Nikolaj Rimskij-Korsakow (1844–1908) The Tale of Tsar Saltan
Skaska o zare Saltan – Original Version of the Opera Text: Wladimir J. Bjelskij
solos: SSSMezATTTBarBarBBB – choir: SSAATTBB/SSAATTBB – picc.2.2.cor ang.3(B-clar).2.dble bsn – 4.3.3.1 – timp.perc(4) – 2hp – cel – str / stage music: 3trp(6-12) – bells – dr
Did you know that the interlude between the fourth and fifth scenes of this work is the world-famous Flight of the Bumblebee. Arrangements of the Flight of the Bumblebee for chamber music can be found here.
If necessary, you can change the order quantity after having added the selected article to your shopping cart.
Duration: full evening
Text by Wladimir J. Bjelskij after Alexander Puschkin's fairytale in verse
Translation: German (A. Bernhard); (H. Kupfer); chorus material also in Italian (R. Küfferle) and English
Place: Partly in the city Tmutarakanien, partly on the island Bujan in Russian
Characters: Tsar Saltan (bass) - Tsars Wife Militrissa (soprano) - The Weaver (mezzo-soprano) - The Baker (soprano) - Cousin Babaricha (alto) - Zarewitsch Guidon (2 Ballet Pupils, tenor) - Princess Schwanhilde (soprano) - old man (tenor) - Messenger (baritone) - Skomoroch, Court Jester (bass) - 1st Boatman (tenor) - 2nd Boatman (baritone) - 3rd Boatman (bass) - Bojaren, Royal Household, Soldiers, Boatmen, etc. (Chorus)
Fairy tales, myths, fables – opera has ever been associated with the fantastic, the unreal and the magical, and has not only retained its characteristic manifestations with the publication of the famous fairy tale collections of the 19th century. Perhaps, the fairy tale opera is even in itself the ideal form of the musical theater. In 1899, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov made a fascinating contribution with the “Tale of the Tsar Saltan” on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Alexander Pushkin, based on his fairy tale verse text. The story is told by Tsaritsa Militrisa, who, with her son, is rejected by her husband and reconciled with the Tsar only after an odyssey and many trials of her valor. Time and again, the storyline revolves around the dangers of childhood and the process of growing up, yet it literally sparkles with fantasy. A swan speaks with a human voice, a squirrel cracks golden nuts, seven young sailors emerge from the sea and not to forget: the flight of the prince, transformed into a bumblebee – probably the most famous musical detail of the opera.
Included from Breitkopf for the “Tsar Saltan” is also bilingual performance material (full score, piano reduction, chorus material) with August Bernhard’s German translation, practical for the stage and very singable. Alternatively, Breitkopf also offers the stage version by Harry Kupfer (of 1977/78), who, beyond bold cuts, also modernized the text. It does not, by any means, have to be in the original language….