Snegurochka
Encyclopedia
In one story, she is the daughter of Spring and Frost, and yearns for the companionship of mortal humans. She grows to like a shepherd named Lel, but her heart is unable to know love. Her mother takes pity and gives her this ability, but as soon as she falls in love, her heart warms and she melts.
This version of the story was made into a play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
by Aleksandr Ostrovsky, with incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
by Tchaikovsky.
The modern Snegurochka is also depicted as the granddaughter and helper of Ded Moroz
Ded Moroz
Ded Moroz is a fictional character who in some Slavic cultures plays a role similar to that of Santa Claus. The literal translation of the name would be Grandfather Frost, although the name is often translated as Father Frost....
, the Russian version of Father Christmas
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name exists in several other countries, including France , Spain , Brazil , Portugal , Italy , Armenia , India...
.
Other versions
In 1878, the composer Ludwig MinkusLudwig Minkus
Ludwig Minkus a.k.a. Léon Fyodorovich Minkus was an Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher.Minkus is most noted for the music he composed while serving as Ballet Composer of the St...
and the Balletmaster Marius Petipa
Marius Petipa
Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
staged a ballet adaptation of Snegurochka titled The Daughter of the Snows
The Daughter of the Snows
The Daughter of the Snows or "La Fille des Neiges" is a "fantastic ballet" in 3 acts/5 scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Ludwig Minkus. Libretto by Marius Petipa, derived from the Russian fairy-tale Snegurochka by Alexander Ostrovsky, which the writer based on a Norwegian...
for the Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
's Imperial Ballet
Mariinsky Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies...
. The tale was also adapted into an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
titled The Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tale is an opera in four acts with a prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composed during 1880–1881. The Russian libretto, by the composer, is based on the like-named play by Alexander Ostrovsky .The first performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera took place at the...
. The story itself was adapted into two Soviet films: an animated film in 1952
1952 in film
The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
with some of Rimsky-Korsakov's music, also called The Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden (1952 film)
The Snow Maiden is a 1952 Soviet/Russian traditionally-animated feature film. It was produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow and is based on the play of the same name by Aleksandr Ostrovsky . Music from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Snow Maiden is used, arranged for the film by L...
, and a live-action film in 1969
1969 in film
The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
directed by Pavel Kadochnikov
Pavel Kadochnikov
Pavel Petrovich Kadochnikov was a Russian actor, film director and scenario. . Among the notable roles he had as an actor were in the film Ivan the Terrible, directed by Sergei Eisenstein. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR and a Hero of Socialist Labor .-Biography:Pavel Kadochnikov was...
, with music by Vladislav Kladnitsky. Ruth Sanderson
Ruth Sanderson
Ruth Sanderson is an illustrator of many books for children and young adults.-Biography:Sanderson graduated from the Paier College of Art in Connecticut in 1974. Since then, she has illustrated many books for children and young adults...
retold the story in the picture book The Snow Princess, in which falling in love does not immediately kill the princess, but turns her into a mortal human, who will die.
In a different version, such as the one collected by Louis Leger
Louis Léger
Louis Léger was a French writer and pioneer in Slavic studies. Léger studied under Aleksander Chodźko at the Collège de France, whose position he eventually succeeded in 1885 by taking up the Slav Literature and Language chair of Adam Mickiewicz, which he occupied until 1923...
in Contes Populaires Slaves, an old couple make a girl out of snow, who turns into a living being. She grows up quickly. A group of girls invite her for a walk in the woods, after which they make a small fire and take turns leaping over it; in some variants, this is on St. John's Day
St. John's Day
St. John's Day may refer to:Feasts celebrating the Nativity of St. John the Baptist:* January 7, an Eastern Orthodox feast* June 24, Midsummer Day**an Eastern Orthodox feast celebrating his birth**a Roman Catholic feast celebrating his birth...
, and a St. John's Day tradition. When Snegurochka's turn comes, she starts to jump, but only gets halfway before evaporating into a small cloud. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included this in The Pink Fairy Book. Tales of this type are Aarne-Thompson type 703* The Snow Maiden. It compares to tales of type 1362, The Snow-child
The Snow-child
The Snow-child is a widespread European folktale, found in many medieval tellings.It is Aarne-Thompson type 1362.-Synopsis:A merchant returns home after an absence of two years to find his wife with a newborn son. She explains one snowy day she swallowed a snowflake while thinking about her...
, where the strange origin is a blatant lie.
The motherland of Snegurochka is Schelikovo near Kostroma
Kostroma
Kostroma is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian towns, it is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma Rivers...
.
External links
- Snowflake, Lang's version