The Snow Maiden

By Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) Mariinski Theatre Orchestra
Valery Gergiev, conductor
Performers listed below

Did you ever know someone who seemed, somehow, "cold?" Someone who seemed incapable of expressing any significant emotions? Who simply didn't respond to the demands or desires of others, and didn't even communicate their own? No, your former spouse(s) don't count. We'd hope they didn't always seem that way. No, we're talking about someone so "removed" from normal, human emotions that sometimes it seems they don't have any feelings at all.

Well, we all probably know a few people who seem that way, but individuals who truly lack what we think of as "normal" human emotions are few and far between. And that's probably a good thing - they often turn out to be sociopaths, psychopaths, or even serial killers. No, the "unfeeling" people most of us know aren't truly that way; they don't really lack emotions.

Yet the title character of today's opera, THE SNOW MAIDEN, is genuinely - and literally - "cold-hearted." No, she's not a serial killer! This is a fairy tale opera, after all. And while she comes to a sad end herself, she does do some good for others. The Snow Maiden' s mother is Spring, and her father is Frost. She's inherited her mom's warm temperament, but she's got her father's heart - it's made of ice, and if it's warmed even a little bit, say by falling in love, the Snow Maiden is doomed.

Well, that means she's in trouble. How many operas are there where the title character doesn’t fall in love? Not many, and THE SNOW MAIDEN is no exception. But fairy tales generally have happy endings, and this one's no exception to that, either. When the Snow Maiden finally feels a spark of love it does proves fatal. But it warms the hearts of those around her.

Sound like an unlikely story? We suppose it is, by most standards. But if any composer could bring such a fantastic tale to life, it would be Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. And if you tune in NPR WORLD OF OPERA this week, we're pretty sure the sheer brilliance of his music will win you over. Of course before the show, which comes to us from the Grand Theatre of Geneva, be sure to tune in AT THE OPERA with Lou Santacroce, for more on this fascinating and seldom-heard drama.



Performers:
Olga Trifonova (Snow Maiden); Tatiana Pavlovskaia (Kupova); Alexander Gergalov (Mizgir); Lyubov Sokolova (Lel'); Daniil Shtoda (Tsar Berendey); Nicolai Gassiev (Bobil); Nedezdha Vasilieva (Bobilikha)


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