This week the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre is going to present Rustam Sagdiev’s The Turnip, an opera for children. The premiere performances will be held in the Chamber Hall on March 25, March 26 and April 1, 2023.
The Turnip is one of the fairy tales which parents tell their children at a very young age. After being premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in 2016, the opera received cordial recognition and accolades from the public in Saint Petersburg. The idea behind its creation belonged to Larisa Gergieva, Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers, who proposed that the young composer Rustam Sagdiev write an opera for children based on a Russian theme.
“My task was to turn the well-known unsophisticated tale into a composition in which there would be traditional operatic forms and genres, the full-scale music drama and Russian folklore full of scenic or regional variety.
The music ideas were inspired by Rimsky-Korsakov, Musorgsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Sviridov. Russian folk music itself or in the light of old composers’ vision is the main basis of this opera,” said Rustam Sagdiev, the composer.
The folk tale of unity, friendship and mutual respect will be presented by the Primorsky Stage in its own original scenery designed by Pyotr Okunev, Chief Designer of the Theatre.
The premiere will become the highlight of the Mariinsky Holidays. It is worth reminding that from March 24 to April 2, 2023, as a part of the project, schoolchildren and their parents will be able to enjoy family-friendly performances and educational activities. They will also be given ballet and opera lectures and master classes.
