How dull the world would be without fairy tales! In Slavonic countries, numerous generations have uttered these words and taken especial heed to pass on to their children the wonderful stories which all begin with the words “Once upon a time ...”. In this country, such matters seem to be of less importance when one considers how rare it is to see a Russian fairy-tale opera on the programme.If you do not happen to have tickets for the Bolshoi Theatre in your pocket, then you really must listen to the Orchestral Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan: a delightful 20 minutes of highlights from one of opera’s masterworks. Introduced by a blaring fanfare in every case, each of these wonderfully expressive musical gems is filled with highly original melodies, exquisite rhythms and brilliant orchestration.

The B Side offers a foretaste of a Russian “Midsummer Night’s Dream”: based on Ukrainian folk melodies, the Overture to May Night evokes a vivid picture of elves and water-nymphs.

The Russian Easter Festival Overture, with its liturgical elements, provides a contrast to the lyrical fairy-tale music and rounds off this delightful Rimsky-Korsakov portrait which no music lover should fail to include in his collection.

  1.    Tsar's Departure and Farewell (Op. 57) 
  2.    Tsaritsa and her son afloat in the cask (Op. 57) 
  3.    The Three Wonders (Op. 57) 
  4.    May Night 
  5.    Russian Easter Festival, Op. 36