|
|
Opera Music Plot Synopsis
Rimsky Korsakov: Noch Pered Rozhdestvom (Christmas Eve)
Solokha, a witch, has taken a fancy to the elderly Cossak
Chub, but is greatly
hampered by her son Vakula's courtship of Oxana, the Cossak's
daughter.
Anticipating that during Chub's visit to the sacristan there
will be a meeting
between the lovers, Solokha arranges with the Devil, whose
ire has been aroused
by a caricature drawn by Vakula on the wall of the village
church, to steal the
moon and stars. In the darkness Chub, travelling in a circle,
arrives back home
and is refused admittance by Vakula, who imagines him to be
a rival. Meanwhile,
Oxana accepts Vakula on condition that he will secure for
her a pair of the
Empress's shoes. Nothing daunted, Vakula seeks the Imperial
Presence, and is
duly rewarded, first with the shoes, and then by his lady's
favour.
|
|
|
