View source for Mlada (Rimsky-Korsakov)

{{Short description|Opera-ballet by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov}}
{{Infobox opera
| name              = Mlada
| type              = [[Opera ballet|Opera-ballet]]
| composer          = [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]
| image             = Stravinsky as Mstivoy.jpg
| image_upright     = 1.2
| caption           = [[Fyodor Stravinsky]] as Mstivoy in the premiere
| native_name       = {{langx|ru|Млада|italic=yes}}
| translated_name   = 
| librettist        = [[Viktor Krylov]]
| language          = Russian
| based_on          = 
| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1892}}
| premiere_location = [[Mariinsky Theatre]], St. Petersburg
}}
<!-- {{merge|Mlada|discuss=Talk:Mlada#Merger proposal|date=January 2011}} -->
'''''Mlada''''' ({{langx|ru|'''Млада'''|Mláda}} {{Audio|Ru-Mlada.ogg|listen}}) is an [[opera ballet|opera-ballet]] in four acts, composed between 1889 and 1890 by [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]], to a [[libretto]] by [[Viktor Krylov]] that was originally employed for [[Mlada|an aborted project of the same name]] from 1872.

In the middle of ''Mlada'', a fantasy tale about ancient pagan Slavs, Cleopatra emerges in a scene that exudes sensuality. Rimsky-Korsakov said "Among my musical impressions of Paris [at the [[Exposition Universelle (1889)|World Exhibition, summer 1889]]] I reflect on music in Hungarian and Algerian cafes. The virtuoso playing of a Hungarian orchestra on ''tsevnitsas'' ([[Pan flute]]s) gave me the idea of introducing this ancient instrument... during the dances at Cleopatra's. In an Algerian cafe, I was attracted to the beat of a large drum... This effect I also borrowed for the scene of Cleopatra."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Naroditskaya|first1=Inna|year=2012|title=Bewitching Russian Opera: The Tsarina from Stage to Stage|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9R-L6oa2-ngC&pg=PA213|isbn=978-0-19-534058-7|page=213}}</ref>

==Performance history==
The St. Petersburg premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov's setting of the libretto was given on 1 November 1892 and conducted by [[Eduard Nápravník]]. The scene designers were [[Ivan Andreyev (designer)|Ivan Andreyev]] and [[Mikhail Ilyich Bocharov|Mikhail Bocharov]]; balletmasters were [[Lev Ivanov]] and [[Enrico Cecchetti]]. The first production of ''Mlada'' was not a success, and it did not become a regular repertory item. (The decor, however, was reused for [[Marius Petipa|Petipa's]] 1896 revival of the ballet adaptation of the scenario by composer [[Ludwig Minkus]], which had premiered in 1879.)

Other notable performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Mlada'' were given in 1904 in St. Petersburg in the Great Hall of the [[St. Petersburg Conservatory]] by Tsereteli's opera company; in 1913 in Moscow by the [[Zimin Opera]]; and in 1923 in [[Petrograd]] at the [[Mariinsky Theatre|State Theatre of Opera and Ballet]].

A production from the 1990's of the opera-ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre was recorded on video.[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BB1MDM]

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
!Role
!|Voice type
!|Premiere cast<br>1 November 1892<br>(Conductor: Eduard Nápravník)
|-
|Mstivoy, ''prince of [[Rethra]]''
|[[Bass (voice type)|bass]]
|[[Fyodor Stravinsky]]
|-
|Voyslava, ''his daughter''
|[[soprano]]
|[[Olga Olgina]], [[Evelina Sonki]]
|-
|Yaromir, ''prince of [[Cape Arkona|Arkona]]''
|[[tenor]]
|[[Mikhail Ivanovich Mikhaylov|Mikhail Mikhaylov]]
|-
|''[[Shade (mythology)|Shade]] of'' Princess Mlada
|silent role
|[[Marie Petipa]]
|-
|Lumir, ''Czech singer''
|[[alto]]
|[[Mariya Dolina (singer)|Mariya Dolina]]
|-
|[[Marzanna|Morena]], ''goddess of the [[underworld]], appearing in the first act in the form of the old woman'' Svyatokhna
|[[mezzo-soprano]]
|[[Maria-Vilgelmina Piltz]]
|-
|''The [[Moors|Moor]] from the [[Caliphate]]''
|tenor
|[[Vasily Karelin]]
|-
|''The [[Novgorod]]ian''
|tenor
|[[Grigory Ugrinovich]]
|-
|''Wife of the Novgorodian''
|mezzo-soprano
|[[Elena Markovskaya]]
|-
|''A [[Varangian]]''
|[[baritone]]
|[[Maksim Titov]]
|-
|Tiun
|bass
|[[Aleksandr Klimov (actor)|Aleksandr Klimov]]
|-
|''High Priest of [[Radegast (god)|Radegast]]''
|baritone
|
|-
|[[Chernobog|Chornobog]]
|[[choir|chorus]]
|
|-
|[[Koshchei|Kashchéy]] ''the Immortal''
|chorus
|
|-
|Chumá ([[Epidemic|Plague]]), ''god of [[wikt:pestilence|pestilence]]''
|silent role
|
|-
|Cherv' (Worm), ''god of [[famine]]''
|silent role
|
|-
|Topelets, ''god of [[flood]]s''
|silent role
|
|-
|''Shade of'' Queen [[Cleopatra]]
|silent role
|
|-
|colspan="3"|Chorus, silent roles: ''Maidens, armor-bearers and retinue of Mstivoy, merchants, supplicators, people of various Slavic lands, priests and priestesses of Radegast, trumpeters, wood-sprites, werewolves, [[kikimora]]s, [[witch]]es, ghosts of the deceased, ghosts of dancers, of black male and female slaves of Queen Cleopatra, spectres of [[bogatyr|bogatïrs]], Slavic gods''
|-
|}

{| style="float:middle; background:transparent; padding:10px; margin:10px;"
|[[Image:Mlada -Cleopatra -Maria Skorsyuk -circa 1900.JPG|thumb|205px|Mariya Skorsyuk as the shade of Queen Cleopatre <br>(Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, 1892)]]
|}

==Synopsis==
:Time: The ninth or tenth century
:Place: The Slavic lands of the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] sea-coast, in the city of [[Rethra]], near the Labe ([[Elbe River|Elbe]]) River, in modern-day Germany.<ref>List of characters and Setting from {{cite book |last=Rimsky-Korsakov |first=Nicolai |title=Mlada: An Opera Ballet in Four Acts; Vocal Score |series=The Complete Works of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov |year=1983 |publisher=Belwin Mills Publishing Corp |location=Melville, N.Y. |language=Russian |id=K5255}}</ref>

===Act 1===
Voyslava has killed Mlada, Yaromir's bride, to have him for herself. With the help of Morena, the goddess of the underworld, she has captivated Yaromir. But he sees the murder in his dreams.

===Act 2===
At the midsummer festival the people dance, while the spirit of Mlada intervenes between Yaromir and Voyslava.

===Act 3===
By night Mlada leads Yaromir up Mount [[Triglav (mythology)|Triglav]], where the dead gather, before the [[Sabbath (witchcraft)|Witches' Sabbath]] in which Yaromir is shown a vision of [[Cleopatra]].

===Act 4===
Yaromir, at the Temple of [[Radegast (god)|Radegast]]<!-- Someone needs to make the "Radegast" page a disambiguation page and/or subdivide the information into new pages -->, is shown by the spirits that Voyslava is guilty. She confesses her sin and he kills her. Morena, with whom Voyslava had made a compact, destroys the temple and the city of Rethra, but Yaromir is united with Mlada in heaven.

==Concert excerpts==
Two orchestral works were derived from the opera by the composer. The first, ''Night on Mt. Triglav'', is an arrangement of Act 3. The second is a [[suite (music)|suite]].

*'''Night on Mt. Triglav''' (1899–1901)
This is a purely orchestral arrangement of Act III, restyled as a lengthy symphonic poem for orchestra.  Approximately a half-hour in duration, the program in the printed score follows the action of the opera during the corresponding act of the opera.
*'''Suite from the Opera-Ballet ''Mlada''''' (1903)
#Introduction
#Redowa: A Bohemian Dance
#Lithuanian Dance
#Indian Dance
#Cortège

The Redowa appears in Act 1. The Lithuanian Dance and the Indian Dance are taken from Act 2, Scene 5. The cortège is the well-known ''Procession of the Nobles'' ({{langx|ru|Шествие князей}}, literally, ''Procession of the Princes''), and appears in Act 2, Scene 3.

==Use in broadcast media==
"Procession of the Nobles" is used as the theme for the [[PBS]] public affairs program [[Inside Washington|''Agronsky & Co.'' and its successor, ''Inside Washington'']], and was used between 1957 and 1969 as the opening theme for the UK TV programme ''[[What the Papers Say]]''.

==Recordings==
''role key: conductor/voyslava/morena/yaromir/mstivoy''

*Svetlanov/Tugarinova/Kulagina/Makhov/Korolyov, 1962, studio, Melodiya (detailed below)
*Lazarev/Kasrashvili/Borisova/Kulko/Nikolsky, 1989, Moscow video, Videoland
*Lazarev/Gavrilova/Borisova/Kulko/Nikolsky, 1992, Moscow video, Teldec
*Tilson Thomas/Kazarnovskaya/Poretsky/Grigorian/Martirossian, 2002, live in San Francisco, pirate
*Gergiev/Khudoley/Savova/Armonov/Petrenko-M, 2004, live in Amsterdam, Premiere Opera

Svetlanov recording details: Tatyana Tugarinova (Voyslava), Nina Kulagina (Morena), Vladimir Makhov (Yaromir), Alexey Korolyov (Mstivoy), Moscow Radio Symphony Chorus, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist}}
'''Sources'''
*Abraham, Gerald. "Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Mlada''," in ''On Russian Music''.  London: W. Reeves, 1939; rpt. New York:  Books for Libraries, 1980.
*Gaub, Albrecht. ''Die kollektive Ballett-Oper "Mlada": ein Werk von Kjui, Musorgskij, Rimskij-Korsakov, Borodin und Minkus''. ''Studia slavica musicologica''; Bd. 12. Berlin: Kuhn, 1998. {{ISBN|3-928864-53-X}}
*[[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Rimsky-Korsakov, N.A.]] ''My Musical Life''.  Ed. with an introduction by Carl van Vechten; trans. by Judah A. Joffe.  3rd American ed.  A. A. Knopf, 1942.

==External links==
*[http://imslp.org/wiki/Mlada_(Rimsky-Korsakov%2C_Nikolai) Piano-vocal score of the opera (Russian/French)] at [http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page IMSLP]
*[http://www.ceo.spb.ru/libretto/classic/posle_glinki/mlada.doc Russian libretto in a Word .doc file]

{{Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Operas by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]
[[Category:Russian-language operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:1890 operas]]
[[Category:Opéras-ballets]]
[[Category:1890s ballets]]
[[Category:1892 works]]
[[Category:Libretti by Viktor Krylov]]