Mlada (Rimsky-Korsakov)
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''Mlada'' ( rus, Млада, Mláda ) is an opera-ballet in four acts, composed between 1889 and 1890 by
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
, to a
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by
Viktor Krylov Viktor Alexandrovich Krylov (russian: Виктор Александрович Крылов, 2 February 1838 — 13 March 1908) was a Russian playwright (who occasionally used the pen name Viktor Alexandrov), theatre critic, librettist, Imperial ...
that was originally employed for an aborted project of the same name from 1872. In the middle of ''Mlada'', a fantasy tale about ancient pagan Slavs, Cleopatra emerges in a scene that exudes sensuality. Rimsky-Korsakov said "Among my musical impressions of Paris World_Exhibition,_summer_1889.html" ;"title="Exposition Universelle (1889)">World Exhibition, summer 1889">Exposition Universelle (1889)">World Exhibition, summer 1889I reflect on music in Hungarian and Algerian cafes. The virtuoso playing of a Hungarian orchestra on ''tsevnitsas'' (
Pan flute A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...
s) gave me the idea of introducing this ancient instrument... during the dances at Cleopatra's. In an Algerian cafe, I was attracted to the beat of a large drum... This effect I also borrowed for the scene of Cleopatra."


Performance history

The St. Petersburg premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov's setting of the libretto was given on 1 November 1892 and conducted by
Eduard Nápravník Eduard Francevič Nápravník (Russian: Эдуа́рд Фра́нцевич Напра́вник; 24 August 1839 – 10 November 1916) was a Czech conductor and composer. Nápravník settled in Russia and is best known for his leading role in Rus ...
. The scene designers were Ivan Andreyev and Mikhail Bocharov; balletmasters were
Lev Ivanov Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (russian: link=no, Лев Ива́нович Ива́нов; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. ...
and
Enrico Cecchetti Enrico Cecchetti (; 21 June 1850 – 13 November 1928) was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the ''Teatro Tordinona'' in Ro ...
. The first production of ''Mlada'' was not a success, and it did not become a regular repertory item. (The decor, however, was reused for Petipa's 1896 revival of the ballet adaptation of the scenario by composer
Ludwig Minkus Ludwig Minkus (russian: link=no, Людвиг Минкус), also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus (23 March 1826, Vienna – 7 December 1917, Vienna), was a Jewish-Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher. Minkus is no ...
, which had premiered in 1879.) Other notable performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Mlada'' were given in 1904 in St. Petersburg in the Great Hall of the
St. Petersburg Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...
by Tsereteli's opera company; in 1913 in Moscow by the
Zimin Opera The Zimin Opera was founded by the Russian entrepreneur Sergei Zimin in Moscow, Russia in 1903. The company staged the premieres of such operas as Rimsky-Korsakov's '' Golden Cockerel'', Gretchaninoff's ''Beatris Sister'' and Ippolitov-Ivanov's ...
; and in 1923 in
Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
at the State Theatre of Opera and Ballet. A production from the 1990's of the opera-ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre was recorded on vide


Roles


Synopsis

:Time: The ninth or tenth century :Place: The Slavic lands of the Baltic Sea, Baltic sea-coast, in the city of
Rethra Rethra (also known as ''Radagoszcz'', ''Radegost'', ''Radigast'', ''Redigast'', ''Radgosc'' and other forms like ''Ruthengost'') was, in the 10th to the 12th centuries, the main town and political center of the Slavic Redarians, one of the four m ...
, near the Labe (
Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
) River, in modern-day Germany.List of characters and Setting from


Act 1

Voyslava has killed Mlada, Yaromir's bride, to have him for herself. With the help of Morena, the goddess of the underworld, she has captivated Yaromir. But he sees the murder in his dreams.


Act 2

At the midsummer festival the people dance, while the spirit of Mlada intervenes between Yaromir and Voyslava.


Act 3

By night Mlada leads Yaromir up Mount
Triglav Triglav (; german: Terglau; it, Tricorno), with an elevation of , is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation. It is the centrepiece of Triglav Natio ...
, where the dead gather, before the
Witches' Sabbath A Witches' Sabbath is a purported gathering of those believed to practice witchcraft and other rituals. The phrase became popular in the 20th century. Origins In 1668, Johannes Praetorius published his literary work "Blockes-Berges Verrichtu ...
in which Yaromir is shown a vision of
Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
.


Act 4

Yaromir, at the Temple of Radegast, is shown by the spirits that Voyslava is guilty. She confesses her sin and he kills her. Morena, with whom Voyslava had made a compact, destroys the temple and the city of Rethra, but Yaromir is united with Mlada in heaven.


Concert excerpts

Two orchestral works were derived from the opera by the composer. The first, ''Night on Mt. Triglav'', is an arrangement of Act 3. The second is a suite. *Night on Mt. Triglav (1899–1901) This is a purely orchestral arrangement of Act III, restyled as a lengthy symphonic poem for orchestra. Approximately a half-hour in duration, the program in the printed score follows the action of the opera during the corresponding act of the opera. *Suite from the Opera-Ballet ''Mlada'' (1903) #Introduction #Redowa: A Bohemian Dance #Lithuanian Dance #Indian Dance #Cortège The Redowa appears in Act 1. The Lithuanian Dance and the Indian Dance are taken from Act 2, Scene 5. The cortège is the well-known ''Procession of the Nobles'' (russian: Шествие князей, literally, ''Procession of the Princes''), and appears in Act 2, Scene 3.


Use in broadcast media

"Procession of the Nobles" is used as the theme for the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
public affairs program ''Agronsky & Co.'' and its successor, ''Inside Washington'', and was used between 1957 and 1969 as the opening theme for the UK TV programme ''
What the Papers Say ''What The Papers Say'' is a British radio and television series. It consists of quotations from headlines and comment pages in the previous week's newspapers, read in a variety of voices and accents by actors. The quotes are linked by a scri ...
''.


Recordings

''role key: conductor/voyslava/morena/yaromir/mstivoy'' *Svetlanov/Tugarinova/Kulagina/Makhov/Korolyov, 1962, studio, Melodiya (detailed below) *Lazarev/Kasrashvili/Borisova/Kulko/Nikolsky, 1989, Moscow video, Videoland *Lazarev/Gavrilova/Borisova/Kulko/Nikolsky, 1992, Moscow video, Teldec *Tilson Thomas/Kazarnovskaya/Poretsky/Grigorian/Martirossian, 2002, live in San Francisco, pirate *Gergiev/Khudoley/Savova/Armonov/Petrenko-M, 2004, live in Amsterdam, Premiere Opera Svetlanov recording details: Tatyana Tugarinova (Voyslava), Nina Kulagina (Morena), Vladimir Makhov (Yaromir), Alexey Korolyov (Mstivoy), Moscow Radio Symphony Chorus, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra


References

Notes Sources *Abraham, Gerald. "Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Mlada''," in ''On Russian Music''. London: W. Reeves, 1939; rpt. New York: Books for Libraries, 1980. *Gaub, Albrecht. ''Die kollektive Ballett-Oper "Mlada": ein Werk von Kjui, Musorgskij, Rimskij-Korsakov, Borodin und Minkus''. ''Studia slavica musicologica''; Bd. 12. Berlin: Kuhn, 1998. * Rimsky-Korsakov, N.A. ''My Musical Life''. Ed. with an introduction by Carl van Vechten; trans. by Judah A. Joffe. 3rd American ed. A. A. Knopf, 1942.


External links


Piano-vocal score of the opera (Russian/French)
a
IMSLPRussian libretto in a Word .doc file
{{Authority control Operas by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Russian-language operas Operas 1890 operas Opéras-ballets 1892 ballet premieres