Rimsky-Korsakov: Opera "Christmas Eve

Introduction

Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908): Opera "Christmas Eve"

[CD1] 1-7...Act 1 8-14...Act 2 [CD2] 1...Act 2 (continued) 2-8...Act 3 9-14...Act 4

Vakula...Georgy Vasiliev (tenor) Oksana...Yulia Muzychenko (soprano) Soloha/The Woman with the Purple Nose...Enkeleyda Shkoza (mezzo-soprano) Tub...Aleksei Tikhomirov (bass) The Devil...Andrei Popov (tenor) Panas...Anthony Robin Schneider (bass) The Mayor...Sebastian Geyer (baritone) The Deacon...Peter Marsh (tenor) The Empress... Bianca Andrew (mezzo-soprano) Patsyuk ... Thomas Faulkner (bass) The Woman with the Average Nose ... Barbara Zechmeister (soprano) and others

Frankfurt Opera Chorus (Choral Master: Tilman Michael) Frankfurt Opera Orchestra Sebastian Weigle (conductor)

Recorded: December 17-19, 2021, January 8, 2022 (live) Frankfurt Opera House (Germany)

Total Running Time: 147 minutes

[Same Content] NAXOS DVD...2.110738 Blu-ray...NYDX-50256 (Japan Version) / NBD0154V (Import Version)

Oksana, a Cossack girl, believes herself to be the most beautiful woman in the world. When Vakula confesses his love to her, she makes an unreasonable request: "I want the Empress's shoes." Meanwhile, Vakula's mother, Solokha, is a witch who is in love with the devil. After capturing the demon, Vakula uses the power of the cross to turn him into his servant in order to obtain the "Empress's Shoes"... Based on "Christmas Eve," a story from Nikolai Gogol's collection of fictional folk tales, "Evenings Near Dikanka," published in 1832, Rimsky-Korsakov composed this piece, making full use of original harmonic orchestration. While the music was highly praised at the time of its premiere, the work has rarely been performed due to the difficulty of staging it. This is a CD recording of the audio from an earlier video featuring the same cast. The vocal cast includes the beautiful tenor Georgy Vasiliev in the title role of Vakula, the expressive new soprano Yulia Muzychenko as Oksana, the veteran Enkeleyda Shkoza as Solokha, and Andrei Popov as the Devil. Led by the renowned conductor Sebastian Weigle, who is well-known in Japan, the Frankfurt Opera Chorus and Orchestra vividly perform Rimsky-Korsakov's rich music.

Media Reviews and More

Oksana, a Cossack girl, believes herself to be the most beautiful woman in the world. When Vakula confesses his love to her, she makes an unreasonable demand: "I want the Empress's shoes." Meanwhile, Vakula's mother, Solokha, is a witch who is in love with the Devil. Vakula captures the demon and uses the power of the cross to turn him into his servant in order to obtain the "Empress's Shoes." Based on "Christmas Eve," a story from Nikolai Gogol's collection of fictional folk tales, "Evenings Near Dikanka," published in 1832, Rimsky-Korsakov composed this work, utilizing original harmonic orchestration. While the music was highly praised at its premiere, the work was rarely performed due to the difficulty of staging it. This CD contains the audio from the previously released video featuring the same cast. (C)RS CD