Opera Scotland

Snow Maiden 1957Glasgow Grand Opera Society

Read more about the opera Snow Maiden

The Snow Maiden was one of the first of Rimsky-Korsakov's own operas to be staged by a British company, though that was as late as 1933. The Sadler's Wells staging remained a popular favourite for many years, without leading to any further exploration of his operatic output. For many years it was also the only Rimsky opera available on record in the west, and that may be the factor that prompted Glasgow Grand to give what are, to date, its only performances in Scotland. Many of the roles make heavy demands on the performers, and it is a long work (arguably overlong for its dramatic content, wonderful as the music may be). The company was able to field a team of soloists mostly with experience of several major roles.

The popular work that week was also a comparative rarity in Scotland, Verdi's Masked Ball.