head and kills him. The queen vanishes, laughing. Epilogue The astrologer reassures the audience it was all an illusion, apart from the queen and himself. Personalities | Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | Turn of the Century | Opera ...
(Ni’-ku-li Rim’-ske Kôr’-sa-kôf) 1844–1908 Russian composer Born to a land-owning family, Rimsky-Korsakov served in the Russian navy and composed the first ‘Russian’ symphony while on duty off Gravesend. He joined Balakirev’s circle, ‘The Five’, in 1861 and following the success of Sadko (1867), a tone-poem about the sea, was appointed professor at the new St Petersburg Conservatory. In addition ...
spite of being the most prolific of contributors to Russian opera, Rimsky-Korsakov’s stage works have never found a solid place in the mainstream international repertoire. As a youth, Rimsky-Korsakov was encouraged and taught by Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (1837–1910). The young composer displayed an undoubted mastery of orchestration and a keen ear for evocative harmony, which makes it all ...
Boris Godunov, the only project out of nine that Mussorgsky completed himself, has been cited as the great masterpiece of nineteenth-century Russian opera – with its thrilling crowd scenes, historic panorama and the chilling power of its principal character. Boris was unusual in having its chief male role written for a bass voice and for the ‘sung prose’ ...
have reproduced this mass burning by means of flickering tongues of light. Mussorgsky left the opera unfinished and there was no orchestration for the vocal score. It was completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and in 1886 the first performance was given at the Kononov Hall in St Petersburg, by an amateur musical drama group. The first professional production was not staged until ...
Composed: 1866–69, completed by Cui and Rimsky-Korsakov 1870 Premiered: 1872, St Petersburg Libretto set directly to Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin’s verse tragedy Act I Don Juan has been exiled from Madrid for murdering Don Alvaro, the commander. He has now returned in secret, accompanied by his servant Leporello, to see an old flame, the actress Laura. ...
folk-like themes and abounds in spectacular tableaux and dances, including the famous ‘Polovtsian Dances’, spiced with percussion and chorus. Borodin’s sudden death left his opera to be completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. Recommended Recording: Prince Igor, soloists, Kirov Opera Chorus & Orchestra (cond) Valery Gergiev (Philips/Decca) Introduction | Late Romantic | Classical Personalities | Johannes Brahms | Late ...
in a similar genre, with its colourful folk setting. Sadly Dargomïzhsky died before completing his last opera, The Stone Guest (1866–69). The opera was completed by Cui and Rimsky-Korsakov in 1870, and premiered in St Petersburg in 1872. Introduction | High Romantic | Opera Major Operas | The Stone Guest by Alexander Dargomïzhsky | High Romantic Personalities | ...
(Al-yek-san-der Där-go-mezh’-ke) 1813–69 Russian composer From a landowning background, Dargomïzhsky was renowned in the salons of St Petersburg as a performer and composer, while pursuing a civil service career. Emulating the example of his contemporary Glinka, Dargomïzhsky followed his first opera Esmeralda (1839) with two works of overtly Russian character based on Pushkin, Rusalka (1856) and The Stone ...
(Al-yek’-san’-der Kon-stan-te-no’-vich Gla’-zoo-nof) 1865–1936 Russian composer Glazunov was heir to the nationalism of ‘The Five’ and the cosmopolitanism of Tchaikovsky. He studied with Rimsky-Korsakov and completed many of Borodin’s works after he died, notating the overture to Prince Igor from memory. In the 1880s and 1890s he enjoyed international fame for works such as the tone-poem Stenka Razin (1885), the ballet ...
(An’-ton Stya-pa-no’-vech A-ren’-shke) 1861–1906 Russian composer and pianist Arensky studied with Rimsky-Korsakov at the St Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, but was also heavily influenced by Tchaikovsky whom he met, along with Taneyev, while he was working as professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his pupils were Rachmaninov, Glière and Alexander Scriabin. During a virtuoso career he held the ...
1914–93 Bulgarian bass Christoff made his debut in Italy in La bohème (1946). He was most famous as Boris Godunov in the Rimsky-Korsakov version of the Mussorgsky opera. He made his US debut in San Francisco in 1956 in the same role. His Verdi roles included Philip II in the Giulini-Visconti Don Carlos at Covent Garden in 1958, and as ...
the Century Major Operas | Il trittico by Giacomo Puccini | Turn of the Century Major Operas | Turandot by Giacomo Puccini | Turn of the Century Personalities | Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | Turn of the Century | Opera Performance | Famous Performances: Tosca | Turn of the Century | Opera Houses & Companies | La Scala, Milan | High Romantic ...
of the most formative influences on twentieth-century music. He came from a musical background (his father was principal bass singer at the Imperial Opera in St Petersburg) and studied with Rimsky-Korsakov, from whom he acquired a mastery of orchestration and an interest in Russian folk music. Influenced by his teacher and by Debussy, he wrote two short orchestral works ...
performed of all post-war operas. Operas 1909 The Nightingale 1922 Mavra 1927 Oedipus Rex 1951 The Rake’s Progress Timeline 1882 Igor Stravinsky born Oranienbaum, Russia 1902 Begins studying under Rimsky-Korsakov 1905 Starts work on his first symphony 1909 Chinese opera The Nightingale completed 1910 Composes The Firebird 1913 First performance of The Rite of Spring, Paris, causes a ...
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