Prince Igor

2021, Buryat Opera and Ballet Theatre, Opera. Composer: Alexander Borodin Director: Yuri Laptev

«Prince Igor» by Alexander Borodin is an epic opera, a masterpiece of the Russian repertoire, based on the ancient «The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.» The production at the Buryat Opera and Ballet Theatre, with the monumental set design by Sergey Novikov, was staged in February 2021. Novikov’s artistic vision creates an expressive visual world that conveys the themes of duty, honor, and the confrontation between Ancient Rus and the Polovtsian steppe. This grand production includes the famous Polovtsian dances and brings Borodin’s unfinished opera to life with impressive stage power.

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Prince Igor

In April 1869, Vladimir Stasov suggested that Alexander Borodin use the remarkable monument of Old Russian literature, "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" (1185-1187), as the basis for an opera. The text and music of the opera were composed simultaneously. The opera was written over a period of 18 years, but it was never completed. After Borodin's death, Alexander Glazunov reconstructed the overture from memory and completed the missing sections of the opera based on Borodin's sketches, while Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov orchestrated a significant portion of the opera. The premiere was a great success on October 23 (November 4), 1890, in St. Petersburg, on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.…

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