Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov on Music Theory Print

Antar (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Form#

The suite is in four movements:

Instrumentation#

Antar is scored for an orchestra consisting of 3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets in A and B, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in A and B, 3 trombones, 2 tubas, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, tam-tam, triangle, snare drum, 2 harps, and strings.

Legend#

This work was inspired by an Arabian tale by Sennkovsky, suggested to Rimsky-Korsakov by Modest Mussorgsky and César Cui. Antar, an enemy of all mankind, has become a recluse in the desert. He saves a gazelle from a large bird. Weary from fighting the bird, he falls asleep exhausted. He dreams he is in the palace of the Queen of Palmyra. The queen, the fairy Gul-Nazar, was the gazelle Antar saved from the bird. As a reward, she permits Antar to fulfill three of life’s greatest joys — vengeance, power and love. He accepts these gifts with gratitude, then makes a request himself. He asks the queen to take his life if these pleasures become tiresome. He then falls in love with the queen. After some time, however, he becomes weary of his passion. The queen takes him in her arms, kissing him with such ferocity that his life ebbs away. This legend as a whole is incorporated in the opening movement; the other three depict each of the three joys. As Hector Berlioz did in his Symphonie fantastique, Rimsky-Korsakov employs an idée fixe or motto theme in various guises through all four movements to depict Antar. This theme is played by the violas in the introduction to the opening movement. Later in the same movement, flutes and horns play another important theme, this time depicting the queen.

Capriccio Espagnol

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Structure#

The work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes (one doubling on cor anglais), 2 clarinets (in B and A), 2 bassoons, 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in B, A), 3 trombones, tuba, percussion (timpani, triangle, side drum, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, and castanets), harp, and strings. It has five movements, divided into two parts comprising the first three and the latter two movements respectively. The first movement is a festive and exciting dance, typically from traditional Asturian music to celebrate the rising of the sun. It features the clarinet with two solos, and later features a solo violin with a solo similar to the clarinet’s. The second movement begins with a melody in the horn section. Variations of this melody are then repeated by other instruments and sections of the orchestra. The third movement presents the same Asturian dance as the first movement. The two movements are nearly identical, in fact, except that this movement has a different instrumentation and key. The fourth movement opens with five cadenzas — first by the horns and trumpets, then solo violin, flute, clarinet, and harp — played over rolls on various percussion instruments. It is then followed by a dance in triple time leading attacca into the final movement. The fifth and final movement is also an energetic dance from the Asturias region of northern Spain. The piece ends with an even more rousing statement of the Alborada theme.

Christmas Eve (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The premiere took place on 10 December 1895 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. The British premiere was in 1988 in London, at the English National Opera; it was conducted by Albert Rosen. It was revived at the Oper Frankfurt in 2022 in a production that was recorded, directed by Christof Loy and conducted by Sebastian Weigle.

Synopsis#

: Time: 18th century : Place: The village of Dikanka, Ukraine; mid-air; a royal court

Flight of the Bumblebee

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Within the opera#

The piece closes act 3, tableau 1, during which the magic Swan-Bird changes Prince Gvidon Saltanovich into an insect so that he can fly away to visit his father, the tsar. Following is the text of the scene where the Swan-Bird sings during this music: Russian (Гвидон спускается с берега в море. Из моря вылетает шмель, кружась около Лебедь-Птицы.) Лебедь-Птица: Ну, теперь, мой шмель, гуляй, судно в море догоняй, потихоньку опускайся, в щель подальше забивайся. Будь здоров, Гвидон, лети, только долго не гости! (Шмель улетает.) (Gvidon goes down from the shore into the sea. Out from the sea flies a bumblebee, whirling around the Swan-Bird.) Swan-Bird: Well, now, my bumblebee, go on a spree, catch up with the ship on the sea, go down secretly, get deep into a crack. Good luck, Gvidon, fly, only do not stay long! (The bumblebee flies away.)

Kashchey the Deathless

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The premiere took place on 25 December (O.S. 12 December) 1902 at the Solodovnikov Theater in Moscow. It was conducted by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov with set designs by Sergey Malyutin. The St. Petersburg premiere followed on 9 April (O.S. 27 March) 1905 and was given at the Komissarzhevskaya Drama Theatre performed by students of the St. Petersburg Conservatory and conducted by Alexander Glazunov. Other important premieres took place in 1917 at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, conducted by Emil Cooper; in 1919 in Petrograd at the Theatre of Opera and Ballet conducted by Khessin; in 1924 in Barcelona, given in Russian; and in 1928 in Salzburg, also given in Russian. The United Kingdom premiere took place in 1994 (to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birthday). The work was given more recently in London, in concert performance on 5 September 2008. The United States premiere, given in Russian, took place in January 2018, at Island City Opera in Alameda, California conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya, directed by Richard Bogart. The Australian premiere, sung in Russian, took place on 18 March 2018 in the Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne, Australia. Produced by CitiOpera, conducted by Alan Cook

May Night

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The St. Petersburg premiere took place on 21 January (O.S. 9 January) 1880 at the Mariinsky Theatre. It was conducted by Eduard Nápravník. Other notable performances followed. In 1892 in Moscow, the Russian Private Opera’s performance at the Shelaputin’s Theatre was conducted by Iosif Pribik. Another Russian Private Opera production in 1898 was conducted by Sergei Rachmaninoff, while the Bolshoi Theatre presented the opera in 1909 conducted by Vyacheslav Suk.

Mlada (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The St. Petersburg premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s setting of the libretto was given on 1 November 1892 and conducted by Eduard Nápravník. 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. On 25 December 1988 a new production was mounted at the Bolshoi by its director Alexander Lazarev with designer Valery Levental, producer Boris Pokrovsky and ballet-master Andrei Petrov. The cast included Makvala Kasrashvili as Voislava, Oleg Kul’ko as Yaromir, Galina Borisova as Morena, Boris Morozov as Prince Mstivoi, and the ghost of Mlada and Cleopatra were danced by Nina Ananiashvili; it was also issued on video and DVD directed by Barrie Gavin. A semi-staged complete performance was given at the Barbican in London in May 1989 by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas with Sergei Leiferkus, Makvala Kasrashvili, Edward R. White jnr, Felicity Palmer, and Alfreda Hodgson among the cast. The Bolshoy production was performed in a 4,000-seat venue as part of Glasgow’s 1990 European City of Culture festival, which also marked the first British appearance of the Bolshoy Opera.

Mozart and Salieri (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The first performance took place at the Solodovnikov Theater in Moscow, presented by the Moscow Private Russian Opera, Moscow on 7 December 1898 (O.S. 25 November). The conductor was Iosif Truffi and scenic designer was Mikhail Vrubel. Feodor Chaliapin, who originated the role of Salieri, claimed to have often sung the piece as a monodrama, as the role of Mozart goes no higher than g and was within his range. The first UK performance in the United Kingdom was presented on 11 October 1927, again with 1948, Samuil Samosud (conductor), Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre, Sergey Lemeshev (Mozart), Alexander Pirogov (Salieri) as Salieri, while the first U.S. one took place in Forest Park, Pennsylvania, in 1933. A recent UK revival took place in August 2016 at the 10th Grimeborn Festival at Arcola Theatre in London; the stage director was Pamela Schermann and musical director was Andrew Charity.

Pan Voyevoda

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The St Petersburg premiere took place on 16 October (O.S. 3 October) 1904 at the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in St. Petersburg. The conductor was Václav Suk. The opera was given its Moscow premiere on 27 September 1905 at the Bolshoi Theatre conducted by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Another notable performance took place on 12 May 1905 in Warsaw.

Publication history#

1904, piano-vocal score, V. Bessel and Co., St. Petersburg
1904, full score, V. Bessel and Co., St. Petersburg
1955, piano-vocal score, Muzgiz, Moscow
1955, full score, Muzgiz, Moscow

Synopsis#

The action takes place in 16th- and 17th-century Poland

Piano Concerto (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Structure#

The concerto is written in one continuous movement with three contrasting sections: #Moderato—Allegretto quasi polacca #Andante mosso #Allegro

Influence and neglect#

The concerto’s lyricism, bravura passages and inventive use of folk song placed it firmly in the Russian nationalist camp. It influenced several other Russian composers, including Glazunov, Arensky and, especially in his First Piano Concerto, Rachmaninoff. The work is seldom heard in the West, however, due largely to its brevity (an average performance lasts approximately 18 minutes).

Russian Easter Festival Overture

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Instrumentation#

The overture is scored for a Romantic period-sized orchestra, consisting of 3 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in C, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 timpani tuned to A, D and G, percussion (glockenspiel, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam), harp, and strings.

Background#

The score is prefaced by two quotations from the Old and New Testaments and a third, written by the composer; these correspond to each of the overture’s three parts. The first part is prefaced by two verses from Psalm 68:1–2; the second from the Gospel of Mark 16:1–6; and a third by a description of the Easter celebration written by the composer. The melodies in the overture are largely from the Russian Orthodox liturgy, based on a collection of old Russian Orthodox liturgical chants called the Obikhod. Rimsky-Korsakov said in his autobiography that he was eager to reproduce “the legendary and heathen side of the holiday, the transition from the gloomy and mysterious evening of Passion Saturday to the unbridled pagan-religious merrymaking on Easter Sunday morning”. He had always been interested in – and enjoyed – liturgical themes and music, though he was not a believer. American musicologist Miloš Velimirović explains, “The Obikhod was like the Russian’s Liber usualis…In 1848 it became mandatory for all of the Churches in Russia.” Thus the Obikhod became associated with nationalism in Russia. The tunes that Rimsky chose from the Obikhod would carry a certain nationalistic and religious weight, and Russians would absolutely know them. The piece also appealed to the emotions of Russians because of its expression of the Easter Holiday, the high point of the liturgical calendar. Professor Robert Greenberg describes the Russian Easter Festival Overture as, “A narrative story of a Russian Easter day from dawn until dusk.” In Russian, Easter is known as the “Bright Holiday”.

Sadko (musical tableau)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Scenario#

Sadko () was a legendary hero of a Russian bylina (a traditional East Slavic oral narrative poem). A merchant and gusli musician from Novgorod, he is transported to the realm of the Sea Tsar. There, he is to provide music to accompany the dance at the marriage of the Sea Tsar’s daughter. The dancing grows so frenzied that the surface of the sea billows and surges, threatening to founder the ships on it. To calm the sea, Sadko smashes his gusli. The storm dissipates and he reappears on the shore.

Sadko (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The composer was closely involved in the “assiduous” rehearsals, and he “drilled the orchestra with great care, together with the conductor Esposito who proved a very fair musician”. Rimsky also corrected errors in the score and worked hard with the chorus. Apart from the Sea Tsar singer “whom I could not endure” he approved of all the solo singers and singled out Zabyela, who “sang magnificently” and Syekar-Rozhanski. The world premiere took place on 7 January 1898 (O.S. 26 December 1897), presented by the Russian Private Opera at the Solodovnikov Theatre in Moscow. Its conductor was Eugenio Esposito, the brother of Michele Esposito, with scenic designers Konstantin Korovin and Sergey Malyutin. The production was financed by the railway tycoon Savva Mamontov; this was the first time that one of Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas was staged by a commercial theatre rather than the Imperial Theatres. The St. Petersburg premiere followed 26 January 1901 at the Mariinsky Theatre, conducted by Eduard Nápravník, with scenic design by Apollinary Vasnetsov. In 1906, the opera was presented at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow conducted by Vyacheslav Suk, with scenic design by Konstantin Korovin. The first US performance occurred at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on 25 January 1930 in French with Tullio Serafin, followed a year later by the first performance in London in June 1931. A truncated production was mounted in Monte Carlo in 1921, conducted by Victor de Sabata, with Dimitri Smirnov in the title role. Revivals took place at the Bolshoi in 1935, 1949 and 1963. A production at the Berlin Staatsoper in 1947 featured Ludwig Suthaus, Erna Berger and Margarete Klose. Aleksandr Ptushko directed a film of the opera in 1952 with the music but without singing. A new production by Alexei Stepaniuk for the Mariinsky Theatre in 1993 was later toured to Paris (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées) and recorded. Sadko is rarely performed today outside the Russian Federation. However, there have been recent performances by Opera Vlaanderen and in Bratislava.

Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

During the winter of 1887, as he worked to complete Alexander Borodin’s unfinished opera Prince Igor, Rimsky-Korsakov decided to compose an orchestral piece based on pictures from One Thousand and One Nights as well as separate and unconnected episodes. After formulating musical sketches of his proposed work, he moved with his family to the Glinki-Mavriny dacha, in Nyezhgovitsy along the Cherementets Lake (near present-day Luga, in Leningrad Oblast). The dacha where he stayed was destroyed by the Germans during World War II. During the summer, he finished Scheherazade and the Russian Easter Festival Overture. Notes in his autograph orchestral score show that the former was completed between June 4 and August 7, 1888. Scheherazade consisted of a symphonic suite of four related movements that form a unified theme. It was written to produce a sensation of fantasy narratives from the Orient. Initially, Rimsky-Korsakov intended to name the respective movements in Scheherazade “Prelude, Ballade, Adagio and Finale”. However, after weighing the opinions of Anatoly Lyadov and others, as well as his own aversion to a too-definitive program, he settled upon thematic headings, based upon the tales from The Arabian Nights. The composer deliberately made the titles vague so that they are not associated with specific tales or voyages of Sinbad. However, in the epigraph to the finale, he does make reference to the adventure of Prince Ajib. In a later edition, Rimsky-Korsakov did away with titles altogether, desiring instead that the listener should hear his work only as an Oriental-themed symphonic music that evokes a sense of the fairy-tale adventure, stating: He went on to say that he kept the name Scheherazade because it brought to everyone’s mind the fairy-tale wonders of Arabian Nights and the East in general.

Servilia (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The world premiere took place in St. Petersburg on 14 October (O.S. / 1 October) 1902 at the Mariinsky Theatre. It was the only one of Rimsky’s late operas not performed in Mamontov’s private theatre - conducted by Feliks Blumenfeld. A second performance took place in 1904, and a third in 1944. An LP of extracts from Act 3 scene 5 and Acts 4 scenes 5 and 6 was recorded in 1951 under Onisim Bron with Olga Piotrovskaya in the role of Servilia, Georgi Nelepp as Valery and Pavel Lisitsian as Egnaty. Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducted the opera in 2016 at Moscow’s Boris Pokrovsky Chamber Music Theatre, where it was recorded, though not released. Using the 2016 production as a starting point, it was revived on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in December 2025 conducted by Anton Grishanin, with Ramilya Minikhanova in the title role. One aria, “My flowers” from Act 3 for Servilia («Цветы мои, и вы в палящий полдень»), has survived in the concert repertoire, and has been recorded by Galina Pisarenko, Renée Fleming and Nicole Car.

Symphony No. 1 (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Form#

The symphony is written in the traditional four movements.

Composition#

Before meeting Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov had written, among other works, “something like the beginning of a symphony in E minor.” These pieces were the fruit of composition lessons with F.A. Kanille, with whom he had begun studying in the fall of 1859. In November 1861, Kanille introduced him to Balakirev. Balakirev approved of the works Rimsky-Korsakov had written thus far, encouraging him to continue work on the symphony. On Balakirev’s advice, Rimsky-Korsakov continued writing the opening movement. Balakirev subjected this music to considerable criticism; Rimsky-Korsakov incorporated his suggested changes zealously. Upon his return to St. Petersburg in 1865, Balakirev suggested that Rimsky-Korsakov renew work on the symphony. He did, writing a trio for the Scherzo and reorchestrating the whole work. Balakirev conducted the successful premiere of the symphony in December, 1865. Rimsky-Korsakov appeared on stage in uniform to acknowledge the applause (regulations demanded that officers remain in uniform even when off-duty). Seeing him, the audience was surprised a naval officer had written such a work. A second performance quickly followed in March 1866 under the baton of Konstantin Lyadov, father of the composer Anatoly Lyadov.

Symphony No. 3 (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Music#

The symphony is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, timpani, and strings. It is divided into four movements; the second movement is in .

External links#

Symphony No.3, Op.32 (Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolay) -Scores for both versions sourced by IMSLP archived at archive.org
Four recordings listed at prestomusic

The Golden Cockerel

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Composition history#

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov had considered his previous opera, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya (1907) to be his final artistic statement in the medium, and, indeed, this work has been called a “summation of the nationalistic operatic tradition of Glinka and The Five”. However, the political situation in Russia at the time inspired him to take up the pen to compose a “razor-sharp satire of the autocracy, of Russian imperialism, and of the Russo-Japanese war.” Also, Rimsky-Korsakov’s previous works inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s poems, especially Tsar Saltan (1899-1900), had proven to be very successful. The work on The Golden Cockerel began in 1906 and finished by September 1907. By the end of February 1908, the director of Imperial Theatres, Vladimir Telyakovskiy passed the score to the censorship agency in order to get approval for the Bolshoi Theatre. It was returned unedited, yet was suddenly taken back the next day. This time many changes were requested to be made to the libretto as well as the original Pushkin’s text. Rimsky-Korsakov suspected someone’s denunciation and resisted any changes. He continued the work on orchestration while fighting with progressive illness. In June 1908, Telyakovskiy informed him that the Moscow Governor-General Sergei Gershelman was highly against the opera. In his last letter Rimsky-Korsakov asked his friend and music publisher Boris Jurgenson to contact Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi and suggest to him to stage The Golden Cockerel in Paris. He died two days later and thus never witnessed the premiere of his last opera.

The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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 Saltan. The idea of combining the legend of Saint Fevroniya of Murom 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 Belsky 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. 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.

The Maid of Pskov

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Composition history#

The first product of the composer’s interest in this work was a lullaby composed in 1866. Rimsky-Korsakov then set to work in full earnest on an operatic treatment in the winter of 1867-1868. There are 3 versions of the opera. The original version was composed in the years 1868–1872, and received its premiere in 1873. The composer revised the opera in the years 1876–1877. Later he completed a final version in the years 1891–1892.

The Noblewoman Vera Sheloga

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The premiere performance took place in Moscow on 27 December 1898 at the Solodovnikov Theater. As a one-act opera, it was introduced to the US on 9 May 1922 in New York.

Synopsis#

:Place: Pskov, Russia. :Time: 1555 Vera’s husband has been away on a campaign. In the meantime, she has given birth to Olga. She confesses to her unmarried sister, Nadezhda, of having been wooed by a man who passed through earlier (the man is Ivan the Terrible; this is not revealed in the libretto of this opera, but is the matter of the opera The Maid of Pskov to which this is a prequel), and that the baby is not her husband’s. As this conversation ends, Vera’s husband finally returns, surprised by the presence of the baby. Upon his demand to know where the baby came from, Nadezhda saves her sister by claiming to be the mother.

The Snow Maiden

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Analysis#

The story deals with the opposition of eternal forces of nature and involves the interactions of mythological characters (Frost, Spring, Wood-Sprite), real people (Kupava, Mizgir), and those in between, half-mythical, half-real (Snow Maiden, Lel, Berendey). The composer strove to distinguish each group of characters musically, and several individual characters have their own associated leitmotifs. In addition to these distinctions, Rimsky-Korsakov characterised the townspeople particularly with folk melodies. For a deeper understanding of this work from the composer’s point of view, the reader is directed to his autobiography, as well as to his own incomplete analysis of the opera from 1905.

The Tale of Tsar Saltan (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Composition history#

The plot of the opera generally follows that of Pushkin’s fairy-tale poem, with the addition of some characters, some expansion (particularly for Act 1), and some compression (mostly by reducing Gvidon’s three separate trips to one). The libretto by Belsky borrows many lines from and largely emulates the style of Pushkin’s poem, which is written in couplets of trochaic tetrameter. The music is composed in the manner of Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas after Snowmaiden, i.e., having a more or less continuous musical texture throughout a tableau system, broken up here and there by song-like passages.

The Tsar's Bride (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

The Moscow premiere was given at the Private Opera Society, the scenic designer being Mikhail Vrubel. St. Petersburg had its premiere two years later at the Mariinsky Theatre with scenic designs by Ivanov and Lambin. Another notable performance was at the Bolshoy Theatre in Moscow, conducted by Emil Cooper (Kuper) and with scenic design by Konstantin Korovin, Golova, and Dyachkov. A film version was released in 1966 directed by Vladimir Gorikker. One noted US production was in 1986 at Washington Opera. The Royal Opera premiere was given at Covent Garden in 2011, directed by Paul Curran, with set and costume design by Kevin Knight and lighting design by David Jacques.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov on Music Theory Print

Antar (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Form#

Instrumentation#

Legend#

Capriccio Espagnol

Structure#

Christmas Eve (opera)

Performance history#

Synopsis#

Flight of the Bumblebee

Within the opera#

Kashchey the Deathless

Performance history#

May Night

Performance history#

Mlada (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Performance history#

Mozart and Salieri (opera)

Performance history#

Pan Voyevoda

Performance history#

Publication history#

Synopsis#

Piano Concerto (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Structure#

Influence and neglect#

Russian Easter Festival Overture

Instrumentation#

Background#

Sadko (musical tableau)

Scenario#

Sadko (opera)

Performance history#

Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Background#

Servilia (opera)

Performance history#

Symphony No. 1 (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Form#

Composition#

Symphony No. 3 (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Music#

Further reading#

External links#

The Golden Cockerel

Composition history#

The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya

Composition history#

The Maid of Pskov

Composition history#

The Noblewoman Vera Sheloga

Performance history#

Synopsis#

The Snow Maiden

Analysis#

The Tale of Tsar Saltan (opera)

Composition history#

The Tsar's Bride (opera)

Performance history#