Make way for the scheming Tsar

It's both a rarity and a blessing to see any of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's operas performed outside of his native Russia. That's why anticipation is running high about a new production of "The Tsar's Bride" coming to Bangkok's International Festival of Dance and Music on October 6.

This lavish production is bolstered by stage direction and set and lighting designs by the masters of the Bolshoi Opera.

What's been called Rimsky-Korsakov's most Western opera (and "Verdi on vodka" on Covent Garden's website) has enough giddy romance, double-crossing, poisonings and madness to rival Shakespeare at his most sensational.

In "The Tsar's Bride", history is stranger than fiction, because the Lev Mey drama that inspired it was based on fact.

In 1571 Tsar Ivan the Terrible married a commoner, but Marfa died just a few weeks later.

In the hands of the great Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov, the bare bones of the plot have been fleshed out with some of his warmest and most full-blooded arias. These songs of love and longing, hope and betrayal are the art and the soul of the show.

The plot is serpentine. Every twist has substantial ramifications. To win over Marfa, the character Griaznoi obtains a love potion. But his spurned mistress Lubacha takes revenge by substituting it with a poison.

Meanwhile Tsar Ivan selects Marfa to become his bride, not knowing she's been poisoned. Griaznoi blames Lykov, Marfa's fiancé, and murders him, before going on a killing spree as the tragedy unfolds.

All the while, waiting in the wings to wreak more havoc, are the oprichniks - Ivan's brutal security force.

Who better to stage such a tour de force of drama and history than the Ekaterinburg State Opera Theatre? One of the oldest such companies in Russia, and a standard-bearer of both Russian and international music traditions, it will celebrate its centenary next year.

In 2009 the Bangkok festival staged three rousing operas - "La Traviata", "Tosca" and "Madama Butterfly" - which went down a treat with sizeable audiences.

"The Tsar's Bride" is sung in Russian with subtitles in Thai and English, so it will be easy to follow the convolutions of the plot. If the success of the Russian opera "Prince Igor" at last year's festival is anything to go by, "The Tsar's Bride" should be just as popular.

The conductor is Mikhail Granovsky of the Bolshoi Theatre. Only nine when he began singing with a boys' choir in Moscow, the maestro is a musician's musician, with a background as a pianist and concertmaster.

As a well-travelled conductor, his repertoire at the Bolshoi Opera includes many classics from the canons of Mozart and Tchaikovsky, in addition to that other Rimsky-Korsakov chestnut "The Snow Maiden".

"The Tsar's Bride" may be a staple of Russian companies, but its absence from world stages has been notable since its premiere in 1899. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote his 10th opera as a reaction against the bombast of Wagner and other Western operas.

Yet another operatic high note of Bangkok's 13th International Festival of Music and Dance will be the Ekaterinburg State Opera Theatre's production of "The Marriage of Figaro". This is another new production, featuring stage direction and set design by the leading lights of the Mariinsky Opera Company.

Set in the Spanish town of Seville, "The Marriage of Figaro" is a wildly funny opera that provides a distinct counterpoint to "The Tsar's Bride".

The plot follows the amorous adventures of Count Almaviva, who is flirting with Susanna, soon to marry Figaro, who had borrowed money from Marcellina and promised to marry her if he defaulted - which he has.

As Figaro schemes with Countess Rosina, who wants to teach her philandering husband a lesson about how to elude Marcellina, they trigger many hilarious misunderstandings.

Imagine a romantic comedy that's part period piece and a magnum opus thanks to a score by Mozart. Sung in Italian with surtitles in Thai and English, it's accessible to even opera rookies, aided by the beautiful melodies, scintillating costumes and atmospheric sets.

These two productions will star some of the Ekaterinburg's most impressive singers at the peak of their powers.

 It ain't over ...

_ "The Tsar's Bride" is on October 6 and the "The Marriage of Figaro" is on October 8 at the Thailand Cultural Centre.

_ Show times are at 7.30.

_ Tickets cost Bt1,000 to Bt4,000.

_ Call (02) 262 3191 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.