Mariinsky Theatre tickets 15 May 2025 - May Night | GoComGo.com

May Night

Mariinsky Theatre, Concert Hall, Saint Petersburg, Russia
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Thursday 15 May 2025
7 PM
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Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Starts at: 19:00
Acts: 3
Intervals: 1
Duration: 2h 20min
Sung in: Russian
Titles in: Russian,English

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Cast
Performers
Chorus: Mariinsky Chorus
Creators
Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Director: Alexander Maskalin
Author: Nikolai Gogol
Overview

The co-creators of May Night were men of equal import: Gogol and Rimsky-Korsakov. It is a poetic opus wrought by youthful forces: Gogol wrote his May Night as a twenty-year-old young man, while for Rimsky-Korsakov it was to be only his second opera, and on the day of the premiere the composer was not yet thirty-six years of age.

One December evening in 1871, the happy and newly-betrothed Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Nadezhda Purgold read aloud Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, including the particular favourite of May Night. The bride-to-be could see the "operatic" nature of the plot clearly from the very first. It was Nadezhda, the composer's wife already six months later, who on several occasions reminded her husband of Gogol's story. In 1877 Rimsky-Korsakov finally sank his teeth into the matter. The composer was particularly well prepared in his approach to May Night. Behind him lay extensive studies in counterpoint (when teaching his students, the young professor of the St Petersburg Conservatoire had also undertaken an intensive study himself), working with Glinka's scores and researching, recording and arranging folk songs. All of this bore fruit in May Night, written by an already mature hand; here there is everything for which Rimsky-Korsakov is so admired: a rich and subtle orchestral palette, pliant melodies with recognisable arrangements of folk songs, echoes of early pagan rituals, its delightful picturesque quality (take Ukrainian Night preceding Act III alone), the humour... Here for the first time we also see a particular Korsakovian female character: a fragile, ethereal, fairytale-like beautiful creature – Pannochka, to be followed in due course by Snegurochka, the Swan Princess, Volkhova...

It was at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1880 that audiences first saw May Night. This is an anniversary production: it was staged in 2009 to mark two centuries since the birth of Gogol. Alexander Maskalin's beautiful chamber production remains faithful to the original: the director does not enter into polemics with the work's great creators, instead creating a comfortable stage arena for them. The production makes use of the performing prowess of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers. The tenor role of Levko is central to the entire work; this is a rare case for Rimsky-Korsakov (among others), where in an operatic love story the emphasis is placed not on the girl but on the boy. The reason for this is possibly that the composer was experiencing the very same sensations felt by the hero of his opus. The opera is, after all, dedicated to the composer's beloved wife.

Khristina Batyushina

History
Premiere of this production: 09 January 1880, Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg

May Night is a comic opera in three acts, four scenes, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from a libretto by the composer and is based on Nikolai Gogol's story "May Night, or the Drowned Maiden", from his collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (1829-1832).

Synopsis

Time: Whitsuntide or "Rusalka week", beginning of the 19th century
Place: Near the village of Dikanka, Ukraine

Act 1
Village street outside Hanna's hut; evening

The people sing a folksong-game. After they disperse, Levko plays the bandura and sings outside Hanna's window. When she steps outside, she's afraid that people will be watching them. After some endearing exchanges, she asks about the old house across the way, over the pond. He tells her that a widower used to live there; his daughter (Pannochka), lived with him, and he decided to marry again. The new stepmother turned out to be a witch, and caused the father to banish his daughter from the house. In sorrow she drowned herself in the pond and became leader of the other rusalki (drowned maidens). One night, while they were all dancing in the moonlight, they saw the witch walking by, grabbed her, and pulled her into the water. The story goes that, now, when someone comes by the pond, Pannochka asks the person to point out which of them is the stepmother.

The story over, Hanna goes inside, and some maidens come around singing a sad "rusalka" song. In stumbles the drunken Kalenik on his way home; he tries dance the hopak and to kiss the girls, but they send him away to the Mayor's house, tricking him into thinking that it's his own.

When all is clear, the Mayor sneaks in, calling for Hanna; from the side, Levko notices that someone is there, and watches. The Mayor, who has his eyes on marrying Hanna, tries to impress her with his oft-repeated story about being a guide for Catherine the Great, but Hanna rebuffs him, sends him off, and goes inside. Levko calls the village lads together and teaches them a song to mock the Mayor and use in playing a trick on him.

Act 2
Scene 1: Interior of the Mayor's hut; late evening

The Mayor and his sister-in-law are entertaining the Distiller at dinner. The Distiller will soon be tearing down the old house by the pond to build a distillery. Kalenik mistakenly bursts in and causes a mild disturbance; then a rock breaks through a window, causing the Mayor to curse the unseen perpetrator outside. In superstitious alarm the Distiller warns the Mayor against such language, relating the story of his late mother-in-law and the ghost that haunted her because of her cursing at him in life. Suddenly, outside, the village lads start singing the taunting song that Levko taught them. The wind blows out the lights, and in the commotion the Mayor captures someone he thinks is the perpetrator, and locks "him" up in a side room. The Clerk enters to report that the lads are running about the village and that he has captured their leader. The Mayor, in disbelief, calls for a light, and they open the locked room. Out comes the Sister-in-Law, sobbing and not a little enraged. She goes outside. The Clerk, the Distiller, and the Mayor set off to find the scoundrel once and for all.

Scene 2: Village street outside the Clerk's hut; moonlit night

Outside the Clerk's hut, where the alleged true perpetrator is locked up, the three approach in trepidation. Crossing themselves against Satan, they open the door, and again out comes the Sister-in-Law, infinitely more angry than before. Then the village police arrive, holding Kalenik mistakenly as prisoner. With the police afraid to proceed, the Mayor threatens them with the wrath of the commissar, and they run off in obedience.

Act 3
Shore of the lake near the old gentleman's house; luminous moonlit night

Beside the pond, Levko sings to his absent beloved, then asks the moon to shine its light on the path to her abode. A window opens in the old house, and Pannochka appears, begging Levko to sing further. He doesn't seem to notice her at first, but a strange feeling comes over him, and he sings again. Then the rusalki appear on the shore and dance. Overcoming his astonishment, Levko joins in singing their round-dance, while Pannochka begs Levko to find the stepmother-witch.

Then the rusalki begin to play the game called "Raven." The first raven-maiden finds that she cannot continue, and Levko realizes that she can't be the witch. But the second player of that role – the stepmother – exposes her true self; Levko points her out, and the other rusalki jump on her and drag her down to the depths of the pond. In gratitude, Pannochka gives Levko a letter to show to his father, and disappears as dawn breaks. Given that he cannot read, he does not know what the letter contains.

The Mayor and the policemen arrive and grab Levko. The Mayor is surprised to find that the disguised miscreant is his own son. Levko shows his father the letter, which is passed on to the Clerk to read out loud. The letter turns out to be from the commissar, and instructs the Mayor to allow his son to marry Hanna. As the villagers come on the scene to greet the new day, Levko invents the story that the commissar will be coming for dinner, and the Mayor, puffed up with his own importance, gives in to the marriage. Levko and Hanna say a prayer for Pannochka, Kalenik stumbles in again, and the Sister-in-Law gives the Mayor another verbal brow-beating, as the people celebrate.

Venue Info

Mariinsky Theatre - Saint Petersburg
Location   1 Theatre Square

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre. Today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra. Since Yuri Temirkanov's retirement in 1988, the conductor Valery Gergiev has served as the theatre's general director.

The theatre is named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar Alexander II. There is a bust of the Empress in the main entrance foyer. The theatre's name has changed throughout its history, reflecting the political climate of the time.

The theatre building is commonly called the Mariinsky Theatre. The companies that operate within it have for brand recognition purposes retained the Kirov name, acquired during the Soviet era to commemorate the assassinated Leningrad Communist Party leader Sergey Kirov (1886–1934).

The Imperial drama, opera and ballet troupe in Saint Petersburg was established in 1783, at the behest of Catherine the Great, although an Italian ballet troupe had performed at the Russian court since the early 18th century. Originally, the ballet and opera performances were given in the wooden Karl Knipper Theatre on Tsaritsa Meadow, near the present-day Tripartite Bridge (also known as the Little Theatre or the Maly Theatre). The Hermitage Theatre, next door to the Winter Palace, was used to host performances for an elite audience of aristocratic guests invited by the Empress.

A permanent theatre building for the new company of opera and ballet artists was designed by Antonio Rinaldi and opened in 1783. Known as the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre the structure was situated on Carousel Square, which was renamed Theatre Square in honour of the building. Both names – "Kamenny" (Russian word for "stone") and "Bolshoi" (Russian word for "big") – were coined to distinguish it from the wooden Little Theatre. In 1836, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was renovated to a design by Albert Cavos (son of Catterino Cavos, an opera composer), and served as the principal theatre of the Imperial Ballet and opera.

On 29 January 1849, the Equestrian circus (Конный цирк) opened on Theatre Square. This was also the work of the architect Cavos. The building was designed to double as a theatre. It was a wooden structure in the then-fashionable neo-Byzantine style. Ten years later, when this circus burnt down, Albert Cavos rebuilt it as an opera and ballet house with the largest stage in the world. With a seating capacity of 1,625 and a U-shaped Italian-style auditorium, the theatre opened on 2 October 1860, with a performance of A Life for the Tsar. The new theatre was named Mariinsky after its imperial patroness, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

Under Yuri Temirkanov, Principal Conductor from 1976 to 1988, the Opera Company continued to stage innovative productions of both modern and classic Russian operas. Although functioning separately from the Theatre’s Ballet Company, since 1988 both companies have been under the artistic leadership of Valery Gergiev as Artistic Director of the entire Theatre.

The Opera Company has entered a new era of artistic excellence and creativity. Since 1993, Gergiev’s impact on opera there has been enormous. Firstly, he reorganized the company’s operations and established links with many of the world's great opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Opéra Bastille, La Scala, La Fenice, the Israeli Opera, the Washington National Opera and the San Francisco Opera. Today, the Opera Company regularly tours to most of these cities.

Gergiev has also been innovative as far as Russian opera is concerned: in 1989, there was an all-Mussorgsky festival featuring the composer’s entire operatic output. Similarly, many of Prokofiev’s operas were presented from the late 1990s. Operas by non-Russian composers began to be performed in their original languages, which helped the Opera Company to incorporate world trends. The annual international "Stars of the White Nights Festival" in Saint Petersburg, started by Gergiev in 1993, has also put the Mariinsky on the world’s cultural map. That year, as a salute to the imperial origins of the Mariinsky, Verdi's La forza del destino, which received its premiere in Saint Petersburg in 1862, was produced with its original sets, costumes and scenery. Since then, it has become a characteristic of the "White Nights Festival" to present the premieres from the company’s upcoming season during this magical period, when the hours of darkness practically disappear as the summer solstice approaches.

Presently, the Company lists on its roster 22 sopranos (of whom Anna Netrebko may be the best known); 13 mezzo-sopranos (with Olga Borodina familiar to US and European audiences); 23 tenors; eight baritones; and 14 basses. With Gergiev in charge overall, there is a Head of Stage Administration, a Stage Director, Stage Managers and Assistants, along with 14 accompanists.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Starts at: 19:00
Acts: 3
Intervals: 1
Duration: 2h 20min
Sung in: Russian
Titles in: Russian,English
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