This is an entirely modern concoction musically, albeit one seemingly using the music of Rimsky-Korsakov.
There was no Rimsky-Korsakov ballet called "The Snow Maiden" either 163 years ago or in a revised version in 1898. The closest the composer came to writing a ballet was in his opera-ballet "Mlada", in which the title character is a mute role performed by a ballet dancer. Perhaps surprisingly for a composer who included so many dances in his operas generally, Rimsky-Korsakov was not at all interested in ballet as a genre per se.
His opera, "The Snow Maiden" was premiered in 1882 (141 years ago) and is based on a play by Ostrovsky. It has no connection at all to the story of The Snow Queen or Andersen.
The music "Flight of the Bumblebee" accompanies the Swan Princess' transformation of Guidon into a bumblebee in "Tsar Saltan" and closes the first scene of Act 3 as the young prince flies off to visit his father's court. Parts of it occur in the next scene, at Saltan's court. There is no "gyspy encampment scene" in the opera.
Message Thread
« Back to index | View thread »
Thank you for taking part in the MusicWeb International Forum.
Len Mullenger - Founder of MusicWeb