Classical Works: The Tale of Tsar Saltan (Skazka o Tsare Saltane), opera in 4 acts with a prologue
Review
During the winter of 1898,
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov often visited with V.I. Byelsky, a librettist with whom he was familiar, for the purpose of developing subject matters, such as mythical legends or literary works, for possible operas. Only one of these proposed subjects was actually acted upon, Pushkin's Tale of Tsar Saltan. There were a few other ideas of merit developed during this time, but they were all set aside for another date in order that the librettist and composer could concentrate work on the opera that was to be The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1900).
Byelsky started on the libretto, which
Rimsky-Korsakov thought was magnificent, in the spring of 1890. The librettist attempted to stay true to Pushkin's writing style as much as possible. As Byelsky would complete a scene of the opera, it would be handed to
Rimsky-Korsakov , who subsequently began composing the music for the scene. The entire opera was constructed this way, piece by piece.
The composer described the manner in which he composed The Tale of Tsar Saltan as "instrumental-vocal." The story of the opera has elements of fantasy and realism.
Rimsky-Korsakov composed in a pictorial, instrumental manner for the parts of the opera which were fantastic, while the realistic parts were written in an declamatory, vocal style. The opera begins with a scenic Prologue, in which the character of the Tsar Saltan is introduced. This dramatic prelude takes the place of the traditional orchestral overture to begin the opera. Also, each of the four acts was preceded by a rather lengthy orchestral prelude. At the beginning of each act, a short trumpet fanfare signaled the audience that the action of the opera was resuming.
Rimsky-Korsakov considered the fanfare to be "a device quite original and suitable for a fairy-tale." The orchestral preludes heard before the beginning of Acts I, II, and IV were made into a concert suite by the composer titled Little Pictures for the Tale of Tsar Saltan.
~ All Music Guide
Albums with Complete Performances of the Work
Albums with Excerpt Performances of the Work
Rimsky-Korsakov: Coq D'or; Tale of the Tsar Saltan 1984 Pau Casals Plays Popular Classics Excerpts 1999 Rare Cello Music 1996 Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and others Bolero and Sabre Dance (Box Set) 1998 Clariphonia 2000 Great Pianists Of The Century (Box Set) Bolero! Orchestral Fireworks 2000 Classical Jukebox, Vol. 1 1989 Nathan Milstein Collection Vol.1 1999 Simply the Best Classical Anthems Piano e forte, April 2000: APR Catalogue & Details of Special CD 2000 The Art of the Flute, Vol. 1: The Flute Quartet 2000 Wild Classics: A Celebration of Animals and Nature Let's Go to the Opera: Thomas Heywood Plays Operatic Blockbusters on the Schantz Organ 2003 Yehudi Menuhin: 80th Birthday Edition [Box Set] 1996 Romantic Winds 1999 Guards in Concert 1999 The Beautiful World of Classical Music, Vol. 6-10 (Box Set) Mostly Strauss 1999 Romantic Piano Favourites, Vol. 3 1988 Showpieces & Encores [Hybrid SACD] 2001 The Great Russians 1999 A Royal Gala Concert 1992 Twenty-One Greatest Classics 1995 Classic Kennedy 1999 Lollipops 1985 Sergei Rachmaninov Encore! 1995 Menuhin Plays Bazzini, Bloch, Dinicu, Granados, Kreisler, Moszkowski and Others 1998 Rimsky-Korsakov For Dummies Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade for orchestra Op35; Russian Easter Festival Overture Op36 Greatest Russian Composers (Box Set) 1998 Classical Pop Session, Vol. 2 1998 Favorite Violin Classics Collection: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 2000 Romantic Music for Cello & Orchestra 2000 The Best of Ofra Harnoy 1993 Greatest Violin Encores 2001 100 All Time Classical Favorites (Box Set) 2000 Elmo and The Orchestra 2001 Pure Classical Chill Out 1999 Orchestral Showpieces 1998 The Greatest Classical Show On Earth 1998 Classical Evolution: Ballet Music from Operas 2002 Russian Album 2006 The Art of the Transcription The Legendary James Galway: Man With the Golden Flute 2001 Classical Top 20: Ave Maria and 9 other Masterpieces The Best of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 1994 Autumn Glory Mouth Music 2001 Stokowski Conducts "Aurora's Wedding" & Stokowski Encores 2001 Classical Journey: Russia Sound of Cellos 1987 The Glory of Russian Opera Yo-Yo Ma & Bobby McFerrin: Hush 1992 Twentieth Century Music Rimsky-Korsakov: Golden Cockerel Suite; Tsar Saltan Suite; Chrismas Eve Suite 1991 Clarinet Evergreens 1997 Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade for orchestra Op35; Russian Easter Festival Overture Op36 1994 A Midsummer Night's Dream 1996 Classical Journey (Box Set) 2001 Gyorgy Cziffra, Piano In Classical Mood: Childhood Memories 1998 Eastman Wind Ensemble Live in Osaka 1992 Morley and Gearhart Rediscovered 2001 The Young Menuhin Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff: Solo Works and Transcriptions The Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music, Vol. 6-10 Nigel Kennedy: The Platinum Collection [Box Set] 2007 Gramophone Collectors' Edition CD No. 4: The Real Paganini 2006 Classical Music Start-Up Kit, Vol. 2: 1825-1945 1993 Classical Favorites Advertiser's Guide (Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4) 2000 Ferrero Recordings 1930 - 1953 50 Classical Highlights: Essential Classics 2002 Universal Melodies Panorama: Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov 2000 Unforgettable Classics Collection 1995 Fagottissima terzia 2000 The Essential Emma Johnson 1999 The Legendary Trumpet Virtuosity of Rafael Méndez Volume I Isaac Stern (1945-46) Fiedler Greatest Hits 1991 Classics for Children 1999 Bits And Pieces 1994 40 Famous Marches 1999 The Young Menuhin Encores 1991 Autumn Songs: Popular Works for Solo Piano 1995 Strike Up The Band 1987 The Virtuoso Trombone 1984 The Most Unforgettable Advertisements Ever, Vol. 2 1996 Anything Goes 2000 Dinu Lipatti: Les Inédits Piano Encores Vol. 2 2000 Heifetz Collection, Vol. 5 (1946-1947) 1994 Favorite Violin Jacques Israelievitch: Suite Enfantine 1997 Great Pianists of the 20th Century: The Complete Edition (Box 2) (Box Set) 1999 Works for Bassoon & Piano 1995 Classical Chillout, Vol. 3: More Classic Ads 2003 50 Classical Performances: Ultimate 2002 50 Greatest Classics (Box Set) 1999 Schumann: Violin Concerto in D minor; Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor 1994 Pops Caviar 1995 Classical Journey (Box Set) 50 Classical Performances: Symphonic 2002 Classic Symphonic Performances 2003 Ultimate Classic Performances 2003 James Galway-A Portrait 1996 Idiot's Guide to Classical Music 1995 Discover the Classics, Vol. 2 1997 The World of Organ Transcription: Popular Classics Transcribed for organ Antonio Janigro; Cello Favorites 1988 The Most Unforgettable Violin Classics Ever 1995 A Great Panorama of Classical Music 2000 Elmo and The Orchestra 2001 Masters of the Bow 2002 Pablo Casals Plays...(Magic Talent) Kalinka 1992 Greatest Hits Sampler 1991 100 Best Classics, Vol. 2 2006 Listen to This!! 1999 Walking in the Air 1992 Russian Opera Dance Spectacular Sound of the Academy Best Ever Family Favorites The Art of Johnny Cowell 1997 Playtime: Imagination 2001 Piano Transcriptions 1997 Flute et Orgue à Notre-Dame de Paris The #1 Classical Album 2002 The Heart of Cello 1994 Classic Rock Violin 1996 Family Favorites 1996 The Best Of The Academy 1995 Selections from The Heifetz Collection 1994 Earl Wild 1999 About A Hundred Years 1997 Famous Russian Operatic Choruses Classic Wynton 1998 Casals: Bow & Baton Encores 1992 Piano Gems and Masterpieces 2002 Classical Evergreens 1997 Oscar's Orchestra [Music and Excerpts from the Animated TV Series] Masters of Classical Music, Vols. 1-5 (Box Set) Listen, Learn and Grow: Playtime (Box Set) 2001 The Best of the Classical Masterpieces Cartoons Greatest Hits Badinerie 1997 25 TV Commercial Classics 1994 Masters of the Opera, Vol. 10: 1932-1843 Showpieces & Encores 2001 Cello Favorites Vol.1 The Very Best of James Galway 2002 The Most Unforgettable Russian Classics Ever 2000 Fifty Classical Favorites 2000 Fantomen Russian Music and Revolution 1999 Luciano Pavarotti in Concert 1991 Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Capriccio Espagnol; Flight of the Bumblebee 1999 Power Classics! Classical Music for Your Active Lifestyle, Vol. 4 1994 Flute Follies 1992 The Great Berlin Band Show 1990 A Tribute to Nathan Milstein Violin Greatest Hits Salut Salon! Was kann das Herz dafur The Best of Russian Music 2001 Great Pianists of the Century, Vol. 1 Bronika Kushkuley In Concert Romantic Piano Favourites, Vol. 1 (Box Set) 1994 Great Russian Classics 1999 Best of College Des Cuivres De Suisse Romande 1994 Bach and Noodles Sabre Dance: Highlights of Classical Music Great Nature Classics 2000 Classical Chillout (Box Set) 2003 Greatest Russian Composers, Vol. 3 1998 Computer Music 1990 Discover the Classics 2000 Encore Live! from Orchestra Hall 1997 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Alexander Pirogov Nature Celebrated In Music 1995 Ofra Harnoy & Friends: Duets Balalaika Favorites 1990 Jascha Heifetz 1922-34 1997 The Wonderful World of Classical Music (Box Set) Virtuoso Violin 2001 Shine: The Complete Classics 1997 World's Greatest Classics (Box Set) 2000 Russian Masterpieces 1990 A Treasury of Golden Classics The Greatest Classical Hits Bolero (Box Set) Virtuoso Tuba 1996 Ballades pour trompette 1993 A Classical Adventure 1999 TV Classics 1992 Le Quintette Moraguès fait la fête 2000 Classics.online.com 1995 Vladimir Horowitz: The European Solo Recordings, Vol. 2 Masters of the Opera, 1642-1926 (Box Set) Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 3; Sadko; Overtures 1995 Andante Cantabile: Romantic Music for Cello and Orchestra 2002
