The Russian director, Dmitri Tcherniakov, and the British orchestra conductor, Karel Mark Chichon, are bringing this opera to the Spanish capital for the first time to celebrate the 225th anniversary of the birth of the birth, playwright and the novelist, Aleksandr Pushkin. This opera can be seen on 30 April and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 11 May 2025 at the Teatro Real.
Also known as The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of his Son the Mighty Gvidon and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan, it is a popular Russian tale written by Aleksandr Pushkin in 1831, which was later transformed into an opera in four acts and a prologue with music by Nikolái Rimski-Kórsakov and libretto by Vladímir Belski.
It is a co-production by the Teatro Real, premièred at La Monnaie and winner of the International Opera Award for the Best Production in 2020. The tale presents three sisters. Tsar Saltan chooses the youngest sister as his bride, whilst the other two are hired as the royal cook and the royal weaver. They become jealous of their younger sister and when the Tsar goes off to war, the Tsarina gives birth to a son: Prince Gvidon. It is then that the older sisters ensure that the Tsarina and her son are exiled and they both end up on the remote island of Buyan.
One day, the son goes out hunting and saves a magical swan, which creates a city for him to rule over, as a sign of its gratitude. Tsar Saltan, attracted by the beauty of the island, visits it and Gvidon reveals his true identity....
Artistic File:
- Musical Conductor - Karel Mark Chichon
- Stage Director and Set Design - Dmitri Tcherniakov
- Costumes - Elena Zaytseva
- Lighting and Video - Gleb Filshtinsky
- Choirmaster - José Luis Basso
Cast:
- Tsar Saltan - Ante Jerkunica
- Zarina Militrisa - Svetlana Aksenova
- Tkachija - Stine Marie Fischer
- Povarija - Bernarda Bobro
- Babarija - Carole Wilson
- Prince Gvidon - Bogdan Volkov
- Swan Princess - Nina Minasyan
- Old Grandfather - Evgeny Akimov
- Messenger - Alejandro del Cerro
- Skomoroj - Alexander Vassiliev
- Sailor - Alexander Kravets
- Choir and Orchestra - Teatro Real Resident Choir and Orchestra
Programme:
Opera in a Prologue and Four Acts
- Music - Nikolái Rimski-Kórsakov (1844-1908)
- Libretto - Vladímir Belski, based on the folk tale in verse by Aleksandr Pushkin
- Premièred at the Solodóvnikov Theatre in Moscow on 3 November 1900
- Première at the Teatro Real
- New production by the Teatro Real in co-production with the Théatre Royal de La Monnaie / de Munt
- Commemoration of the 225th anniversary of the birth of Aleksandr Pushkin
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