On 7 August one of the most celebrated operas of the Russian repertoire - the Tsar’s Bride by Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov - will be presented for the first time at the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre as part of the II International Mariinsky Far East Festival. This masterpiece of Russian classical music will be presented in concert performance by a stellar cast of soloists, the Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage and the combined chorus of the Primorsky Stage and the Mariinsky Theatre conducted by Pavel Smelkov.
The gripping plot of the Tsar’s Bride explores dramatic twists and turns of personal relationships developing against the background of the dark and cruel times of the rule of Ivan the Terrible. The oprichnik Grigory Gryaznoy is infatuated with Marfa, a merchant’s daughter, who is already engaged to be married to her childhood sweetheart. Gryaznoy decides to win the girl’s heart by using a magic love-potion, but his plans are disrupted by interference of Lubasha, a girl who has been in love with the oprichnik for a long time and who is willing to sacrifice everything not to let Grigory leave her. Things get worse when at the bride-show the Tsar chooses Marfa as his future wife...
Since its premiere in 1899, the opera has never disappeared from theatres playbills both in Russia and abroad. The Primorsky Stage audience will for the first time have a chance to hear this great opera with an excellent cast. The part of Marfa will be performed by the internationally acclaimed singer, invited soloist of the Met, Teatro alla Scala and the Covent Garden, coloratura soprano Albina Shagimuratova. The part of her rival, Lubasha, will be sung by the winner of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition Yulia Matochkina. They will be partnered by the Mariinsky Theatre soloists Kirill Zharovin (Grigory Gryaznoy), Yevgeny Akhmedov (Ivan Lykov), Vladimir Feliauer (Malyuta Skuratov) and Oleg Sychev (Vassily Sobakin), as well as singers of the Primorsky Stage Opera Company.
