Theatre / Lay of Leithian

A rock opera based on the Legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien: Lay of Leithian, the legend of Beren and Lúthien.

"Heavy are steps along untrodden paths,
Vague are signs of predestination.
Lives are caught up in the torrent
Like lights shining in the darkness.
They shine for us through the centuries -
Remember, all, the Lay of Leithian."

— Námo

The Lay of Leithian rock opera (Russian: Пок-опера Лэ о Лэйтиан) is a rock opera adaptation of the tale of Beren and Lúthien from Tolkien's legendarium. The rock opera is sung through, with almost no spoken dialogue. Some videos are available on YouTube, and full recordings can be purchased at the Lay of Leithian Boosty page.

The rock opera was written by the artist Skadi (Ludmila Smerkovich), and is performed by the Vita theater group. It premiered in January 2021, and the first available recording is from June 2021.

All of the translations on this page were sourced from this translation.

---

Tracklist:

Act 1:

1. Prologue (Пролог)
2. Angband (Ангбанд)
3. Forest of Dorthonion (Лес Дор Финиона)
4. Defeat of Morgoth (Поражение Моргота)
5. Meeting (Встреча)
6. Menegroth (Менегрот)
7. Nargothrond (Нарготронд)
8. Halt (Привал)
9. The Duel (Поединок)

Act 2:

1. Lúthien's Departure (Уход Лютиень)
2. Meeting with the Fëanorians (Встреча с Феанорингами)
3. Lúthien's Escape (Побег Лютиень)
4. Finrod's Death (Смерть Финрода)
5. The Liberation of Beren (Освобождение Берена)
6. Before Morgoth's Throne (У трона Моргота)
7. Before Thingol's Throne (У трона Тингола)
8. The Hunt (Охота)
9. The Halls of Mandos (Залы Мандоса)

---

This work contains examples of the following tropes:

• 11th-Hour Ranger: During the very first performance, the singer Seraphim (who himself played Finrod in the rock opera Finrod-Zong) had to sub in for Námo with very little warning.
• Ability over Appearance: Despite being described as blond in the Silmarillion, some of the Finrod actors do not have blond hair.
• Adaptation Distillation: Some details and characters are cut, such as Lúthien's escape from her treehouse, Finrod's followers, and the existence of Thuringwethil; Carcharoth and Draugluin are combined into one werewolf.
• Adaptation Expansion: Daeron is given a larger part than in the original story.
• All Musicals Are Adaptations: Adapted from the story of Beren and Lúthien in Tolkien's Legendarium.
• Arc Words: "I had not forgotten you. I [shall walk/walked] through darkness, loving!"
• Animal Motifs: Lúthien, called "Nightingale".
• Anyone Can Die: Finrod, Beren, Huan, and Lúthien all die over the course of the show. Some of them make it back.
• Badass Boast: Beren is full of these; his entire introductory song is one long Badass Boast.
• Badass Normal: Beren, the only Man in a story full of Elves and Ainur, manages to hold his own pretty well. That is, until he dies. Don't worry, he got better.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Lúthien and Huan are some of the nicest characters, in this rock opera and in the entire Silmarillion. They also kick Sauron's ass harder than anyone before or since with the possible exception of Eru himself.
• Big Bad: Morgoth, with Sauron serving as his dragon.
• Big Damn Heroes: Lúthien and Huan rescuing Beren.
• Big Friendly Dog: Huan, the Goodest Boy in all Eä.
• Big Word Shout: Sauron, frequently, in the final verse of the duel.
• Cape Swish: Sauron.
• Dark Reprise: Many of the appearances of the Hey-Hop motif are this; the rest are Triumphant Reprise.
• Death Song: Finrod to Beren.
  Finrod: Farewell. Forgive me, my country / My land that I left without regret.
• Demoted to Comic Relief: Celegorm and Curufin.
• Dressing as the Enemy: Beren and Finrod briefly dress as orcs when attempting to make their way past Tol-in-Gaurhoth.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Finrod's battle with the wolf.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The earliest performances of the rock opera were in a different theater with a very small stage, and had very different choreography and costuming.
• Engagement Challenge: Thingol issues one to Beren when he wants to marry Lúthien.
• Everything's Better with Sparkles: All the costumes, especially those of the Ainur, are incredibly sparkly.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Morgoth's voice can be felt in your bones.
• Exact Words: "[The Silmaril] will be in my hand." He never said that hand would be attached...
• For Your Own Good: Daeron's betrayal of Lúthien.
• God of the Dead: Mandos.
• Gut Punch: While the tone of the show is heavy from the start, the first time you realize Anyone Can Die is during the duel of Finrod and Sauron.
• The Heavy: Overcoming Sauron is a major focus of both the first and second acts, while Morgoth has a comparatively small amount of stage time.
• Heroes Love Dogs: Huan.
• Hidden Elf Village: Both Thingol's Doriath and Finrod's Nargothrond.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Lúthien honestly believes the Fëanorians are there to help.
• Interspecies Romance: Both Thingol and Melian (Elf and Maia) and Beren and Lúthien (Man and half-Elf half-Maia) are this.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: Celegorm to Lúthien.
• Kick the Dog: Sauron seems to spend a long time elaborating Finrod's mistakes, for no reason except that he can.
• Kirk Summation: Finrod's spells have elements of this. It doesn't work.
• Kneel Before Zod: Sauron and Finrod both pull this on each other during their song battle in several stagings.
• Large and in Charge: Morgoth.
• Love at First Sight: Between Beren and Lúthien.
• Meaningful Background Event: During the duel of Finrod and Sauron, [[the movements of the background dancers quietly start mirroring Sauron's movements before he sings his final spell.]]
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Finrod's song gives Sauron exactly the information he needs to defeat him.
• Oh, Crap!: Finrod's face as Sauron sings about Alqualondë and the Helcaraxë.
• Only Sane Man: Melian in Doriath; Daeron's obsession with Lúthien and Thingol's over-protectiveness of her lead to Beren being sent off alone to try to wrest a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, while Melian just looks on in disappointment.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Finrod and Beren's Orc costumes are just cloaks over their extremely recognizable costumes.
• The Power of Love: Brings Beren back from the dead.
• Recurring Riff: The Hey-Hop motif is mostly sung by Beren, but many of the singers use it.
• Shoo the Dog: A small but quite literal example, as Celegorm and Curufin shoo Huan away in Nargothrond.
• Shout-Out: Beren's shout of "Heather ale" is a reference to the Stevenson poem, and one of Finrod's lines may be a reference to the Ukrainian national anthem.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: In the duel of Finrod and Sauron.
• Species-Specific Afterlife: Since Men and Elves go to different afterlives, with Men going beyond the world and Elves remaining in the halls of Mandos, Beren and Lúthien will be separated when he dies. But when Beren dies, Lúthien goes to Mandos to plead with him so that Beren can be returned to life and she can join him with a mortal lifespan.
  Námo: So be it. The gift of death is not bitter.
• Sung-Through Musical
• Survivor Guilt: Beren. Oh God, Beren.
  Beren: Better that I had died in the mouth of the wolf / Than to hear your last breath.
• Villain Song: Morgoth and Sauron's two duets, and Sauron's spell at the end of his duel with Finrod.
• Wham Line: Sauron screams the last word of this line, which he says before invoking the kinslaying at Alqualondë and the crossing of the Helcaraxë to Finrod.
  Sauron: You want to hide something. Shall I guess why?
• Wizard Duel: Between Sauron and Finrod, and between Lúthien and Sauron.