Teatro Real tickets 2 May 2025 - The Tale of Tsar Saltan | GoComGo.com

The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Teatro Real, Main Auditorium, Madrid, Spain
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7:30 PM
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US$ 120

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Madrid, Spain
Starts at: 19:30
Acts: 4

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast
Performers
Bass: Ante Jerkunica (Tsar Saltan)
Soprano: Bernarda Bobro (Povarikha (Cook))
Tenor: Bogdan Volkov (Tsarevich Gvidon)
Mezzo-Soprano: Carole Wilson (Babarikha (Old Woman))
Choir: Choir of the Teatro Real Madrid
Conductor: Karel Mark Chichon
Soprano: Nina Minasyan (Tsarevna Swan-Bird (Lyebyed))
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Teatro Real Madrid
Mezzo-Soprano: Stine Marie Fischer (Tkachikha (Weaver))
Soprano: Svetlana Aksenova (Tsaritsa Militrisa)
Creators
Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Poet: Alexander Pushkin
Director: Dmitri Tcherniakov
Librettist: Vladimir Belsky
Overview

The Tale of Tsar Saltan comes to Madrid for the first time in an award-winning co-production from La Monnaie directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, which showcases this little-known political work that tells an exciting fantasy story.

New production by the Teatro Real, in coproduction with the Théatre Royal de La Monnaie / de Munt

Commemoration of the 225th anniversary of the birth of Aleksandr Pushkin

A tale of fantasy and tenderness in which the Tsarevich Gvidon is transformed into a mosquito. His sister, the Tsarevna, is transformed into a swan by a malevolent spell, too. Together with their mother, Tsarevna Militrisa, they will face various magical trials and challenges.

History
Premiere of this production: 03 November 1900, Solodovnikov Theatre, Moscow

The Tale of Tsar Saltan is an opera in four acts with a prologue (a total of seven scenes) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by Vladimir Belsky, and is based on the poem of the same name by Aleksandr Pushkin. The opera was composed in 1899–1900 to coincide with Pushkin's centenary, and was first performed in 1900 in Moscow, Russia.

Synopsis

Time: Unspecified
Place: Partly in the city of Tmutarakan and partly on the island of Buyan

Prologue

On a wintry evening three sisters are sitting at spinning wheels. As Tsar Saltan overhears from outside the door, the oldest sister boasts that, if she were Tsaritsa (the bride of the Tsar), she would prepare a sumptuous feast; the middle sister would weave a grand linen; the youngest promises to bear, as son for the Tsar, a bogatyr (warrior-knight). Saltan enters, chooses the third sister to be his bride ("Zdravstvuy, krasnaya devitsa!" = "Greetings, beautiful girl!"), and takes her away. The old woman Babarikha devises a revenge for the two jealous older sisters ("Nu, tak slushat, ne meshat" = "Then listen well and don’t interrupt"): when the Tsar is away at war, a message will be sent to him that the child born to his Tsaritsa is not human, but a monster.

Act 1

Introduction — Saltan’s Departure

Scene

The Tsar has gone off to war. In his palace in Tmutarakan, the Tsaritsa has given birth to a son, to whom a chorus of nannies sings a lullaby ("Bayushki, bayushki!"). She is despondent: there is no reply from her husband to the news of the birth of their child. Her sisters are (with Babarikha) now part of the court: the older sister as Cook, and the middle sister as Weaver. (They have secretly replaced the message of the Tsaritsa to her husband with news of her son's birth with another message: it said that she has borne neither a daughter nor a son, neither a mouse nor a frog, but a kind of monster.) They try to entertain her, as does the skomorokh (jester) and the old man ("Gosudarynya, tsaritsa, matushka" = "Your highness, queen, mother"). But all this is to no avail. The young Tsarevich baby, who has been lulled to sleep during this scene, awakens and runs about, accompanied by his nurses, and the people wish God's blessings upon him. Then a messenger stumbles in, having been waylaid with drink by Babarikha. He sings "Gosudarynya moya, ne veli kaznit menya" ("Your highness, don’t punish me"), and his message from the Tsar is read by the scribes: the Tsaritsa and her progeny must be placed in a barrel and thrown into the sea. Reluctantly the people carry out the Tsar's command.

Act 2

Introduction — Militrisa and Gvidon Afloat In the Barrel

Scene

The Tsaritsa and her son Gvidon have landed on the island of Buyan, and broken out of the barrel in which they were trapped. Gvidon, who has grown remarkably rapidly into a young man, is searching for sustenance. While doing this, he rescues a swan from being killed by a kite. in gratitude, the Swan-Bird sings to him ("Ty, tsarevich, moy spasitel" = "You, Prince, my Saviour"). The Tsaritsa explains Gvidon's early history to her son, and the Swan-Bird causes the city of Ledenets (Russian: Леденец, "lollipop") to arise magically on the island. Gvidon is hailed by its inhabitants as its Prince.

Act 3

Scene 1

By the shore of Buyan, the merchant ships have left, and Gvidon laments having being separated from his father ("Veter po moryu gulyayet" = "The wind blows over the sea"). The Swan-Bird will help him by changing him into a bumblebee. He will be able to fly over the sea, as a stowaway on Saltan's ship, to visit him (incognito) in Tmutarakan.

Interlude — Flight of the Bumblebee

Scene 2

The sailors arrive at Tmutarakan from their visit to Buyan. The sailors tell Tsar Saltan of the wonders of Gvidon's island (the magically appearing city itself, a magic squirrel, and the thirty-three bogatyrs from the sea). The two older sisters are concerned that the Tsar will become interested in visiting the island, and they try to dissuade him. In retaliation the bumble-bee Gvidon stings each of them in the brow. Babarikha then tries to trump the sailors, by speaking of a fabulous Princess on the sea, at which point Gvidon stings her in the eye and blinds her. Saltan decides to visit the island, but, in view of the havoc caused by the bumblebee, forbids that breed of insect from ever entering the palace again.

Act 4

Scene 1

Gvidon, again by the seashore of Buyan, longs for a bride ("V sinem more zvyozdy bleshchut" = "Over the blue sea stars shine"). The Swan-Bird appears, and Gvidon tells her of the Princess that he heard about at Tmutarakan. The Swan-Bird transforms herself into that very Princess. His mother and a chorus of maidens enter, and bless the prospect of their wedding.

Orchestral interlude — Three Wonders

Scene 2

Gvidon, with his mother hidden, awaits the arrival of Saltan. When the ship arrives with the Tsar and his retinue, Gvidon greets him, and questions him as to whether or not he will have a son to carry on his work. The Saltan does not yet know that Gvidon is his son ("Akh, moguchiy knyaz Gvidon" = "Ah, mighty Prince Gvidon"), and expresses regret for his rash treatment of his wife many years earlier. Although Gvidon tries to cheer him up with the three wonders, it becomes clear that only the presence of Militrisa can assuage Saltan's guilt. The Princess-Swan (Lyebyed) appears and reveals the Tsar's long-lost wife. The older sisters beg forgiveness, which in his happiness Saltan grants. Everyone then joins in a celebration of the upcoming wedding of Gvidon and the Princess-Swan.

Venue Info

Teatro Real - Madrid
Location   Isabel II Square, s / n.

Teatro Real is a major opera house located in Madrid. Today the Teatro Real opera is one of the great theaters of Europe hosting large productions involving leading international figures in opera singing, musical direction, stage direction, and dance. Founded in 1818 and inaugurated on 19 November 1850, it closed in 1925 and reopened in 1966. Beginning in 1988 it underwent major refurbishing and renovation works and finally reopened in 1997 with a capacity of 1,746 seats. The theater offers visitors guided tours in several languages, including the auditorium, stage, workshops, and rehearsal rooms.

Founded by King Ferdinand VII in 1818, and after thirty-two years of planning and construction, a Royal Order on 7 May 1850 decreed the immediate completion of the "Teatro de Oriente" and the building works were finished within five months. The Opera House, located just in front of the Palacio Real, the official residence of the Queen who ordered the construction of the theatre, Isabel II, was finally inaugurated on 19 November 1850, with Donizetti's La Favorite.

The Teatro soon became one of the most prestigious opera houses in Europe. For over five decades it hosted the most renowned singers and composers of the time. In the early period, it saw famous opera singers such as Alboni, Frezzolini, Marietta Gazzaniga, Rosina Penco, Giulia Grisi, Giorgio Ronconi, Italo Gardoni, Mario de Candia and Antonio Selva among many others. In 1863, Giuseppe Verdi visited the theatre for the Spanish premiere of his La Forza del Destino. At its peak, in the last quarter of the 19th century, the Teatro hosted world renowned artists such as Adela Borghi, Marie Sasse, Adelina Patti, Christina Nilsson, Luisa Tetrazzini, Mattia Battistini, Julián Gayarre, Angelo Masini, Francesco Tamagno and Enrico Tamberlick. In 1925, the Ballets Russes of Diaghilev performed in the theatre with the presence of Nijinsky and Stravinsky.

From 1867 to 1925 the Teatro Real also housed the Madrid Royal Conservatory. In December of 1925 a Royal Order ordered its activities to be discontinued owing to the damage that the construction of the Metro de Madrid had caused to the building. The government set out to restore it and ordered numerous projects to be drawn out for its renovation, such as that from architect Urdanpilleta Flórez, who proposed a monumental remodeling of the building. However, financial difficulties prevented the completion of these projects and led to a simple restoration, sponsored by the Juan March Institute, and carried out first by the architect Manuel Gonzalez Valcárcel, and later by architects Miguel Verdú Belmonte and Francisco Rodriguez Partearroyo.

The theatre reopened in 1966 as a concert hall as well as the main concert venue for the Spanish National Orchestra and the RTVE Symphony Orchestra. The reopening was celebrated with a concert of the Spanish National Orchestra conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and the Orfeón Donostiarra. In 1969, the 14th Eurovision Song Contest was held at the theatre, featuring an onstage metal sculpture created by surrealist Spanish artist Salvador Dalí.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Madrid, Spain
Starts at: 19:30
Acts: 4
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