The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya
Encyclopedia
The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya is an opera
in four acts by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
. The libretto
was written by Vladimir Belsky, and is based on a combination of two Russian legends: that of St. Fevroniya of Murom, and the city of Kitezh
, which became invisible when attacked by the Tatars. The opera was completed in 1905, and the premiere performance took place at the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg
, on February 7, 1907.
. The idea of combining the legend of St. Fyevroniya into the story was part of the project from the beginning. The project remained in the minds of both composer and the librettist, but would have to wait until 1903 until serious work could begin. During the period between 1898 and the beginning of 1903, the composer was occupied with the composition of the operas The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Servilia
, Kashchey the Immortal and Pan Voyevoda
. In his My Musical Life, Rimsky-Korsakov mentions "In the midst of work on Pan Voyevoda Byel'ski and I pondered intensively the subject of The Tale of the Invisible City of Kityezh and of the Maiden Fyevroniya." Rimsky-Korsakov had written a rough draft of the first act by the end of summer, and Belsky had completed the libretto by spring. By summer of 1904, Rimsky-Korsakov had finished the composition of the second tableau of Act III and was orchestrating the opera. During the summer of 1905, while writing his Principles of Orchestration, Rimsky-Korsakov also polished the orchestral score to Kitezh, and made a clean final copy to send to the printers.
, Russia
at the Mariinsky Theatre
on 20 February (O.S.
7 February), 1907. The scenic designers were
Konstantin Korovin
and Apollinary Vasnetsov
. A year later, the opera was given its premiere at the Bolshoy Theatre
, Moscow
, Russia on 15 February 1908. Scenic designers were Korovin, Klodt, Vasnetsov. The first performance out of Russia took place at Barcelona
's Gran Teatre del Liceu, February 1926.
Source:
", however it is not part of the standard operatic repertoire outside of Russia. Stylistically, it is more representative of Rimsky-Korsakov's work than the better-known The Golden Cockerel
. In its use of Russian history and legend, Oriental exoticism, and a mix of the real and the supernatural, the work has been called a "summation of the nationalistic operatic tradition of Glinka
and The Five
." Rimsky-Korsakov considered the work to be his final artistic statement, not planning to write another opera until unexpectedly inspired to write The Golden Cockerel as a satire of current political events in Russia. Rimsky-Korsakov was an atheist
, and, though he often made use of fairy-tale, Kitezh was the only one of his operas to make use of supernatural or religious themes. In spite of the Christian
themes, however, Simon Morrison points out that ultimately, "His was a secular heaven."
Place: Unspecified location beyond the Volga River
These wild forests with dense thickets and bogs are the home of Fevronia (and her "brother", a tree creeper), who lives in a hut. She is besotted with dreams and poetical fancies, and is a daughter of nature, being on friendly terms with the birds and wild animals, and knowing all the mysteries of the forest. One day she meets a young prince in the forest, who has been hunting and has lost his way. He is Vsevolod, son of Prince Yuri of Kitezh, and he falls for her beauty, spiritual integrity and love of people and of nature. They sing a love duet, in which he places a ring on her finger, but this is interrupted by the sound of the hunting party from afar. He bids her farewell and goes to find the party, while she learns to whom she has become betrothed.
Holiday festivities are going on in the market place in this place, because the wedding procession of Princess Fevronia is expected to come through. The people crowd around the buffoon and laugh at the bear's antics. An old psaltery-player comes and sings a solemn song. The rich townsfolk, who think Prince Vsevolod should have married a girl with better family connections, persuade Grishka Kuterma (the local drunkard) to mock the princess. The procession approaches to the sound of bells, and (in an old custom) the wedding guests throw honey-cakes, ribbons and coins into the crowd as the bride's 'ransom'. The people chase away Grishka and the procession takes up a wedding song.
Suddenly the merrymaking is interrupted as the town is surrounded by an army of invading Tatars. There is a sorrowful lamenting chorus of the people. Fevronia is captured by the Tatars and is racked by anxiety for the fate of her bridegroom and the city of Greater Kitezh, which the Tatars will attack next. But Grishka agrees to betray Russia and to lead the Tatars to the city, while Fevronia prays that it be rendered invisible.
Hearing of the invasion, the people of Greater Kitezh gather in the main square in arms, in dead of night. The prince's huntsman Fyodor Poyarok, whom the Tatars have blinded, tells them of the atrocities committed at Little Kitezh. A boy announces that the Tatars approach. The people prepare for battle, and the Prince leads a battalion which sings a chorus of resolution to fight to the end. Then, a golden fog rises over the Lake and shrouds the city, hiding it from the enemy: only the church bells drone faintly. But a fierce battle breaks out on the banks of the river Kherzhenets. A symphonic interlude, composed around the battle-song theme and another representing the Tatar hordes, depicts the grim scene, and introduces:
Scene 2 - At the lake Svetlyi Iar
After a long trek through the wilderness, Grishka has led the Tatars to the edge of the lake. Unable to see the city for the fog, the Tatars accuse him of treachery and tie him to a tree, intending to kill him in the morning. They make fires and share out their loot. Two of the Tatar leaders, Burundai and Bedyai, quarrel over Fevronia and Bedyai is slain. The Tatars, preparing for night, sing a dismal song about ravens flocking to carnage. They sleep, and Fevronia is heard mourning Vsevolod, who has fallen in battle. Grishka, tormented by fear and remorse, begs her to release him, and she does so believing that kindness will heal his soul. But he is haunted by nightmares, in which the chimes of the Kitezh bells become distorted in his brain. He rushes to drown himself, but stops at the shore as the dawn shows that while the city remains invisible, the reflection of the city can be seen in the water, and the bells ring out ever louder. The Tatars are stricken with fear by the sight and disperse.
In pitch darkness Fevronia and Grishka, exhausted, struggle through the wilderness. Grishka is delirious, and after singing a song about the devil and dancing wildly he runs off screaming. Fevronia is lulled to sleep by the sounds of the forest. In her dream the scene is transformed, with fantastic blossoming flowers, candles in the trees, and fairy songbirds. The mythical bird of sorrow, Alkonost, appears to tell her she must die. She welcomes death, and her prince appears to lead her to Kitezh. A second bird, Sirin, promises immortality. The enchantment comes out irresistibly in the Symphonic Interlude leading to:
Scene 2 - The Invisible City
The scene is in the legendary city of beautiful people with gracious hearts. Fevronia and Vsevolod, Prince Yuri and Fyodor Poyarok all reappear. Fevronia sends a message of hope to Grishka, telling him that one day he too will find the way to the Invisible City. Vsevolod leads his bride to the altar with wedding songs, and a Hymn of Joy, as a solemn chorus, ends the opera. Good, Love and Justice are victorious.
Act 1
Act 3
Act 4
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...
in four acts 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...
. The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was written by Vladimir Belsky, and is based on a combination of two Russian legends: that of St. Fevroniya of Murom, and the city of Kitezh
Kitezh
Kitezh was a mythical city on the shores of the Svetloyar lake in the Voskresensky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in central Russia. It appears for the first time in "Kitezh Chronicle", an anonymous book from the late 18th century, believed to have originated among the Old believers.-The...
, which became invisible when attacked by the Tatars. The opera was completed in 1905, and the premiere performance took place at the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, on February 7, 1907.
Composition history
Rimsky-Korsakov and Belsky first became interested in writing an opera on the Kitezh legend during the winter of 1898-1899, while they were working on the libretto to The Tale of Tsar SaltanThe Tale of Tsar Saltan
The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan is an 1831 poem by Aleksandr Pushkin, written after the Russian fairy tale edited by Vladimir Dahl...
. The idea of combining the legend of St. Fyevroniya into the story was part of the project from the beginning. The project remained in the minds of both composer and the librettist, but would have to wait until 1903 until serious work could begin. During the period between 1898 and the beginning of 1903, the composer was occupied with the composition of the operas The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Servilia
Servilia
Servilia may refer to:Members of the Roman gens Servilia, including*Servilia , wife of Quintus Lutatius Catulus*Servilia Caepionis , mistress of Caesar and mother of his assassin, Marcus Junius Brutus...
, Kashchey the Immortal and Pan Voyevoda
Pan Voyevoda
Pan Voyevoda , is an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It is based on a libretto by Ilya Tyumenev. The work was completed in 1903, was first performed in October 1904, and has proved to be one of Rimsky-Korsakov's least-successful works...
. In his My Musical Life, Rimsky-Korsakov mentions "In the midst of work on Pan Voyevoda Byel'ski and I pondered intensively the subject of The Tale of the Invisible City of Kityezh and of the Maiden Fyevroniya." Rimsky-Korsakov had written a rough draft of the first act by the end of summer, and Belsky had completed the libretto by spring. By summer of 1904, Rimsky-Korsakov had finished the composition of the second tableau of Act III and was orchestrating the opera. During the summer of 1905, while writing his Principles of Orchestration, Rimsky-Korsakov also polished the orchestral score to Kitezh, and made a clean final copy to send to the printers.
Performance history
The world premiere was given in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
at the Mariinsky Theatre
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
on 20 February (O.S.
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
7 February), 1907. The scenic designers were
Konstantin Korovin
Konstantin Korovin
Konstantin Alekseyevich Korovin was a leading Russian Impressionist painter.-Biography:Konstantin was born in Moscow to a merchant family officially registered as "peasants of Vladimir Gubernia". His father, Aleksey Mikhailovich Korovin, earned a university degree and was more interested in arts...
and Apollinary Vasnetsov
Apollinary Vasnetsov
Apollinary Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov , 1856, the village of Riabovo, Vyatka province - January 23, 1933, Moscow) was a Russian painter and graphic artist whose elder brother was the more famous Viktor Vasnetsov. He specialized in scenes from the medieval history of Moscow.Vasnetsov was a painter and a...
. A year later, the opera was given its premiere at the Bolshoy Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia on 15 February 1908. Scenic designers were Korovin, Klodt, Vasnetsov. The first performance out of Russia took place at Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
's Gran Teatre del Liceu, February 1926.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast St Petersburg 20 February 1907 (Conductor: Feliks Blumenfeld Felix Blumenfeld Felix Mikhailovich Blumenfeld was a Russian composer, conductor, pianist and teacher.He was born in Kovalevka, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire , the son of Austrian Mikhail Frantsevich Blumenfeld and the Polish Marie Szymanowska, and studied composition at the St... ) |
Premiere cast Moscow 15 February 1908 (Conductor: Vyacheslav Suk Vyacheslav Suk Václav Suk, or Váša Suk, or Vyacheslav Suk was a Czech-born Russian violinist, conductor and composer.- Biography :From 1873 to 1879 Váša Suk, who is said to have been related to Joseph Suk, studied... ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Yuriy Vsevolodovich | bass | Ivan Filippov | Vasily Petrov Vasily Petrov Vasily Ivanovich Petrov , in Stavropol Krai. He completed high school in 1935 and studied for two years at a teacher training institute until 1937. Petrov joined the army in 1939 and completed the lieutenant's course in 1941.... |
| Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Andrey Labinsky Andrey Labinsky Andrey Markovich Labinsky was a famous Russian tenor.-Biography:Labinsky was born to a large family in internal exile in Siberia. From 1881, he sang in the choir of Saint Sofia cathedral in Tobolsk. Labinsky moved to Tyumen and became a soloist in the Znamensky cathedral choir. After finishing... |
Nikolay Rostovsky |
| Fevroniya | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Maria Kuznetsova-Benois Maria Kuznetsova Maria Nikolayevna Kuznetsova , was a famous 20th century Russian opera singer and dancer.Prior to the Revolution, Kuznetsova was one of the most celebrated opera singers in Imperial Russia, having worked with Richard Strauss, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Jules Massenet. She was frequently paired... |
Nadezda Salina |
| Grishka Kuterma | tenor | Ivan Yershov Ivan Yershov Ivan Vasiliyevitch Yershov or Ershov , born November 8, 1867 - died November 21, 1943, was a Russian opera singer. He earned renown for his brilliant performances at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, performing some of the most demanding roles written for the dramatic tenor... |
Anton Bonachich |
| Fyodor Poyarok | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Vasiliy Sharonov | Georges Baklanoff Georges Baklanoff Georges Baklanoff was a Russian operatic baritone who had an active international career from 1903 until his death in 1938. Possessing a powerful and flexible voice, he sang roles from a wide variety of musical periods and in many languages... |
| Page | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Maria Markovich | Elizaveta Azerskaya |
| Gusli player | bass | Vladimir Kastorsky | |
| Bear handler | tenor | Grigoriy Ugrinovich | |
| Lead-singer | baritone | Nikolay Markevitch | |
| Bedyay, a mighty Tatar warrior | bass | Ivan Grigorovich | Khristofor Tolkachev |
| Burunday, a mighty Tatar warrior | bass | Konstantin Serebryakov | Stepan Trezvinsky |
| Sirin Sirin Sirin is a mythological creature of Russian legends, with the head and chest of a beautiful woman and the body of a bird . According to myth, the Sirins lived "in Indian lands" near Eden or around the Euphrates River.... , bird of paradise |
soprano | Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel Nadezhda Ivanovna Zabela-Vrubel was a Russian opera singer. Vocally, she is best described as a lyrical soprano, with a particularly high tessitura.... |
|
| Alkonost Alkonost The Alkonost is, according to Russian folklore, a creature with the body of a bird but the head of a beautiful woman. It makes sounds that are amazingly beautiful, and those who hear these sounds forget everything they know and want nothing more ever again, rather like the sirens of Greek myth. ... , bird of paradise |
contralto | Yevgeniya Zbruyeva | Serafima Sinitsina |
| Chorus, Silent roles: Well-off people, beggar community, people, Tatars | |||
Source:
Critical analysis
Kitezh is arguably Rimsky-Korsakov's finest opera, often being referred to as "the Russian ParsifalParsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
", however it is not part of the standard operatic repertoire outside of Russia. Stylistically, it is more representative of Rimsky-Korsakov's work than the better-known The Golden Cockerel
The Golden Cockerel
The Golden Cockerel is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Its libretto, by Vladimir Belsky, derives from Alexander Pushkin's 1834 poem The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, which in turn is based on two chapters of Tales of the Alhambra by...
. In its use of Russian history and legend, Oriental exoticism, and a mix of the real and the supernatural, the work has been called a "summation of the nationalistic operatic tradition of Glinka
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
and The Five
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 Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin...
." Rimsky-Korsakov considered the work to be his final artistic statement, not planning to write another opera until unexpectedly inspired to write The Golden Cockerel as a satire of current political events in Russia. Rimsky-Korsakov was an atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and, though he often made use of fairy-tale, Kitezh was the only one of his operas to make use of supernatural or religious themes. In spite of the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
themes, however, Simon Morrison points out that ultimately, "His was a secular heaven."
Synopsis
Time: Summer of the 6751st year of the creation of the worldPlace: Unspecified location beyond the Volga River
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
Act 1
Kerzhenskii WoodsThese wild forests with dense thickets and bogs are the home of Fevronia (and her "brother", a tree creeper), who lives in a hut. She is besotted with dreams and poetical fancies, and is a daughter of nature, being on friendly terms with the birds and wild animals, and knowing all the mysteries of the forest. One day she meets a young prince in the forest, who has been hunting and has lost his way. He is Vsevolod, son of Prince Yuri of Kitezh, and he falls for her beauty, spiritual integrity and love of people and of nature. They sing a love duet, in which he places a ring on her finger, but this is interrupted by the sound of the hunting party from afar. He bids her farewell and goes to find the party, while she learns to whom she has become betrothed.
Act 2
Little Kitezh on the VolgaHoliday festivities are going on in the market place in this place, because the wedding procession of Princess Fevronia is expected to come through. The people crowd around the buffoon and laugh at the bear's antics. An old psaltery-player comes and sings a solemn song. The rich townsfolk, who think Prince Vsevolod should have married a girl with better family connections, persuade Grishka Kuterma (the local drunkard) to mock the princess. The procession approaches to the sound of bells, and (in an old custom) the wedding guests throw honey-cakes, ribbons and coins into the crowd as the bride's 'ransom'. The people chase away Grishka and the procession takes up a wedding song.
Suddenly the merrymaking is interrupted as the town is surrounded by an army of invading Tatars. There is a sorrowful lamenting chorus of the people. Fevronia is captured by the Tatars and is racked by anxiety for the fate of her bridegroom and the city of Greater Kitezh, which the Tatars will attack next. But Grishka agrees to betray Russia and to lead the Tatars to the city, while Fevronia prays that it be rendered invisible.
Act 3
Scene 1 - Great KitezhHearing of the invasion, the people of Greater Kitezh gather in the main square in arms, in dead of night. The prince's huntsman Fyodor Poyarok, whom the Tatars have blinded, tells them of the atrocities committed at Little Kitezh. A boy announces that the Tatars approach. The people prepare for battle, and the Prince leads a battalion which sings a chorus of resolution to fight to the end. Then, a golden fog rises over the Lake and shrouds the city, hiding it from the enemy: only the church bells drone faintly. But a fierce battle breaks out on the banks of the river Kherzhenets. A symphonic interlude, composed around the battle-song theme and another representing the Tatar hordes, depicts the grim scene, and introduces:
Scene 2 - At the lake Svetlyi Iar
After a long trek through the wilderness, Grishka has led the Tatars to the edge of the lake. Unable to see the city for the fog, the Tatars accuse him of treachery and tie him to a tree, intending to kill him in the morning. They make fires and share out their loot. Two of the Tatar leaders, Burundai and Bedyai, quarrel over Fevronia and Bedyai is slain. The Tatars, preparing for night, sing a dismal song about ravens flocking to carnage. They sleep, and Fevronia is heard mourning Vsevolod, who has fallen in battle. Grishka, tormented by fear and remorse, begs her to release him, and she does so believing that kindness will heal his soul. But he is haunted by nightmares, in which the chimes of the Kitezh bells become distorted in his brain. He rushes to drown himself, but stops at the shore as the dawn shows that while the city remains invisible, the reflection of the city can be seen in the water, and the bells ring out ever louder. The Tatars are stricken with fear by the sight and disperse.
Act 4
Scene 1 - Kerzhenskii WoodsIn pitch darkness Fevronia and Grishka, exhausted, struggle through the wilderness. Grishka is delirious, and after singing a song about the devil and dancing wildly he runs off screaming. Fevronia is lulled to sleep by the sounds of the forest. In her dream the scene is transformed, with fantastic blossoming flowers, candles in the trees, and fairy songbirds. The mythical bird of sorrow, Alkonost, appears to tell her she must die. She welcomes death, and her prince appears to lead her to Kitezh. A second bird, Sirin, promises immortality. The enchantment comes out irresistibly in the Symphonic Interlude leading to:
Scene 2 - The Invisible City
The scene is in the legendary city of beautiful people with gracious hearts. Fevronia and Vsevolod, Prince Yuri and Fyodor Poyarok all reappear. Fevronia sends a message of hope to Grishka, telling him that one day he too will find the way to the Invisible City. Vsevolod leads his bride to the altar with wedding songs, and a Hymn of Joy, as a solemn chorus, ends the opera. Good, Love and Justice are victorious.
Principal arias and numbers
- Introduction: "Paean to the wilderness", «Похвала пустыне»
Act 1
- Song: "Oh, my forest, beautiful wilderness" «Ах ты лес, мой лес, пустыня прекрасная» (Fevroniya)
Act 3
- Entr'acte: "The Battle of Kerzhenets", «Сеча при Керженце»
Act 4
- Entr'acte: "Walking in the Invisible City" «Хождение в невидимый град»
Recordings
Audio Recordings:- 1956, Vassili NebolsinVassili NebolsinVassili Vassilyevich Nebolsin was a Russian conductor. He studied at the college of the Moscow Philharmonic and became conductor of the orchestra in 1918. He became choir master of the Bolshoi in 1920 and its conductor in 1922. He taught at the Moscow Conservatory from 1940 to 1945...
(conductor), Moscow Radio and Chorus, Ivan Petrov (Prince Yury), Vladimir Ivanovsky (Prince Vsevolod), Natalya Rozhdestvenskaya (Fevroniya), Dmitri Tarkhov (Grishka Kutyerma), Ilya Bogdanov (Fyodor Poyarok), Boris Dobrin (Balladeer), L. Melnikova (Youth), V. Shevtsov (Merchant I), Sergei Koltipin (Merchant II), Tikhon Chernyakov (Bear Handler), Mikhail Skazin (Beggar), Leonid Ktitorov (Bedyay), Boris Dobrin (Bard), Gennady Troitzky (Burundai), Mariya Zvenzdina (Sirin), Nina Kulagina (Alkonost). (USSR MK LPs set ТУ35, XП558-63, Д06489-Д06496).
- 1994, Valery GergievValery GergievValery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
(conductor), Kirov Orchestra and Chorus, Nicolay Okhotnikov (Prince Yury), Yury Marusin (Prince Vsevolod), Galina GorchakovaGalina Gorchakova-Beginnings:Gorchakova was born in Novokuznetsk to a musical family. She moved to Novosibirsk in Siberia with her parents who were singers at the opera house there. It was in that city that she attended music school, college and the Conservatoire from which she graduated in 1988...
(Fevroniya), Vladimir GalouzineVladimir GalouzineVladimir Galouzine is a Russian tenor. He was born on 11 June 1956 in Rubtsovsk, Russia. He has performed in such Russian operas as The Queen of Spades, Boris Gudonov and Khovanshchina and has performed the lead roles in Italian operas like Madama Butterfly, Otello, Tosca, Aida, and Manon...
(Grishka Kutyerma), Nicolay Putilin (Fyodor Poyarok), Mikhail Kit (Gusli player), Olga Korzhenskaya (Page), Evgeny Boytsov, Evgeny Fyodorov (Merchants), Nicolay Gassiev (Bear Handler), Grigory Karasev (Beggar), Bulat Minjilkiev (Bedyay), Vladimir Ognovyenko (BurundaiBurundaiBoroldai or Burundai Боролдай was a notable Mongol general of the mid 13th century. He participated in the Mongol invasion of Russia and Europe in 1236-1242....
), Tatyana Kravtsova (SirinSirinSirin is a mythological creature of Russian legends, with the head and chest of a beautiful woman and the body of a bird . According to myth, the Sirins lived "in Indian lands" near Eden or around the Euphrates River....
), Larissa DiadkovaLarissa Diadkova-Career:For her musical education, she studied at Kazan Conservatory before moving on to the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. In 1978, she became a member of the Kirov Opera where she initially sang small roles. As a member of the Kirov Opera, Diadkova toured internationally under company director...
(AlkonostAlkonostThe Alkonost is, according to Russian folklore, a creature with the body of a bird but the head of a beautiful woman. It makes sounds that are amazingly beautiful, and those who hear these sounds forget everything they know and want nothing more ever again, rather like the sirens of Greek myth. ...
). Live performance at the Rimsky-Korsakov Festival, February , 1994, St. Petersburg (PhilipsPhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
462 225-2).