Russian Snow White Opera THE MAGIC MIRROR to Invade FringeNYC, 8/21-24
By: Kristin Salaky
Among the 200 plays and musicals appearing at August's New York International Fringe Festival, there is one very unexpected production - a new Russian-language opera by the impressive 26-year old Russian composer Polina Nazaykinskaya.
The opera - The Magic Mirror - is based on Alexander Pushkin's alternative version of the Snow White fable. It will play FringeNYC from August 21-24 after a successful and acclaimed run at the Boston Center for Arts. It is sung in Russian with translations provided and runs about 70 minutes.
The opera is presented by the Juventas New Music Ensemble, an organization founded in Boston in 2005 to present new contemporary classical music from young, emerging composers. Juventas has been chosen as a "classical music pick" five times by The Boston Globe. Each year, the group commissions one new opera for its Opera Project, as well as one new orchestral piece.
Juventas' trip to NY is fully financed by donations from the community as part of a hugely successful Kickstarter Campaign. The production's singers are all well-known in Boston.
While The Magic Mirror is based on the familiar Snow White tale, Pushkin's take on the story is darker, but ultimately joyous. The story includes the beautiful, young Snow White character - known here as The Princess. But it focuses on the complex "Evil Queen," who not only condemns Snow White to her deep sleep, but in this version, traps the souls of rivals in her magic mirror.
PERFORMANCES: Aug 21 (3:00 PM), Aug 22 (9:45 PM), Aug 23 (4:15 PM), Aug 24 (Noon & 8:45 PM) at CSV Flamboyan Theater, 107 Suffolk Street. Tickets: www.FringeNYC.org.
The Magic Mirror features an all-female creative team, with luscious, rich music by Polina Nazaykinskaya, music direction by Juventas Artistic Director Lidiya Yankovskaya and stage direction by Resident Director Erin Huelskamp. It stars Jennifer Weiman (Evil Queen), Erin Anderson (The Princess), Oswaldo Iraheta (The Prince), Andy Papas (The King), Noune Karapetian (Queen Mother) and Yelena Dudochkin (Chernyafka).
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