The three-act comic opera Cherevichki is a revision of an earlier work called Vakula the Smith by Russian composer Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky. The premiere of the original took place in 1876. Tchaikovsky revised the score in 1885, and the new opera premiered at Moscow's Bol'shoy Theater in January 1887. The text is based on a well-loved Christmas tale by Nikolai Gogol. The original libretto was written by Yakov Polonsky, then revised by Nikolay Chayev. The lively story takes place in a Ukranian village, and features a witch, a devil, various villagers, townspeople, and other characters, as well as some spirits, echoes, and fantastic beings. The original libretto was intended for composer Alexander Serov but he died unexpectedly and the opera's commissioners (the Grand Duchess Yelena Pavlovna and the Russian Musical Society) staged a contest, offering a prize and a lavish production at the Marinsky theater for the best musical setting. Although Tchaikovsky's score was easily the best of all those that were entered in the contest, his opera did not succeed with the public. Because he believed strongly in the work, he revised the score extensively, replacing symphonic structures with greater amounts of melody and folk idioms. The new opera has an established place in the repertoire, although it remains one of Tchaikovsky's least favorite works. It is his only comedy, and he never attempted the genre again.

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