
• Havronya, their daughter, soprano
• Crochodey, fiancé of Havronya, tenor
• Khvalimov, nephew of Skvalygin, tenor
• Razzhivin, merchant, tenor
• Protorguev, merchant, bass
• Kupchihi Krepyshkina and Shepetkov, soprano and mezzo-soprano
• Pryamikov, officer, tenor
• Peasant, tenor

First action

Gostiny Dvor in old St. Petersburg. People crowd in front of the shops. Merchants and their clerks scurry back and forth, calling rich baryns and their discharged daughters into the shops. And in those eyes they scatter at the sight of fashionable variegated goods laid out on the shelves. One of the merchants admires the customers by the fact that he has the best "atlases and canifaces," others offer "ribbons, farmers and French tafts." Noise, screams, fuss.

The wealthy merchant Skvalygin, the owner of the largest shop in Gostiny Dvor, holds small merchants in his hands. He has them "in debt, like in silk." From the merchants Razzhivin and Protorguev, he demands the return of the debt, and when they ask for a delay, he takes the goods from them and sells them at exorbitant prices to others. Such is Skvalygin - the thunderstorm of the entire Gostiny Dvor. In his shop there are two merchants: Shepetkova and Krepyshkina. With the help of the groom of his daughter Khavronya - Kryuchkodey - Skvalygin forged their signatures on bills and received a large sum from the merchants. Now the merchants have come to demand their money back. Together with them, the witness is Officer Pryamikov.

Squalygin manages to escort out women who threaten to reveal all the tricks of the fraudster. The merchant, however, is not afraid: he has his own hand everywhere.

Skvalygin's wife, Solomonida, comes to the shop. She is kind and hospitable, but a bitter drunkard. Solomonida complains to her husband that the keg with wine has dried up and all its contents have leaked. In fact, she drank wine with her hangers-on. The husband promises at home to deal with Solomonida so that "the vinzo will come out of it with juice." With a cry and noise, the clerk Kryuchkodey, a participant in all the rogues and tricks of his future father-in-law, runs into the shop. A poor peasant weaves behind him. Hook did one of his usual "jokes" with him. He pretended to be drunk, rushed to his belongings, began to demand payment from the man for the injury and, in the end, lured all his cash from the poor fellow. Skvalygin is extremely pleased with his future son-in-law - he knows how to rob the poor and take bribes from the rich. Agile Kryuchkodey, of course, will not give himself a grudge and will help Skvalygin inflate and bypass all creditors.

It's evening. Shops are closing. Skvalygin invites all merchants to come to his daughter's bachelorette party.

Second action

Bachelorette party in Skvalygin's house. Dressed in a festive way, in a blue staff sundress, sits thick, like a huge Havronya pig. Her mother, friends, bother her. The mother advises her daughter how to keep herself with the groom, the girls sing wedding songs. The groom with a company of drinking companions falls into the room. Skvalygin orders his wife to be not very generous and not to give guests a treat too much:

- They will drink well, not drink even better, he declares.

Suddenly, two merchants come, deceived by Skvalygin. With them - Officer Pryamikov. Here Skvalygin does not skimp - he generously regains his creditors, asks Pryamikov to postpone the calculation and invites him and the merchants to come to Khavronya's wedding tomorrow.

Third action

In the merchant's house, everything is ready for the wedding. Skvalygin's nephew comes - Khvalimov is an honest, exemplary moral young man. He buys several of his friends' bills from his uncle. Skvalygin does not miss a chance and deceives his nephew. When the Hook appears, they dream together about how they will deceive all Gostinodvorsky merchants, forge bills and heal the chorus.

But the dreams of the rafts are not destined to come true. Officer Pryamikov appears. He brought with him all those who suffered from the rogues of Skvalygin. All these people surround the merchant and demand from him the return of money or goods.

The victims incriminate Skvalygin and Kryuchkodey in all their crimes. The secretary and clerk take the scammers to prison.

See also

• Bortnyansky Dmitry Stepanovich

Шаблон:XVIII Century Music CD