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Mlada (Rimsky-Korsakov)
Encyclopedia
Mlada is an opera-ballet in four acts, composed between 1889 and 1890 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
, to a libretto by Viktor Krylov that was originally employed for an aborted project of the same name
from 1872.
. The scene designers were Ivan Andreyev and Mikhail Bocharov; balletmasters were Lev Ivanov
and Enrico Cecchetti
. The first production of Mlada was not a success, and it did not become a regular repertory item. (The decor, however, was reused for Petipa's
1896 revival of the ballet adaptation of the scenario by composer Ludwig Minkus
, which had premiered in 1879.)
Other notable performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's Mlada were given in 1904 in St. Petersburg in the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Conservatory by Tsereteli's opera company; in 1913 in Moscow by the Zimin Opera
; and in 1923 in Petrograd at the State Theatre of Opera and Ballet
.
A more recent production of the opera-ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre was recorded on video.http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BB1MDM
, where the dead gather, before the Witches' Sabbath
in which Yaromir is shown a vision of Cleopatra.
, is shown by the spirits that Voyslava is guilty. She confesses her sin and he kills her. Morena, with whom Voyslava had made a compact, destroys the temple and the city of Retra, but Yaromir is united with Mlada in heaven.
.
This is a purely orchestral arrangement of Act III, restyled as a lengthy symphonic poem for orchestra. Approximately a half hour in duration, the program in the printed score follows the action of the opera during the corresponding act of the opera.
The Redowa appears in Act 1. The Lithuanian Dance and the Indian Dance are taken from Act 2, Scene 5. The cortège is the well-known Procession of the Nobles , and appears in Act 2, Scene 3.
Source: www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
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...
, to a libretto by Viktor Krylov that was originally employed for an aborted project of the same name
Mlada
Mlada was a project originally envisioned as a ballet to be composed by Alexander Serov and choreographed by Marius Petipa. The project was later revised in 1872 as an opera-ballet in four acts, with the composition of the score to be divided between César Cui, Léon Minkus, Modest Mussorgsky,...
from 1872.
Performance history
The St. Petersburg premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov's setting of the libretto was given on 1 November 1892 and conducted by Eduard NápravníkEduard Nápravník
Eduard Francevič Nápravník was a Czech conductor and composer, who settled in Russia and is best known for his leading role in Russian musical life as the principal conductor of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg for many decades...
. The scene designers were Ivan Andreyev and Mikhail Bocharov; balletmasters were Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet....
and Enrico Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the Teatro Tordinona in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in...
. The first production of Mlada was not a success, and it did not become a regular repertory item. (The decor, however, was reused for Petipa's
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....
1896 revival of the ballet adaptation of the scenario by composer Ludwig Minkus
Ludwig 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...
, which had premiered in 1879.)
Other notable performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's Mlada were given in 1904 in St. Petersburg in the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Conservatory by Tsereteli's opera company; in 1913 in Moscow by the Zimin Opera
Zimin Opera
The Zimin Opera was founded by the Russian entrepreneur Sergei Zimin in Moscow, Russia in 1903.The company staged the premieres of such operas as Rimsky-Korsakov's Golden Cockerel, Gretchaninoff's Beatris Sister and Ippolitov-Ivanov's Izmena...
; and in 1923 in Petrograd at the State Theatre of Opera and Ballet
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...
.
A more recent production of the opera-ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre was recorded on video.http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BB1MDM
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast 11 November 1892 (Conductor: Eduard Nápravník) |
|---|---|---|
| Mstivoy, prince of Retra | bass | Fyodor Stravinsky Fyodor Stravinsky Fyodor Ignatievich Stravinsky ) was a Russian bass opera singer and actor. He was the father of Igor Stravinsky and the grandfather of Soulima Stravinsky.... |
| Voyslava, his daughter | 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... |
Olga Olgina, Evelina Sonki |
| Yaromir, prince of Arkona Cape Arkona Cape Arkona is a cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Cape Arkona is the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park.... |
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... |
Mikhail Mikhaylov |
| Shade Shade (mythology) In literature and poetry, a shade can be taken to mean the spirit or ghost of a dead person, residing in the underworld.... of Princess Mlada |
silent role | Marie Petipa Marie Petipa Marie Mariusovna Petipa was a noted Russian ballerina. She was the daughter of Marius Petipa and Maria Petipa. Her debut was at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1875 in Le Dahlia bleu and danced until 1911, mainly in the character dance repertoire... |
| Lumir, Czech singer | alto Alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,... |
Mariya Dolina |
| Morena Marzanna Maržanna, Mara, Maržena, Morana, Moréna, Mora, Marmora or Morena is a Slavic goddess associated with death, winter and nightmares. Some sources equate her with the Latvian goddess Māra, who takes a person's body after their death... , goddess of the underworld Underworld The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death... , appearing in the first act in the form of the old woman Svyatokhna |
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-Vilgelmina Piltz |
| Moor Moors The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed... from the Caliphate Caliphate The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah... |
tenor | Vasily Karelin |
| The Novgorodian | tenor | Grigory Ugrinovich |
| Wife of the Novgorodian | mezzo-soprano | Elena Markovskaya |
| A Varangian | 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... |
Maksim Titov |
| Tiun | bass | Aleksandr Klimov |
| High Priest of Radegast | baritone | |
| Chornobog Chernobog Chernobog is a Slavic deity, about whom much has been speculated but little can be said definitively. The name may also be given as Crnobog, Czernobóg, Černobog, Црнобог, Zernebog and Чернобог, meaning black god... |
chorus Choir A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus... |
|
| Kashchey the Immortal | chorus | |
| Chuma (Plague), god of pestilence | silent role | |
| Cherv (Worm), god of the destruction of grasses (famine) | silent role | |
| Topelets, god of floods and sinkings | silent role | |
| Shade of Queen Cleopatra | silent role | |
| Chorus, silent roles: Maidens, armor-bearers and retinue of Mstivoy, merchants, supplicators, people of various Slavic lands, priests and priestesses of Radegast, trumpeters, wood-sprites, werewolves, kikimora Kikimora Kikimora is a legendary creature, a female house spirit in Slavic mythology, fin: Kikke Mörkö , sometimes said to be married to the Domovoi... s, witches, ghosts of the deceased, ghosts of dancers, of black male and female slaves of Queen Cleopatra, spectres of bogatïrs Bogatyr The bogatyr was a medieval heroic warrior of Kievan Rus' and the Novgorodian Republic, akin to a Western European knight errant.- Kievan Rus' :... , Slavic gods |
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Synopsis
- Time: The ninth or tenth century
- Place: The Slavic lands of the BalticBaltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
sea-coast, in the city of Retra, near the Laba (Elbe) River.
Act 1
Voyslava has killed Mlada, Yaromir's bride, to have him for herself. With the help of Morena, the goddess of the underworld, she has captivated Yaromir. But he sees the murder in his dreams.Act 2
At the midsummer festival the people dance, while the spirit of Mlada interves between Yaromir and Voyslava.Act 3
By night Mlada leads Yaromir up Mount TriglavTriglav (mythology)
Triglav also sometimes called troglav is a deity in Slavic mythology.It is generally believed that Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia and Troglav, highest peak of Dinara in Bosnia and...
, where the dead gather, before the Witches' Sabbath
Sabbath (witchcraft)
The Witches' Sabbath or Sabbat is a supposed meeting of those who practice witchcraft, and other rites.European records indicate cases of persons being accused or tried for taking part in Sabbat gatherings, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century or later.- Etymology :The English word “sabbat”...
in which Yaromir is shown a vision of Cleopatra.
Act 4
Yaromir, at the Temple of RadegastRadegast (god)
Radegast, also Radigost, Redigast, Riedegost or Radogost, is mentioned by Adam of Bremen in his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum as the deity worshipped in the Lutician city of Rethra. Likewise, Helmold in his Chronica Slavorum wrote of Radegast as a Lutician god...
, is shown by the spirits that Voyslava is guilty. She confesses her sin and he kills her. Morena, with whom Voyslava had made a compact, destroys the temple and the city of Retra, but Yaromir is united with Mlada in heaven.
Concert excerpts
Two orchestral works were derived from the opera by the composer. The first, Night on Mt. Triglav, is an arrangement of Act 3. The second is a suiteSuite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
.
- Night on Mt. Triglav (1899–1901)
This is a purely orchestral arrangement of Act III, restyled as a lengthy symphonic poem for orchestra. Approximately a half hour in duration, the program in the printed score follows the action of the opera during the corresponding act of the opera.
- Suite from the Opera-Ballet Mlada (1903)
- Introduction
- Redowa: A Bohemian Dance
- Lithuanian Dance
- Indian Dance
- Cortège
The Redowa appears in Act 1. The Lithuanian Dance and the Indian Dance are taken from Act 2, Scene 5. The cortège is the well-known Procession of the Nobles , and appears in Act 2, Scene 3.
Trivia
"Procession of the Nobles" was long used as the theme for the PBS public affairs program Washington Week in Review.Recordings
Audio Recordings (Mainly studio recordings)Source: www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
- 1962, Evgeny Svetlanov (conductor), Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Vladimir Makhov (Yaromir), Tatyana Tugarinova (Voyslava), Alexey Korolyov (Mstivoy), Nina Kulagina (Morena)