The Snow Maiden (play) facts for kids

The Snow Maiden (Russian: Снегурочка, Snegurochka) is a special kind of play written by Alexander Ostrovsky. It's called a "play in verse" because it's written like a long poem. Ostrovsky finished it in 1873. Later, a famous composer named Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov turned it into an opera. An opera is like a play where the story is told mostly through singing. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera first opened in 1882.

What is The Snow Maiden About?

This play is based on an old Russian fairytale about a girl named Snegurochka, or the Snow Maiden. Ostrovsky got the idea for the play at his beautiful country home, Shchelykovo. He thought of it as a magical place, full of the spirit of old Russia.

The story takes place in a perfect, peaceful kingdom. This kingdom is ruled by a kind leader named Berendei. He is a poet and an artist. King Berendei believes strongly in love, peace, and being kind to others. The play shares his ideas about a happy and good world.

Ostrovsky found the fairytale that inspired his play in a book. It was in the second part of The Slavs' Views Upon Nature by Alexander Afanasyev, published in 1867.

How the Play Came to Be

In 1873, the Malyi Theatre was closed for repairs. Its actors were performing at the Bolshoy Theatre. The theatre managers wanted to create a huge show. They decided to bring together actors from all the big Imperial theatres. They asked Ostrovsky to write a new play just for this special event.

The play first opened on May 11, 1873, at the Bolshoy Theatre. It was a "benefit performance" for an actor named Vasily Zhivokini. This means the show was put on to help raise money for him. A very famous composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, wrote the music for this first performance.

Even with Ostrovsky helping with costumes and special stage effects, the play was not a big success at first.

The Snow Maiden on Stage

Over the years, The Snow Maiden became more popular. In 1900, three different theatres put on the play.

• The Moscow Imperial troupe, directed by Aleksandr Pavlovich Lensky.
• The St. Petersburg Imperial troupe, as a benefit for actor Konstantin Varlamov.
• The Moscow Art Theatre, with music by Alexander Gretchaninov. This version was directed by famous theatre legends Konstantin Stanislavski and Alexander Sanin.

The play was first performed at the Saint Petersburg's Alexandrinsky Theatre on December 27, 1900.

The Opera Version

In 1881, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov created an opera based on Ostrovsky's play. It was also called The Snow Maiden. This opera first opened in Saint Petersburg on January 29, 1882. Later, it was performed at the Bolshoy Theatre in Moscow on January 26, 1893.