Christmas Eve
Music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · libretto by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · premiered 1895 · at Mariinsky Theatre
Christmas Eve or The Night Before Christmas (Russian: Ночь перед Рождеством, romanized: Nóch péred Rozhdestvóm ) is an opera in four acts with music and libretto by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Composed between 1894 and 1895, Rimsky-Korsakov based his opera on a short story, "Christmas Eve", from Nikolai Gogol's 1832 collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka. The story had been used as the basis for an opera at least three times previously, including for Tchaikovsky's Vakula the Smith (1874). Oliver Knussen writes that "Rimsky is only interested in recreating the atmosphere of the folk-tale, fleshing it out for his stage pageant in a comparable way to Humperdinck in Hansel. Gerald Abraham, on the other hand, praises the vivid humanity and humour of Rimsky's setting, as well as its atmospheric strength.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Christmas Eve (opera)", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is the composer of record for this opera.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
- May Night (1829)
- Kashchey the Deathless (1901)