Musicology Annotation << Back The heroic story of the Russian girl in Italian maestro’s opera: “Eight months in two hours, or deportees to Siberia” by G. Donizetti Evgeniya Shigaeva The article is devoted to Donizetti’s opera on the plot of Russian history. In the beginning of XIX century, a brave girl Praskovja Lupolova went from Siberia to St. Petersburg on foot, hoping to obtain from Alexander I forgiveness for their exiled parents. Siberian’s feat became the basis of numerous novels and dramatic plays. Donizetti’s opera «Eight months in two hours» was written on this plot. Long considered lost, these days the opera gets a rebirth thanks to research foreign musicologists. For the Russian audience, opera is virtually unknown. The article traces the milestones of the opera’s fate on stage and explores the brightest (stage and music) means of creating Russian color. Keywords: Donizetti, Praskovja Lupolova, Siberia, scenery, costumes, folk songs, Russian flavor. Contacts: E-mail: Evgeniya-shigaev@mail.ru Pp. 12-20.