| Marketing Copy | Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's (1844-1908) four-act opera-ballet Mlada was originally conceived as a collaborative project with music provided by five composers: César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Borodin, and Ludwig Minkus. While that project was never completed, much of the score was written, and Rimsky-Korsakov repurposed this concept for his own opera-ballet of the same name, using the same libretto by Viktor Krylov. The story relates the murder of Mlada by her rival Voyslava for the love of Yaromir, after which Yaromir is bewitched to love Voyslava by the goddess of the underworld. Mlada's spirit reveals to Yaromir that Voyslava murdered, however, and so Yaromir kills Voyslava. The goddess of the underworld then kills Yaromir, permittng he and Mlada to be reunited. While the opera-ballet proved to be unsuccessful after its November 11, 1892, premiere at the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and is uncommonly performed today, Rimsky-Korsakov extracted two other works for concert performances: the symphonic poem Night on Mount Triglav and a Mlada Suite in five movements. Of the five movements in the suite, only the last remains familiar. The Procession of the Nobles (Cortége) is the orchestral introduction to Act II of the opera-ballet, which begins with a festival. Full of high-spirited brass fanfares and boisterous percussion, the Procession of the Nobles is regularly performed on programs, despite the relative obscurity of the opera from which it is taken. Instrumentation: 3+Picc.2+EH.3+BCl.2+CBsn: 6.3.3.1: Timp.Perc(4-5): Hp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set). |
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