The Tale of the Stone Flower (Prokofiev)
The Tale of the Stone Flower, Op. 118 (Russian: Сказ о каменном цветке), is Sergei Prokofiev's eighth and last ballet, written between 1948 and 1953. It is based on the Russian Ural folk tale The Stone Flower by Pavel Bazhov and is also the last of the trilogy of ballets Prokofiev wrote in the Russian ballet tradition. It was premiered posthumously, in 1954, conducted by Yuri Fayer.
Contents
Numbers
- Prologue
- 1 The Mistress of the Copper Mountain
- 2 Danilo and his work
- Act I
- Scene 1
- 3 Danilo in search of the flower
- 4 Danilo meets some fellow villagers
- 5 Scene and Duet of Katerina and Danilo
- 6 Interlude
- Scene 2
- 7 Round Dance
- 8 Katerina dances with her friends
- 9 The Peasant Girls' Dance
- 10 Danilo's and Katerina's Dance
- 11 The unmarried men's dance
- 12 Severyan's Dance
- 13 Altercation over the malachite vase
- 14 Scene of Katerina and Danilo
- 15 Danilo's Meditation
- Scene 3
- 16 Danilo enticed away by the Mistress of the Copper Mountain
- Act II
- Scene 4
- 17 The Mistress shows Danilo the treasures of the earth
- 18 Duet of the Mistress and Danilo
- 19 Scene and Waltz of the Diamonds
- 20 Dance of the Russian precious stones
- 21 Waltz
- 22 Danilo's Monologue and the Mistress' Reply
- 23 The Mistress shows Danilo the stone flower
- 24 Severyan and the Workers; The Mistress' Warning
- Scene 5
- 25 Scene and Katerina's Dance
- 26 Severyan's Arrival
- 27 "Where are you, sweet Danilo?"
- 28 The Appearance of the Mistress; Katerina's Joy
- Scene 6
- 29 Ural Rhapsody
- 30 Interlude
- 31 Russian Dance
- Scene 7
- 32 Gypsy Dance
- 33 Severyan's Dance
- 34 Solo of the Gypsy Girl and Coda
- 35 Katerina's Appearance and Severyan's Rage
- 36 The Appearance of the Mistress and Scene of Severyan transfixed to the earth
- 37 Severyan follows the Mistress
- 38 Severyan dies
- Scene 8
- 39 Katerina sits by the fire and yearns for Danilo
- 40 Scene and Dance of Katerina and the skipping of the Fire Spirits
- 41 Katerina follows the Fire Spirits
- 42 Dialogue of Katerina and the Mistress
- 43 Danilo turned to stone
- 44 The Joy of the reuniting of Katerina and Danilo
- 45 The Mistress presents gifts to Katerina and Danilo
- 46 Epilogue
Analysis
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Instrumentation
The work is scored for an orchestra consisting of 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets (1st doubling E-flat clarinet, 2nd doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), 4 french horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (triangle, castanets, wood blocks, tambourine, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam, tubular bells, xylophone), harp, piano, and strings.
Premiere
31 May 1954, Bolshoi Theater, Moscow, conducted by Yuri Fayer. Choreography by Yuri Grigorovich. Dancers included Marina Kondratieva (one of the title roles)Raissa Struchkova (Yekaterina), Galina Ulanova (Yekaterina's sister), Aleksey Yermolayev (Severyan), Maya Plisetskaya (Icy Rusalka of the Copper Mountain), Vladimir Preobrazhensky (Danila's brother), Gennadi Lediakh (one of the good bailiffs), and Yuri Grigoriev(Danila) and more.[1]
Recordings
| Orchestra | Conductor | Record Company | Year of Recording | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radio Philharmonie Hannover des NDR | Michail Jurowski | CPO | 1995/7 | CD |
| BBC Philharmonic Orchestra | Gianandrea Noseda | Chandos Records | 2003 | CD |
| Bolshoi Theater Orchestra | Gennady Rozhdestvensky | Melodiya | 1968 | CD/LP |
Orchestral suites from The Tale of the Stone Flower
As usual, Prokofiev extracted music from the ballet for concert performance.
Wedding Suite, Op. 126 (1951)
Available recordings:
| Orchestra | Conductor | Record Company | Year of Recording | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Scottish National Orchestra | Neeme Järvi | Chandos Records | 1989 | CD |
| Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra | Arnold Katz | Russian Season | 1997 | CD |
| USSR Radio/TV Large Symphony Orchestra | Gennady Rozhdestvensky | Melodiya | LP |
Gypsy Fantasy, Op. 127 (1951)
Available recordings:
| Orchestra | Conductor | Record Company | Year of Recording | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moscow Radio/TV Symphony Orchestra | Gennady Rozhdestvensky | Melodiya | LP |
Urals Rhapsody, Op. 128 (1951)
There are no available recordings.
The Mistress of the Copper Mountain, Op. 129
Unrealized.
References
- ↑ Israel V. Nestyov, trans. Florence Jones, Prokofiev, 1960
