About the work
Opera in one act (three scenes), subtitled 'An Autumn Tale', by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov on a scenario by Yevgeny Petrovsky; the composer wrote the libretto together with his daughter Sofia Rimskaya-Korsakova. It premiered on 25 December 1902 (12 December O.S.) at the Solodovnikov Theatre in Moscow, performed by Savva Mamontov's Private Opera.
Plot
The beautiful tsarevna, held captive by the evil sorcerer Kashchey, longs for her betrothed Ivan Tsarevich. Kashchey's immortality depends on his daughter never weeping; when compassion for Ivan moves her to tears, she turns into a weeping willow, and Kashchey's power is destroyed.
Cultural significance
A student revival at the St Petersburg Conservatory in spring 1905, shortly after Bloody Sunday, was read by the audience as an allegory of the tsarist regime's downfall and turned into a political demonstration; the authorities banned performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's music, a ban lifted only after nationwide protests in December 1905.