That just slipped out
“Britain’s Royal Opera House will stage a rarely performed Tchaikovsky opera over the Christmas period which director Francesca Zambello called the Russian composer’s ‘best kept secret’.” [Reuters]
The unintenional comedy gold continues after the jump.
The Tsarina’s Slippers tells the story of the blacksmith Vakula, son of the witch Solokha, who attempts to woo the beautiful but fickle Oxana.
She will only marry him if he brings her the Tsarina’s own slippers from the court of Catherine the Great, and so Vakula enlists the help of the Devil to gatecrash a ball in St. Petesburg and bring his beloved what she desires.
Zambello said the production was part of her drive to bring opera, often seen as an elite art form, to a wider audience.
Hans,
SFO did Tsar’s Bride about a ten years ago with Netrebko and Hvorostovsky. They included Borodina as well, who almost stole the show.
I was lucky enough to be visiting the San Fran
and saw the production. It was indeed magical.
I don’t think either woman could duplicate their performance now. Borodina sounds blowsy
and throaty and Netrebko’s overly darkened and thickened production can’t compare to the ethereal effect she made back a decade ago. But Hvorostovsky would probably still sound quite fine in the role.
I loved the piece, OONY did it around 1995 but it would be great to see it staged in NYC.
I’d love to see Snow Maiden too!
Tommy Beecham did a lot of this benighted Russian rot. Waste of good English singers.