The Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre is preparing the premiere of The Snow Maiden by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, based on the same-name fairytale by Alexander Ostrovsky. On December 23 and 26, 2022, its premiere performances will be held in Vladivostok, directed by Alexander Galibin and designed by Georgy Tsypin. The vocal parts will be performed by the soloists of the Primorsky Stage opera company. On both nights, the conductor’s console will be occupied by the Theatre’s Principal Conductor Pavel Smelkov.
The world premiere of The Snow Maiden opera, which the composer himself considered to be his foremost masterpiece, took place in the winter of 1882 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. The marvelous melodies of Lel’s songs, the Snow Maiden’s crystalline and tender voice, the hot speeches of Mizgir the visiting merchant, and the passionate declarations of Kupava sounded there for the first time. After 140 years, The Snow Maiden reached the opera stage in Vladivostok.
“It has taken a mere 140 years for Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Snow Maiden after the play by Ostrovsky to see the light again at the Mariinsky Theatre, albeit on the Primorsky Stage. Unlike his other operas, this one was composed in a flash. The unique set design of The Snow Maiden has been created by Georgy Tsypin, and therefore the audience will have the opportunity to see an unusually vivid performance!”, says Irina Soboleva, Artistic Director of the Opera Company of the Primorsky Stage.
“When I was working on the images for the performance, I proceeded from the music by Rimsky-Korsakov. My perception is based on the ideas and thoughts that arose at the very start of my work, when we discussed the composer’s heritage with the leading experts from St Petersburg; it is based on my understanding of this music. The first thing that struck me in The Snow Maiden was the transparency of the music, its cosmic nature, and that became very important for me when I was working on the set design. Just like the perception of the world as a dream, the world is seen through the Snow Maiden’s eyes, through the eyes of a very young teenager and an alien, and therefore everything that happens is so grotesquely innocent, as if the world is seen for the first time”, notes Set Designer Georgy Tsypin.
