Due to illness, Myrtò Papatanasiu will not be able to perform during the Bastarda performances of 21 and 23 March. The role of Elisabetta will be performed by Francesca Sassu.

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La Monnaie / De Munt LA MONNAIE / DE MUNT
© Brooke DiDonato

Opera

The Tale
Of Tsar Saltan

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov

Presentation

The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of his Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan

The titles of some operas are in themselves sufficient to capture the imagination. For the centenary of Pushkin's birth in 1899, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov drew inspiration from one of his celebrated fairy tales and composed a delightfully imaginative opera, with the 'Flight of the Bumblebee' as instant hit. The work is 'Once Upon A Time' story in song, where the composer's gift for melody and orchestration combines perfectly with the poet's often absurd humour and overflowing imagination. Alain Altinoglu can here revel in the role of orchestral wizard, as he did recently in The Golden Cockerel, while, following his highly acclaimed production of Il Trovatore, the Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov returns with a many-layered psychological conclusion to the opera season.

Synopsis

Tsar Saltan marries the youngest of three sisters, having heard that it is her dearest wish to present him with a heroic son and heir. Her jealous sisters and the old Aunt Barbaricha cannot bear this situation to persist and by trickery see to it that the Tsaritsa and her newborn son Gvidon are thrown into the sea. In their barrel they are washed ashore on an enchanted island where the rapidly growing tsar’s son saves a swan from the clutches of a wizard. In gratitude, the swan helps Gvidon to visit his native country once again in the guise of a bumblebee. Three wishes, three miracles and three bee-stings later, father and son are finally able to get to know each other.

Gallery

Gallery

Dates & tickets

Dates

  • Tue 11 June 2019

    Time

    20:00

    Venue

    La Monnaie

  • Thu 13 June 2019

    Time

    20:00

    Venue

    La Monnaie

  • Sun 16 June 2019

    Time

    15:00

    Venue

    La Monnaie

  • Tue 18 June 2019

    Time

    20:00

    Venue

    La Monnaie

  • Fri 21 June 2019

    Time

    20:00

    Venue

    La Monnaie

  • Sun 23 June 2019

    Time

    15:00

    Venue

    La Monnaie

    Infos

    with audio description

  • Tue 25 June 2019

    Time

    20:00

    Venue

    La Monnaie

  • Thu 27 June 2019

    Time

    20:00

    Venue

    La Monnaie

  • Sat 29 June 2019

    Time

    20:00

    Venue

    La Monnaie

Cast
Cast

ConductorALAIN ALTINOGLU
Director and set designDMITRI TCHERNIAKOV
CostumesELENA ZAYTSEVA
Art direction video & LightingGLEB FILSHTINSKY
Chorus masterMARTINO FAGGIANI

Tsar SaltanANTE JERKUNICA
Tsaritsa MilitrisaSVETLANA AKSENOVA
TkatchikhaSTINE MARIE FISCHER
PovarikhaBERNARDA BOBRO
BabarikhaCAROLE WILSON
Tsarevitch GvidonBOGDAN VOLKOV
Tsarevna Swan-Bird / LyebyedOLGA KULCHYNSKA
Old manVASILY GORSHKOV
Skomorokh / ShipmanALEXANDER VASSILIEV
Messenger / ShipmanNICKY SPENCE
ShipmanALEXANDER KRAVETS

La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

ProductionDE MUNT / LA MONNAIE
Co-productionTEATRO REAL MADRID

Audio descriptionINTER, AUDIOSCENIC

In coproduction with Shelter Prod and Prospero MM Productions With the support of taxshelter.be and ING With the support of the tax shelter of the Belgian federal government