Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan: Where classical opera meets Russian folklore (2)

The Tale of Tsar Saltan, as many of Rimsky-Korsakov's operas, is famous for folk songs or stylizations woven into the opera’s music.

The end of the first act (Video 1) is the most dramatic moment of the opera: the Tsaritsa (Tsar’s wife) and her young son (Prince Guidon) are sealed in a barrel and cast into the sea. The people and the boyars cannot go against the Tsar's will, but they are in deep sorrow: after all, the Tsaritsa was their kind intercessor, and the Prince is an innocent child. The music here reminds of Russian lyrical drawn-out songs, and the choral composition features traits of a funeral song.

The second video is the opera's happy ending: the Tsar and the Tsaritsa are reunited, their son has also found his love, and even the slanderers are forgiven and sent home. A great feast for the whole world begins. Here, the composer also introduces musical quotes from Russian folk wedding songs.

You may wish to enjoy the opera here: https://yandex.ru/video/touch/preview/13374606014935186586.

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Today, we would like to remember the outstanding actor, director, and screenwriter Erast Pavlovich Garin (born November 10, 1902, in the city of Ryazan, Ryazan Province, Russian Empire). His stage pseudonym "Garin" appeared when he was performing at the garrison theater in Ryazan after graduating from high school in 1919 and volunteering for the Red Army. With this theater, he moved to Moscow and caught the attention of the legendary director Vsevolod Meyerhold, who advised him to pursue studies in the theatrical arts.

In 1921, Garin enrolled at the Higher Directing Workshops under Meyerhold's guidance and became an actor in various theaters, including the State Experimental Theater and Meyerhold's theater. His first major role was in the production "The D.E. Trust: A history of Europe's Destruction" in 1924, where he showcased a vivid acting style and stage versatility. Even then, his unique style was taking shape — an original manner of movement, speech, and facial expressions.

Garin quickly became a leading actor at Meyerhold's theater. His brilliant portrayal of Gulyachkin in "The Mandate" (1925) garnered the audience's admiration. In 1926, he played Khlestakov in "The Government Inspector" — a performance recognized as a masterpiece of theatrical art. In 1928, he was cast as Chatsky in "Woe from Wit," a role he performed with enthusiasm and originality, which was noted by director Meyerhold.

Garin possessed a distinctly comic appearance — a slender build (accentuated by baggy costumes), an expressive face with a long, sharp nose, protruding ears, deeply set eyes (with a particularly glazed look), a prominent lower lip, and most notably, a piercing, squeaky voice, along with a manner of gurgling and "swallowing" words. These vocal and physical traits enabled him to make his characters, when required, grotesquely repulsive and unbearable. Garin was irresistible in grotesque comedic roles, embodying sharply negative characters. He called his style "lyrical satire." His work with Meyerhold greatly influenced his creative development and his inclination toward satire.

In 1936, he transferred to the Leningrad Comedy Theater, where he worked as both an actor and director. He directed the film "The Marriage" (1936), in which he played Podkolesin himself. After the war, Garin returned to Moscow and worked at the "Soyuzdetfilm" studio (creating films for children), appearing in over 40 films, often portraying kings, and voiced about 40 cartoons, as wells as working in radio. Among his later roles was that of an archaeology professor in "Gentlemen of Fortune" (1971). As a director, he made seven films and acted in three of them.

His notable acting roles include the King in "Cinderella," the groom in "The Wedding," and many others.

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