Today : first staged performance of 'Pushkin' by Konstantin Boyarsky at Grange Park

Today, the Grange Park Opera in West Horsley presents the first staged performance of Pushkin, an opera in two acts by Konstantin Boyarsky, with a libretto in English by Marita Phillips, great-great-great-granddaughter of Alexander Pushkin, his wife Natalya and Tsar Nicolas I.

It is the composer's first opera.

The opera tells the story of two giants in Russia’s tumultuous history : the nation’s Poet, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and the nation’s Tsar, Nicholas I. Their relationship begins with mutual need and mutual admiration and ends in the tragic death of Pushkin. (reproduced from the opera website)

The opera was first performed in concert on February 4, 2017 by Novaya Opera Theater, in Moscow, as part of the epiphany Festival.

The cast includes tenor Peter Auty (Pushkin), baritone Artyom Garnov (Tsar Nicholas I), soprano Julietta Avanesyan (Natalya), mezzo Irina Romishevskaya (Catherine), mezzo Anna Sinitsyna (Alexandrine) and tenor Yaroslav Abaimov (Barton Heckeren). Jan Latham-Koenig conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Novaya Opera. Igor Ushalov directs.

The performance should last about 3:30 hours, including one intermisson.

Today : world première of 'A Christmas Tale' by Rodion Shchedrin in St. Petersburg

Today, the new opera-féerie in two parts composed by Rodion Shchedrin, A Christmas Tale, will be performed at the Mariinsky II in St. Petersburg.

The libretto by the composer is based on motifs of the fairy-tale by Božena Němcová translated by Nikolai Leskov and Russian folk fairy-tales.

The story tells of a beautiful, hardworking but unloved stepdaughter and her search for a violet in the snow. Ultimately she receives help from the months of the year and her kindheartedness is rewarded.(reproduced from the Schott music website)

It is the compoer's fourth opera, after Lolita (1993), The Enchanted Wanderer (2002) and The Left-Hander (2013). The cast includes soprano Pelageya Kurennaya (Zamarashka), mezzo soprano Yekaterina Sergeyeva (Great Queen), bass Oleg Sychov (Woodcutter), soprano Larisa Yudina (Zlydnia), mezzo Anna Kiknadze (Stepmother), baritone Sergei Romanov (Chancellor) and 12 more singers playing the 12 months of the year. Valery Gergiev conducts the cast, a large chorus and the orchestra. Alexei Stepanyuk directs.

The required orchestra is a large one, with a large percussion set (5 players) and including domra, harp, piano and synthesizer. The opera should last about 2 hours.