May Night

Based on Gogol’s piece, May Night takes place in a quaint village where the peace is joyfully disturbed by a conflict between a father and his son, the former being opposed to the latter’s wedding. Fortunately, in addition to being charming and fiercely generous, the son is incomparably cunning. Supernatural layers round off the plot: an abandoned house, a lake haunted by a witch, and waters full of magic creatures. Rimsky-Korsakov’s second opera is a fairy tale for all, with humorous twists and turns, ecstatic lovers rendezvousing, and satirical village scenes. Conducted by the dazzling Timur Zangiev, this truly unique piece, replete with charming melodies and traditional music, is making its French debut in a production directed by Christof Loy. Following Peter Grimes and Louise, Christof Loy, who was named Director of the Year at the Opera Awards 2024, tackles this generational conflict with his usual psychological finesse.

Language: Russian Surtitles French

Opera in 3 acts
Libretto by the composer,
from the story by Nikolai Gogol
Premiered in St. Petersburg in 1880

New production Opéra de Lyon
Coproduction with Opéra de Lyon,
Teatro Real de Madrid

Lyon Opera Orchestra and Chorus

An opera by: Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov
Conductor: Timur Zangiev
Director: Christof Loy
Set designers: Guadalupe Holguera, Christof Loy
Costume designer: Barbara Drosihn
Lighting designer: Benedikt Zehm
Choreographer: Ilya Jivoy
Chorus master: Benedict Kearns

Distribution:
Mayor: Ante Jerkunica
Levko: Bogdan Volkov
Mayor’s sister-in-law: Enkelejda Shkoza
Hanna: Victoria Karkacheva
Clerk: Stefan Petković (Lyon Opera Studio soloist)
Distiller: Andrei Popov
The Maiden: Olga Kulchynska
Brood-Hen: Barbara Skora (Lyon Opera Studio soloist)
Raven: Déborah Salazar (Lyon Opera Studio soloist)

Running Time: 2 hours 50 minutes – 1 intermission

Age: 14 and up