On December 23 and 26, 2022, the premiere performances of The Snow Maiden by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov will be held, staged by Alexander Galibin, People’s Artist of Russia.
The Snow Maiden is one of the composer’s most beautiful operas, profusely performed by the Mariinsky Theatre. It is worth noting that the Mariinsky Theatre became the first stage where the marvelous melodies of Lel’s songs, the crystal and gentle voice of the Snow Maiden, the heated speeches of the merchant guest Mizgir, as well as the passionate confessions of Kupava sounded for the first time.
The Vladivostok audience will enjoy The Snow Maiden staged by Alexander Galibin and designed by Georgy Tsypin. This interpretation possesses its own, completely original aesthetics, and is perceived as dazzlingly bright fairy-tale reality.
The Stage Director described the staging process as follows: “On the stage, we create the world as seen through the eyes of a child. The phantasmagoric things that are present in the stage design and characters are the Snow Maiden’s perception of the world where she has found herself. However, it was not our intent to amaze the audience. We do not destroy traditions, we are not innovators. The most important thing is music, and one should not interfere with it. The Snow Maiden is a surprisingly frank masterpiece; it is very subtle, and it carries a sacred meaning <…>. Ultimately, when people leave the Theatre after the performance, I’d like them to feel that they have come into contact with something amazingly beautiful and pure. I’d like to give them a feeling of inner purification, as if they’d drunk icy-cold spring water from a pure source on a hot day”.
The main parts in the premiere performances in December will be performed by 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.
