Opera (comic-fantastic opera) in 4 acts, 8 scenes
Alternative renderings are The Little Shoes, The Tsarina's Slippers, Les caprices d'Oxane, and Gli stivaletti. The opera is a revision of Tchaikovsky's earlier opera Vakula the Smith.
Libretto: Yakov Petrovich Polonsky [Based: Nikolai Gogol: Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (the story Christmas Eve)]
First performance: 1 January, 1887, Bolsoj tyeatr, Moscow
Recorded: November 2009, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Solokha - Larissa Diadkova
The Devil - Maxim Mikhailov
Chub - Vladimir Matorin
Panas - John Upperton
Oxana - Olga Guryakova
Vakula - Vsevolod Grivnov
Pan Golova - Alexander Vassiliev
The Schoolmaster - Viacheslav Voynarovskiy
Odark - Olga Sabadoch
Wood Goblin - Changhan Lim
Echo - Andrew Macnair
His Highness - Sergey Leiferkus
Master of Ceremonies - Jeremy White
Principal Dancers - Mara Galeazzi & Gary Avis
Alastair Marriott, choreography
Based on Nikolai Gogol's fantastical and comic story of the Devil's antics on Christmas Eve, this magical blend of opera and ballet is brought to vivid life in Francesca Zambello's colourful production. Magnificent set designs (Mikhail Mokrov) and costumes (Tatiana Noginova), and an excellent, largely Russian cast provide authenticity. Splendid dancing by The Royal Ballet and Cossack dancers completes the spectacle. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound.
"It's pretty as a picture, no question - an animated pop-up book of naive and colourful charm."
--- Independent
"...this expensive-looking production that combines the forces of the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet..."
--- The Guardian
Bonus:
- Introducing Cherevichki by Francesca Zambello
- Cast and Characters
- Staging Gogol's world |
