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| | Arts Calendar / January 4 / Opera |
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19:00 | The Tale of Tsar Saltan |
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 Opera in four acts with a prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Presented with two intervals. Libretto by Vladimir Belsky after Alexander Pushkin’s tale of the same name. Sung in Russian with English surtitles. Conductor: Tugan Sokhiev. Director: Alexei Frandetti. The Tale of Tsar Saltan is the fairest fairy tale among the others by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Situations happening to its heroes are resolved with happy end for everyone; even villains receive forgiveness; the most important thing, though, nobody dies (which is so rare in romantic operas!). The only exception is ‘wizard’- kite: he appears for a minute in the second act and immediately perishes by ‘tsarevich’ (prince in English) Guidon’s arrow – following the plot of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Wonderfully written libretto full of musical ‘wonders’ by Vladimir Belsky and score by Rimsky-Korsakov were already highly appraised during premiere. First production belonged to Private Opera Society (1900). Opera performance became legendary due to scenic design by Mikhail Vrubel and ‘mysterious look of unforgettable Tsarevna’ (in English, princess; referred to Tsarevna Swan-Bird) that created artist’s wife Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel. Success went further on leading to performance on imperial stage; however, it took quite some time: opera was included in the Bolshoi’s repertoire only in 1913. Symphonic compositions were well matched with scenic design by Konstantin Korovin. After the Bolshoi, this opera survived two more revivals – in 1959 and 1986. The latter was there until 1989. It is completely evident, now is the right time for the fourth one.
Bolshoi Theater New Stage  |
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