Germany Rimsky-Korsakov, The Night Before Christmas: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Bavarian State Opera / Vladimir Jurowski (conductor). National Theatre, Munich, 25.11.2025. (AL-L)
This evening is part of Serge Dorny and Vladimir Jurowski’s strategy to present neglected works from the operatic repertoire. Who has ever heard of this four-act opera by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov? The Night Before Christmas was performed in Frankfurt during the 2021/2022 season. The premiere attracted only a small audience of curious listeners, but the following day, the word spread and the remaining performances sold out. There is even a recording under the Naxos label.
The fantastical tale, inspired by Gogol, follows the blacksmith Vakula who, in order to win the heart of the capricious Oksana must defeat a mischievous and theatrical Devil and bring back the Empress’s slippers.
As one might expect, the music is colorful and varied. The orchestration is superb, with beautiful contributions from the clarinets and horns. In Act III, there is also a rather original passage in which the string section leaders – including the double bass – are given fine solos. The choral writing is equally rich.
But while the music shines, the storyline is somewhat lacking. The characters are sketched rather than developed, and the evolution of the protagonists lacks depth. More than an opera this is a succession of ‘numbers’, some more successful than others, not a true narrative. It is therefore not surprising that the work inspired an enjoyable orchestral suite that captures its best moments: the work itself remains a bit thin.
Barrie Kosky offers a solid production, but nothing more. The sets and costumes, sometimes intentionally inflated, recall a circus ring where the Devil resembles a ringmaster. A series of dances of varying interest punctuates the evening; the one concluding Act II, with chorus and soprano, is an excellent moment.
Vladimir Jurowski is in his element. The orchestra and chorus weave beautiful Slavic colors. As he explains in an interview, he paid particular attention to the pronunciation of the text so that it respects the Ukrainian origin of the story. As with The Passenger (review here) and War and Peace (here), he has ‘de-Stalinized’ this work.
The assembled cast is very strong. We are indeed in Munich. Sergei Skorokhodov (Vakula) lacks projection, somewhat. It is a luxury to have Violeta Urmana (Tsarina), Sergei Leiferkus (Village Elder), and Laura Aikin (Woman with an ordinary nose) in small roles. Tansel Akzeybek enjoys himself as the Devil. Thanks to the superb quality of her voice, Elena Tsallagova is the great triumph of the evening as Oksana.
There is a twist in Act III: Vakula captures the Devil, who takes him to St Petersburg to meet the Tsarina. She appears on a majestic throne suspended from the ceiling and offers him the slippers that will allow him to win Oksana’s heart in less than a minute. Let us not overinterpret this scene, but how can one not think that any Ukrainian wishing to negotiate effectively with Russia might do well to have the Devil on their side?
Antoine Lévy-Leboyer
Featured Image: Barrie Kosky’s Munich production of The Night Before Christmas © Geoffroy Schied
Production:
Director – Barrie Kosky
Stage designer – Klaus Grünberg
Costumes – Klaus Bruns
Choreographer– Otto Pichler
Dramaturgy – Saskia Kruse
Chorus director – Christoph Heil
Cast:
Vakula – Sergei Skorokhodov
Oksana – Elena Tsallagova
Solokha – Ekaterina Semenchuk
Chub – Dmitry Ulyanov
Deacon Ossip Nikiforovich – Vsevolod Grivnov
Patsyuk – Matti Turunen
The Devil – Tansel Akzeybek
Woman with a violet-blue nose – Alexandra Durseneva
Woman with an ordinary nose – Laura Aikin
Panas – Milan Siljanov
Tsarina – Violeta Urmana
Village Elder – Sergei Leiferkus