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The Tsar's Bride by Rimsky–Korsakov

About the Event

Nikolai Rimsky‐Korsakov’s opera 'The Tsar's Bride' will be performed at the Estonian National Opera.

Rimsky–Korsakov wrote fifteen operas, of which 'The Tsar’s Bride' is the most notable. The composer wrote the opera on the example of Italian opera, with a focus on voice as well as on the main characters’ arias, ensembles, and choruses. All of Rimski‐Korsakov’s operas belong to the repertoires of Russian opera theatres, but The Tsar’s Bride is one of the few operas that has gained a high position among Western European opera theatres as well.

The plot of The Tsar’s Bride takes place during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Grigory Gryaznoy, tsar’s bodyguard, is in love with merchant Sobakin’s beautiful daughter Marfa, who is actually the bride of Ivan Lïkov. Lyubasha, Gryaznoy’s lover, poisons Marfa as her rival. The tsar also has feelings for Marfa and wants to marry her. When it comes out that Marfa has been poisoned, Gryaznoy makes sure that Ivan Lïkov gets all the blame. As a result, Gryaznoy kills Lïkov at the request of the tsar.

Practical Information

Opera by Nikolai Rimsky‐Korsakov in four acts
Libretto by Ilya Tyumenev based on the drama of the same name by Lev Mey
World premiere on November 3, 1899 in Moscow Private Opera of S. I. Mamontov
Premiere at the Estonian National Opera on January 25, 2019

Cast / Production

Conductors: Jüri Alperten, Kaspar Mänd, Vello Pähn
Stage Director: Yuri Alexandrov (The St. Petersburg Chamber Opera)
Designer: Victor Gerasimenko (Moscow Novaya Opera)
Estonian National Opera Orchestra and Chorus

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