DIE NACHT VOR WEIHNACHTEN

Opera in four acts by Nikolai A. Rimsky-Korsakov
In Russian with German and English surtitles
The Night Before Christmas, one of a total of fifteen operas by Nikolai A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), was premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on 10 December 1895. The Russian composer himself wrote the libretto based on Nikolai V. Gogol's story of the same name. Out of consideration for Peter I. Tchaikovsky, who had already adapted the material in The Blacksmith Vakula in 1874, Rimsky-Korsakov did not set the work to music until 1894, after the death of his colleague. In The Night Before Christmas, the satirical-realistic depiction of Ukrainian village life is combined with fantastic and mythological elements. The Christmas songs of the villagers, based on Ukrainian folk songs, form the musical centre. These are framed by lyrical ariosi, buffo scenes and powerful orchestral interludes.