The tale of Tsar Saltan (opera)

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Opera dates
Title: The tale of Tsar Saltan
Original title: Сказка о царе Салтане, о сыне его славном и могучем богатыре князе Гвидоне Салтановиче и о прекрасной царевне лебеди
(Skaska o Zare Saltane, o syne ewo slawnom i mogutschem bogatyre knjase Gwidone Saltanowitsche io prekrasnoi zarewne lebedi)
Title page of the score

Title page of the score

Shape: Opera in four acts with prologue
Original language: Russian
Music: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Libretto : Vladimir Belski
Literary source: Alexander Pushkin
Premiere: October 21, Jul. / November 3, 1900 greg.
Place of premiere: Solodownikov Theater, Moscow
Playing time: approx. 2 ¾ hours
Place and time of the action: Russia, fairytale time
people
  • Tsar Saltan (Царь Салтан) ( bass )
  • Tsarina Militrissa (Царица Милитриса), the youngest sister ( soprano )
  • Tkachicha (Ткачиха, weaver), middle sister ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Powaricha (Повариха, cook), the older sister (soprano)
  • Babaricha (Бабариха), the old base ( old )
  • Tsarevich Gwidon (Царевич Гвидон) as a boy ( silent role ) and as a youth ( tenor )
  • Tsarevna Lebed (Царевна Лебедь), Schwanen-Tsarewna, Schwanenprinzessin, in the German translation incorrectly also "Princess Schwanhilde", initially as Lebed-ptiza (Лебедь-птица), swan (soprano)
  • old man (tenor)
  • Messenger ( baritone )
  • Skomoroch (Скоморох), court jester (bass)
  • three sailors (tenor, baritone, bass)
  • Voices of magicians and spirits (6–10 choirs and basses)
  • Boyars, boyaresses, courtiers, wet nurses, officials, guards, armed men, sailors, astrologers, high-speed runners, singers, scribes, servants, servants, dancers, dancers, people, 33 sea knights led by Chernomor, squirrels, bumblebees ( choir , extras, ballet)

The fairy tale of Tsar Saltan, of his son, the glorious and powerful warrior Prince Gwidon Saltanovich, and of the beautiful Swan Tsarevna is an opera in four acts with a prologue in seven pictures by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (music) with a libretto by Vladimir Belsky based on a fairy tale by Alexander Pushkin . The premiere took place on October 21st . / November 3, 1900 greg. held at the Solodownikow Theater in Moscow by the ensemble of the Russian private opera by Savva Mamontov . The flight of the bumblebee from the third act achieved great fame .

plot

prolog

Village parlor, winter evening

In the presence of old Babaricha, the three sisters Powaricha, Tkachicha and Militrissa spin yarn. The two older ones are lazy and conceited. They rush Militrissa from one housework to the next while dreaming of being chosen as a bride by the Tsar. Babaricha supports them in this. At this moment the tsar looks through the door unnoticed and overhears their conversation: Powaricha fantasizes about preparing a banquet for the whole world as the tsarina. Tkachikha would weave a beautiful fabric. Militrissa, on the other hand, thinks that she cannot do anything like this, but would give the tsar a heroic son. The tsar enters, declares Militrissa his bride and hires her two sisters as cook and weaver. He leaves the house with Militrissa. The disappointed sisters want to take revenge for this humiliation, and Babaricha proposes a perfidious plan: since the tsar spends a lot of time in war, he will not be present when his child is born. They will therefore intercept the messenger and falsify the news of the birth of the heir to the throne so that he believes that Militrissa has given birth to a monster: "Neither human nor animal, nor recognizable as a bird." Everyone laughs.

An orchestral interlude depicts Saltan's exodus to war. It begins with a caricatured march and turns into pictorial battle music.

first act

Tsar's court in Tmutarakan, seashore, on one side the open vestibule of Saltan's castle, on the other the city

Alexander Golovin : The Palace of Tsar Saltan (1907, not realized)

Tsarina Militrissa has since given birth to her son Gwidon and is longingly waiting for her husband to reply to her message. While she is embroidering in the presence of the old Babaricha and the court jester, the wet nurses are singing a lullaby to the Tsarevich. Babaricha sings the song with the lyrics turned negative. The fool tries in vain to distract Militrissa with his jokes. Her sister Powaricha brings cake. Interrupted several times by the fool, an old man recites a fairy tale in which a bear declares war on all birds because his old shoes have been torn by geese. Tkachicha presents her sister with a carpet, but she is not interested in it. In the meantime the Tsarevich has grown into a boy and runs away from his seven wet nurses. The old man and the people rejoice in his resemblance to his grandfather and pay homage to him. At last the tsar's messenger appears. Horrified, everyone hears the Tsar's order to immediately throw the Tsarina and her offspring in a barrel into the sea. Militrissa, the people and the boyars cannot believe this, but Babaricha and the two sisters warn against the wrath of the tsar if his order is disregarded. Militrissa finally complies. The people compassionately accompany them as the order is carried out. Militrissa calls the ocean wave for rescue. The sisters and Babaricha laugh scornfully.

An orchestral interlude describes the barrel's journey through the sea until it washes up on the coast of a barren island. The now grown hero Gwidon opens the lid and helps his mother out.

Second act

The island of Bujan, seashore, on one side a headland in the background, on the other a hill with an oak

Militrissa looks sadly at the barren landscape of the island. Gwidon, on the other hand, is optimistic. He admires flowers and colorful butterflies and forms a bow from an oak branch and his collar to go hunting. Then he sees a swan chased by a huge vulture over the sea and kills the vulture with his bow. Wailing voices of ghosts and a magician can be heard from behind the stage, but in the moonlight the rescued swan rises from the sea and explains to Gwidon that he is actually an enchanted king's daughter. He promises to give him help and advice in future as a thank you for saving him from the magician, and disappears again into the sea. Before going to bed, Militrissa tells her son the story of his birth and their unjust exile by the tsar. When they wake up the next morning, they see in the fog the contours of the enchanted city of Ledenez, whose spell was broken by the death of the magician. The residents pour out to the ringing bells, thank Gwidon and appoint him their ruler. Encouraged by his mother, Gwidon accepts the royal crown and is led into town to the thunder of cannons and solemn hymns of praise.

Third act

First picture. Wooded seashore on the island of Bujan

Gwidon looks wistfully at a merchant ship that sails past the island on its way to the kingdom of Saltan. In his mind he asks the travelers to bring greetings to his father. Then the swan appears and asks him to complain of his suffering. Gwidon tells him that he finally wants to get to know his father. His magical squirrel and his thirty-three knights only bore him. The swan then turns him into a bumblebee, which flies to the ship and travels with the sailors to Tmutarakan.

Second picture. Tsar's court in Tmutarakan, as in the first act

The boatmen land at the Tsar's court and are invited to the feast by Babaricha and the Tsar. The bumblebee follows them unnoticed. Babaricha and the tsarina's two sisters take care of the hospitality while the travelers talk about their experiences in foreign countries. They also know about Gwidon's island and its magnificent city that rose overnight. Since Saltan has become curious and wants to visit this island himself, Babaricha asks the sisters to counter this. The baker begins with her own story, but is stabbed in the eyebrows by the bumblebee. The boatmen now report on Gwidon's tame squirrel, which cracks nuts with golden shells and emeralds as a core. The weaver tries to outdo this story with another. She is also stung. Next, the skippers tell of the thirty-three heroes who rise from the sea every day under the leadership of Chernomor. Babaricha tries to outdo the effect with another story - and is stabbed in the eye by the angry bumblebee. The three women and the boatmen hunt the bumblebee in vain. Saltan forbids all bumblebees from entering his farm and sentences the guards to death on the gallows.

Fourth act

Sea shore of the island of Bujan as in the first picture of the third act. night

At the sight of the sea, Gwidon longs for a lover. He calls the swan over to find a suitable wife for him. One speaks in the world of a "royal maiden whose beauty is a feast for the eyes." During the day the sun scares you away, at night the earth lights you up, the full moon shimmers under your braid, a star flickers on your forehead ”. The swan assures him that this girl really does exist. Gwidon should think carefully about it before he swears allegiance to her. When Gwidon credibly confirms his decision, the bird transforms itself into the princess - a moon under the braid and a star on its forehead. Suddenly it's daylight. The swan princess is ready to marry Gwidon. A girls' choir behind the stage is singing about the early sun. Militrissa appears with her servants for the morning bath. Gwidon and the swan princess ask for her blessing. Gwidon hopes his father will arrive in time for the wedding.

Michail Wrubel : The 33 Knights (1901)

An orchestral introduction to the next picture describes the three wonders of the island: the squirrel with the golden nuts, the thirty-three knights and the swan princess.

The island city of Ledenez, the interior of the Kremlin with the princely apartments, view of the city and the sea being traveled by ships

Michail Wrubel : stage design for the second picture of the fourth act (1900)

Gwidon and Militrissa watch the arrival of Saltan's fleet through binoculars. After their arrival, the tsar, the old man, the fool and other entourage are honored by the townspeople. In response to Gwidon's question about his well-being, Saltan sadly tells him about his marriage, which had only lasted twenty days, and his regret for not protecting his wife better during his campaign. Babaricha and the two sisters accuse him of being tearful. Gwidon then shows him the magical squirrel, the thirty-three knights and the swan princess. Saltan asks the latter for another miracle: she should bring his lost queen to him. She can easily do that, because Militrissa is already approaching. The two quickly make up, and Saltan meets his son in Gwidon. Babaricha realizes that her time is over and quietly withdraws. The two sisters blame her for their own crimes. Although Gwidon does not believe this, he magnanimously forgives them. He knows that this wedding would never have happened without her intrigues. Everyone praises the swan princess and goes to the big wedding feast. The old man looks forward to telling about this celebration on his return.

layout

libretto

Wladimir Belski created a total of three libretti based on “Skaska” templates (Russian fairy tales) for Rimsky-Korsakov. The tale of Tsar Saltan is the first in this series. It is based on a model by Alexander Pushkin , which Belski added to his own verses. His work is characterized by great literary qualities and masters two complicated and less typical Russian idioms, the archaic and the peasant-poetic.

The story of the old man (story of the bear's war against the birds) integrated at Rimsky-Korsakov's request is an adaptation of a folk fairy tale parody by Pushkin. It replaced Pushkin's originally planned fairy tale about the priest and his servant Balda.

music

The tale of Tsar Salten marks the beginning of a new creative period by Rimsky-Korsakov. It is the first of the great fairy tale operas of his late work. Like their respective models, these operas are characterized by a rhapsodic narrative style. There is no drama or psychological interpretation. The melodies are mostly simple. The singing parts are recitative over longer stretches. They are closely based on the text, but gain liveliness through varied instrumentation. The pieces, which are more formally self-contained, also relate directly to the plot and lead into the more free parts.

Unlike in his earlier fairy tale operas, the form here also follows that of the original, a Russian “Skaska” (fairy tale). Each act as well as the orchestral interludes are introduced by a fanfare that takes on the function of the “priskaska” of the storyteller. Such fanfares were usually used to lure the audience at fair theater performances. At the end of the opera, all actors take over the melody of this fanfare together with the text “And with this wedding feast, the whole fairy tale is over!”. In a sense, they step out of their role here. The music develops formally along the stanzas of the fairy tale, the plot of which is characterized by repetitions and stylizations. Apart from the romantic features of Militrissa, most of the characters are drawn in Buffoesque style. Accordingly, the music picks up on various contemporary genres of popular music - nursery rhymes, lullabies (including one from the nanny of his own children) or fairground tunes. The comedy of situations in certain passages such as the wet nurses' hunt for young Gwidon in the first act or the bumblebee attacks in the second picture of the third act as well as the figures of the old man and the court jester added by the composer are also reminiscent of the fair theater.

The duet of the two older sisters in the prologue is composed of at least four folk songs, three of which come from Rimsky-Korsakov's collection from 1877. The tsar's appearance is also accompanied by music from this collection, which later becomes his main theme. Militrissa's short aria at the beginning of the first act is a stylized folk song. The songs of the wet nurses in the background consist of well-known, simple lullabies and children's songs from oral tradition, which Rimsky-Korsakow did not include in his collection. For Militrissa's shock after her unexpected conviction, he picked up a well-known wedding song from his anthology. The welcoming choir of the residents of the redeemed city in the second act uses material from the Orthodox liturgy. The music with which the wondrous squirrel is portrayed in the fourth act uses a well-known and widely edited Russian folk song: Wo sadu li, w ogorode (Во саду ли, в огороде, German for 'In the garden or in the field'). The motif with which the return home is celebrated at the end comes from the composer's collection.

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote in the Chronicle of My Musical Life that he used a "mixed instrumental-vocal style" in this opera. The fantastic elements are "kept in a harmonious and figuratively complex idiom", the realistic parts about the sisters and the tsar in a more vocal "more popular tone". The individual persons and situations are each assigned their own musical figures, which, however, are not to be understood in the sense of Wagner's leitmotifs , but rather reflect the respective atmosphere or personality. These “guiding principles” form a complex network within the opera. In this way, Rimsky-Korsakov manages to conjure up the respective plot elements in the orchestral interludes. In total there are about twenty such motifs, which are assigned to animals, people, things and natural forces and relate them to one another. Sigrid Neef cited Militrissa's developing relationship with the sea or the “musical metamorphosis of the bin” as examples. The Gwidon has three instruments assigned to him: his escape from wet nurses in his childhood is accompanied by the clarinet, his passion for hunting as a young man by a horn and his later sensitive nature by a cello. The two figures of the swan are musically designed differently. As a bird, he is assigned an instrumental-figurative chromatic line accompanied by disharmonious chords. This changes during his transformation and approaches the style of the Russian "stretched song" (protjashnaja pesnja). The music of the Swan Tsarevna differs significantly from Militrissa's lyrical-diatonic design.

orchestra

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

Musical motifs (selection)

A detailed explanation of the motifs used in the opera can be found in Nikolai van Gilse van der Pals ' book NA Rimsky-Korssakow. Opera and sketch about life and work, from which the following examples are also taken.

  • The introductory trumpet fanfare:
    Sheet music is temporarily disabled.
  • Chained marching motifs of Tsar Saltan:
    Sheet music is temporarily disabled.

    and
    Sheet music is temporarily disabled.
  • The motif of Gwidon's joie de vivre:
    Sheet music is temporarily disabled.
  • The hero motif of Gwidon:
    Sheet music is temporarily disabled.
  • The flight of the bumblebee is combined with a variant of Gwidon's hero motif:
    The flight of the bumblebee. Version for two pianos by Russel Warner, played by Neal and Nancy O'Doan

    Sheet music is temporarily disabled.
  • Militrissa's suffering motive:
    Sheet music is temporarily disabled.

Work history

The libretto of Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov's opera Skaska o zare Saltane ( The Tale of Tsar Saltan ) was written by Vladimir Belski . It is based on a fairy tale by Alexander Pushkin from 1831. Rimsky-Korsakov chose the subject at the suggestion of Vladimir Stasov . He was honoring Pushkin's 100th birthday. In the winter of 1898 he first checked the suitability of the material together with Belski. He began composing in the spring of 1899, while Belski sent him the completed parts of the libretto piece by piece. Belski largely adopted Pushkin's verses, but also added his own verses. Rimsky-Korsakov also contributed to the text with his own ideas, such as the figures of the court jester and the old man. The composition was completed in the summer of the same year and orchestrated in January 1900. He presented the three orchestral interludes in December 1899 as the orchestral suite Музыкальные картинки к сказке о царе Салтане ( Musykalnyje kartinki k skaske o zare Saltane / Musical images for the tale of the Tsar Saltan ) in Petersburg.

The premiere took place on October 21st . / November 3, 1900 greg. held in the Solodownikov Theater in Moscow. Mikhail Ippolitow-Ivanov led the most prominent members of the ensemble of the Russian private opera of Savva Mamontov , who at the time was in custody due to a bad speculation. Nikolai Mutin (Saltan), Jelena Zwetkowa (Militrissa), Alexandra Rostowzewa (Tkachicha), Adelaida Weretennikowa (Powaricha), Varvara Strachowa (Babaricha), Anton Sekar-Roschansky (Gwidon), Nadezhda Sabela (Swan-Tsarevna), sang Schkafer (old man), Nikolai Scheweljow (messenger), Michail Lewandowski (court jester). Michail Walentinowitsch Lentowski was responsible for the production. Michail Wrubel's sets were particularly appreciated. Regardless of the opera production, for which Wrubel also designed the costumes, he created two paintings in this context, The Swan Bird and The Swan Princess . The latter is considered one of his most important works.

  • Costume sketch of Gwidon after a watercolor by Michail Wrubel (1900)

  • Jelena Zwetkowa as Militrissa (Russian private opera 1900)

  • Jelena Stepanova as Swan Tsarevna (Bolshoi Theater 1913)

  • Michail Wrubel: The Swan Princess (1900)

In the preface Rimsky-Korsakov expressly forbade “arbitrary strokes or cuts” without his consent, a destruction of the “dramatic sense” as well as transpositions and other changes to the vocal parts. Those who are not singing should avoid any unnecessary movement or facial expression that could distract attention. The opera is "primarily a musical work of art".

Title page of the German translation by August Bernhard

The tale of Tsar Saltan was played a lot, especially in Russia. The role of the Swan Tsarevna was interpreted by important Russian sopranos such as Jelena Stepanova, Antonina Neschdanowa , Jelena Katulskaja and Irina Maslennikowa. First new productions after the first performance there was in St. Petersburg in 1902, 1905, 1908 and 1915 (the latter in the Mariinsky Theater ) in Moscow in 1906 (by Sergei SimIns New Russian private opera) and in Kiev in 1908. At the Moscow Bolshoi Theater came the Work for the first time in 1913 with festive decorations by Konstantin Korowin . Grigori Pirogow sang the Tsar, LN Balanovskaya the Militrissa, MG Gukowa the cook and Jelena Stepanova the Swan Tsarevna. There were new productions there in 1937/1938 (version by Vladimir Losski) and 1959 (version by Georgi Ansimow). The orchestral preludes used these arrangements to illustrate the plot graphically. The latest new production at the Bolshoi premiered in autumn 2019.

Outside of Russia, the following productions can be proven:

In 1932 the ballet company of Bronislava Nijinska played the ballet La princesse cygne at the Paris Opéra-Comique, with a plot based on the opera and parts of the music. The set was designed by Boris Bilinski .

In 1961 Fritz Oeser created a version under the pseudonym “Paul Friedrich” in which the old man predicts the fate of Militrissa and the swan princess must be released from a spell. Sigrid Neef condemned this as a falsification of the figure of the old man and the introduction of a " teleological concept" not intended by the composer . In Pushkin's fairy tales, the swan changes shape and way of life of his own free will.

In addition to the orchestral suite, the flight of the bumblebee in the third act, which was later arranged for almost every conceivable instrument, proved to be particularly popular .

Recordings

  • 1952 - Hans Müller-Kray (conductor), Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra .
    Wilhelm Schirp (Saltan), Maud Cunitz (Militrissa), Hetty Plümacher (Tkatschicha), Res Fischer (Babaricha), Christo Bajew (Gwidon), Friederike Sailer (Schwanen-Zarewna), Franz Fehringer (old man), Robert Titze (messenger) .
    In German language.
    Valhalla "Eternity Series" WLCD 0242 (2 CDs).
  • 1955 - Vasily Nebolsin (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Bolshoi Theater Moscow.
    Ivan Petrow (Saltan), Eugenia Fedorowna Smolenskaja (Militrissa), Larissa Nikitina (Tkachicha), Elisabeth Schumilova (Powaricha), Eugenia Matveevna Verbitzkaya (Babaricha), Vladimir Viktorovich Ivanovsky (Gwidon), Galina Wassiljewna (old man), A. Ivanov (messenger), Marc Rechetine (court jester).
    Studio shot.
    MK DO 05010-5 (3 LPs), Chant du monde CD: 2781037-8 (2 CDs), harmonia mundi: LDX 78019 (3 ​​LPs), LYS CD: LYS 512-513 (2 CDs).
  • 1956 - Dimitri Zebre (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Zagreb National Opera.
    Zdravko Kovac (Saltan), Nada Toncic (Militrissa), Tatiana Slastenko (Tkatschicha), Bianca Dezman-Kavur (Powaricha), Marianna Radev (Babaricha), Janec Lipusek (Gwidon), Maria Glavasevic (Schwanen-Tsarewna), Franco Paulik (older Man), Milivoy Belavic (messenger), Milivoy Bacanovic (court jester).
    Studio shot.
    Philips A 02014-6 (3 LPs), Artia ALS 502 (3 LPs), PACO 120 (CD).
  • 1978 - Siegfried Kurz (conductor), Harry Kupfer (director), Staatskapelle Dresden , choir of the Dresden State Opera .
    Rolf Wollard (Saltan), Lidija Ruschizkaja (Militrissa), Barbara Höhne (Babaricha), Stephan Spiewok (Gwidon), Ilse Ludwig (Schwanen-Zarewna), Eleonore Elstermann (others).
    Video, live from Dresden, German version.
    Parnassus PDVD 146 (1 DVD), View VI: 1406 (1 LD).
  • 2019 - Alain Altinoglu (conductor), Dmitri Tcherniakov (director and stage), Elena Zaytseva (costumes), Gleb Filschtinski (video and lighting design), orchestra and choir of the Brussels Opera House La Monnaie / De Munt .
    Ante Jerkunica (Saltan), Svetlana Aksenova (Militrissa), Stine Marie Fischer (Tkatschicha), Bernarda Bobro (Powaricha), Carole Wilson (Babaricha), Bogdan Volkov (Gwidon), Olga Kulchinskaya (Swan Tsarevna), Vasily Gorshkov (old man ), Nicky Spence (messenger), Alexander Vassiliev (court jester).
    Video, live from Brussels.
    Video stream of the Brussels Opera House.

literature

  • Nikolai van Gilse van der Pals : NA Rimsky-Korssakow. Opera and sketch about life and work. Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim / New York 1977 (reprint of the Paris-Leipzig 1929 edition), ISBN 3-487-06427-8 , pp. 398–456 (with many music examples).

Web links

Commons : The Tale of Tsar Saltan (opera)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Richard Taruskin :  Tale of Tsar Saltan, The. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Rainer Franke: Skaska o zare Saltane. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 5: Works. Piccinni - Spontini. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1994, ISBN 3-492-02415-7 , pp. 273-276.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l The fairy tale of Tsar Saltan. In: Sigrid Neef : The operas of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (= Musik Konkret 18 ). Ernst Kuhn Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-936637-13-7 .
  4. ↑ Quoting from the German libretto version by August Bernhard, p. 10. Original: "Не то сына, не то дочь, Не мышонка, не лягушку, А неведому зверюшку" - literally, neither son nor daughter: 'neither mouse nor daughter but an unknown little creature '.
  5. ↑ a b c d The fairy tale of Tsar Saltan. In: Sigrid Neef : Handbook of Russian and Soviet Opera. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Bärenreiter 1989. ISBN 3-7618-0925-5 .
  6. ↑ a b c d Josif Filippowitsch Kunin: Nikolai Andrejewitsch Rimski-Korsakow. Translated by Dieter Lehmann. Verlag Neue Musik, Berlin 1981 (Original: Verlag “musyka”, Moscow 1979).
  7. ↑ a b c d e f Nikolai van Gilse van der Pals : NA Rimsky-Korssakow. Opera and sketch about life and work. Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim / New York 1977 (reprint of the Paris-Leipzig 1929 edition), ISBN 3-487-06427-8 , pp. 398–456.
  8. ↑ November 3, 1900: "Saltan". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia .
  9. ↑ Skaska o czars Saltane. In: Kurt Pahlen : The new opera lexicon. Seehamer, Weyarn 2000, ISBN 3-934058-58-2 , pp. 583-585.
  10. ↑ Wulf Konold : The fairy tale of Tsar Saltan (Skaska o zare Saltane). In: Rudolf Kloiber , Wulf Konold, Robert Maschka: Handbuch der Oper. 9th, expanded, revised edition 2002. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag / Bärenreiter, ISBN 3-423-32526-7 , pp. 615–617.
  11. ↑ Performance information in the archives of the Bolshoi Theater , accessed on September 20, 2020.
  12. ↑ Schreiber: Review of the production in Detmold 1967. In: Opernwelt 6/1967, p. 44, according to the general register.
  13. ^ Krause: Review of the production in Leipzig 1977. In: Opernwelt 1/1978, p. 21, according to the general register.
  14. ^ Asche: Review of the production in Kiel 1983. In: Opernwelt 6/1983, p. 33, according to the general register.
  15. ^ Neubauer: Review of the production in Bremerhaven 1992. In: Opernwelt 7/1992, p. 53, according to the general register.
  16. ^ Frede: Review of the production in Halle 1996. In: Opernwelt 6/1996, p. 35, according to the general register.
  17. ↑ Rimsky-Korsakov's “Tales of Tsar Saltan” in the State Theater on Gärtnerplatz, Munich. In: Theaterkompass, accessed on September 20, 2020.
  18. ↑ Klaus Kalchschmid: Water on! Review of the production in Munich 2009. In: Opernwelt 3/2009.
  19. ↑ Josef Oehrlein: Fantasies of an autistic person. Review of the production in Brussels 2019. In: Opernwelt August 2019, p. 36.
  20. ↑ Recording by Hans Müller-Kray (1952) in the discography for The Tale of Tsar Saltan at Operadis.
  21. ^ A b c Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.
  22. ↑ a b c Karsten Steiger: Opera discography. Directory of all audio and video recordings. 2nd, fully updated and expanded task. KG Sauer, Munich 2008/2011, ISBN 978-3-598-11784-8 .
  23. ↑ Photo by Dimitri Zebre (1956) on pristineclassical.com, accessed on March 1, 2020.
  24. ^ Old LP catalog from Parnassus Records , accessed on March 1, 2020.
  25. ↑ Information on production in Brussels 2019 , accessed on March 1, 2020.