Christmas Eve (opera) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Christmas Eve |
|
|---|---|
| by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | |
Yevgeniya Mravina as Oksana in the premiere
|
|
| Native title | Russian: Ночь перед Рождеством |
| Librettist | Rimsky-Korsakov |
| Language | Russian |
| Premiere | 1895: Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg |
Christmas Eve (Russian: Ночь перед Рождеством, tr. Nóch péred Rozhdestvóm ) is an opera in four acts with music and libretto by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Composed between 1894 and 1895, Rimsky-Korsakov based his opera on a short story, "Christmas Eve", from Nikolai Gogol's 1832 collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka. The story had been used as the basis for an opera at least three times previously, including for Tchaikovsky's Vakula the Smith (1874). Oliver Knussen writes that "Rimsky is only interested in recreating the atmosphere of the folk-tale, fleshing it out for his stage pageant in a comparable way to Humperdinck in Hansel. Gerald Abraham, on the other hand, praises the vivid humanity and humour of Rimsky's setting, as well as its atmospheric strength.
Contents
Performance history
The premiere took place on 10 December 1895 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.
The British premiere was in 1988 in London, at the English National Opera; it was conducted by Albert Rosen.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg 10 December 1895 (Conductor: Eduard Nápravník) |
|---|---|---|
| Tsaritsa | mezzo-soprano | Maria-Vilgelmina Piltz |
| Village-head | baritone | Vladimir Mayboroda |
| Chub, an elderly Cossack | bass | Mikhail Koryakin |
| Oksana, his daughter | soprano | Yevgeniya Mravina |
| Solokha, a widow, and by rumor, a witch | contralto | Mariya Kamenskaya |
| Vakula the smith, her son | tenor | Ivan Yershov |
| Panas, a crony of Chub | bass | Fyodor Stravinsky |
| Deacon Osip Nikiforovich | tenor | Grigoriy Ugrinovich |
| Patsyuk, an old Zaporozhets, a sorcerer | bass | Nikolay Klimov |
| Devil | tenor | Mitrofan Chuprīnnikov |
| Chorus, silent roles: Lasses, lads, Cossacks of Dikanka. Witches, wizards, evil and good spirits. The figures of Kolyada and Ovsen. The morning star (Venus) and other stars. Court gentlemen and ladies. Lackeys | ||
Related works
An orchestral suite from the opera of 1904 consists of the introduction to the opera ('Holy Night'), Flight of Vakula, moon and stars, Polonaise, and return flight of Vakula and Christmas morning bells.
- Tchaikovsky: the opera Vakula the Smith (1874)
- Tchaikovsky: the opera The Slippers (1885)
Christmas Eve, Vakula the Smith, and The Slippers, are all based on the same story by Gogol.
See also
In Spanish: La noche de Navidad (ópera) para niños
