Of the operas of Sergei Prokofiev, Liubov k trem apelsinam, or Love for Three Oranges, was his first to be written in the comic genre and is the most widely performed. Previous scholarly works discussing Oranges have aptly chronicled this opera’s connections to an Italian commedia dell 'arte scenario. However, any reference to origins in the Russian traditions are noticeably absent from all studies.
I depart from this point of view in proposing that at least two major links to Prokofiev’s Russian heritage may be traced within the opera. One of these is linked to the rich tradition of folklore; the other is linked to the wide spectrum of Russian theater, both folk and staged. These ties have been uncovered through examination of folktale collections, primary and secondary sources dealing with Russian folk ritual and the Russian theater, and the opera itself.
The storyline is usually attributed to the fiaba of Count Carlo Gozzi, yet bears striking similarity to a Russian folktale, “Nesmeiana” (She Who Does Not Laugh). In twentieth century research on Russian peasant culture, the significance of ritualistic laughter is becoming one of the most widely studied concepts. Therefore, the opera’s focus on laughter achieves new importance when examined from this angle.
The other, perhaps even more significant tie, between Oranges and Russian culture lies in its relationship to Russian theater, both traditional folk theater and newer theatrical developments of the early twentieth century. It is in the emphasis upon audience response that Oranges bears the most resemblance to Russian theatrical concepts. In the folk tradition, the reaction of an audience to events onstage could have a decisive effect upon the direction of the plot, an idea which was later adapted by innovative directors such as Vsevolod Meyerhold and Nikolai Evreinov.
Prokofiev’s Oranges, the idea of a “scripted” audience illuminates the new dramaturgical approach to the function of the chorus, which in this case incorporates various groups of Theatrical Enthusiasts. While the responses of all members of this “scripted” audience to the events of the “true” plot hold value, the ability of one group in particular, the Eccentrics, to actually change the course of the story leads directly back to folk theater. Such innovations alone move far beyond previous operatic works in Russia or elsewhere.