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The Little Humpbacked Horse

ballet in three acts

music by Rodion Shchedrin

Duration

2 hours 10 minutes

1 act

25 min

interval 30 min

2 act

25 min

interval 20 min

3 act

30 min

for viewers over 6 years old

Cast

The Little Humpbacked Horse, Ivanushka and his envious brothers Danila and Gavrila, the Maiden Tsar, and the other characters have all been transferred from the pages of the wondrous fairy tale by Pyotr Ershov to the ballet stage. A peasant son, Ivanushka, with the help of a plain-looking horse who becomes his loyal friend, overcomes all his trials, puts the stupid Tsar to shame, takes his place, and marries the Tsar Maiden. The tale, familiar from childhood, is told with mischief and slyness. The music is by eminent composer Rodion Shchedrin, who wrote it as a young man while studying at the Conservatory. It sparkles with fun and creates freedom for choreographic solutions. Mikhail Messerer's production is based on the choreography of Alexander Radunsky, who was the first to use this score and created a ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1960. The full-length three-act production is a delight for children and adults alike, sure to be enjoyed by everyone who appreciates ballet performed in the classical tradition. The stage design uses motifs from Palekh miniatures, offering a very special take on fairy tales and folklore.

Act one

A village hut. Sunday afternoon. The brothers Gavrila and Danila are preparing for a celebration, leaving their younger brother Ivan at home. Bored, Ivan starts playing his pipe. A group of village children gathers by the window. Ivan calls them into the hut, amuses them, and teaches them to dance. When the brothers return, they send the children away and scold Ivan.
Their old father asks the sons to find the wicked thief who destroyed their wheat harvest. The brothers go to look for him and Ivan quietly follows them.
In the field, the brothers fall asleep, and Ivan stands guard alone. Suddenly, a magical mare appears before him. He catches her by throwing a harness around her neck. The mare asks Ivan to let her go, promising to reward him with two golden-maned horses and the little humpbacked horse.
The sky lightens as firebirds fly overhead. Ivan rushes to catch a feather dropped by one of them. Meanwhile, Danila and Gavrila take the horses to the capital to sell them. Ivan and the humpbacked horse set off after the horse thieves.
It is market day in the capital. The tsar himself wishes to buy the magical horses from Danila and Gavrila. Ivan appears and claims ownership of the horses. The royal groom cannot handle them, so the Tsar makes Ivan the royal groom and appoints his old groom as chamberlain of the bedchamber. The new chamberlain swears to take revenge on Ivan.

Act two

The Tsar’s chamberlain watches Ivan and notices that he has a feather of the Firebird. Waiting until Ivan falls asleep, he steals the feather and brings it to the Tsar with a denunciation against the royal groom. The Tsar accidentally touches the feather to the wall and the image of the beautiful Tsar princess appears on it. The Tsar falls madly in love with her. On the advice of his chamberlain, the Tsar sends Ivan to fetch the Tsar Maiden.
A silver mountain by the sea. Ivan watches the beauty dancing surrounded by firebirds. With the help of the Humpbacked Horse Ivan manages to capture the Tsar Maiden. They fall in love. The Humpbacked Horse puts the beauty to sleep to take her to the Tsar.

Act three

Ivan and the Tsar Princess appear in the palace. The Tsar wants to marry immediately, but the beauty demands that he first retrieve her ring from the bottom of the sea.
Ivan and the Humpbacked Horse descend to the bottom of the sea. The sea princess shows Ivan the wonders of the underwater kingdom. The all-knowing ruff fish pulls a chest with a ring from out of the sand. Ivan thanks everyone and rises to the surface.
Preparations for the royal wedding are underway in the palace. But the Tsar Princess is sad, remembering Ivan. Ivan returns with the ring. The Tsar insists on an immediate wedding. But the Tsar Princess laughs at the old man and suggests that he first bathe in a cauldron of boiling milk to regain his youth. The chamberlain whispers to the Tsar that Ivan should be bathed first. The Tsar calls Ivan and orders him to jump into the cauldron.
The Humpbacked Horse casts a spell over the cauldron, and Ivan bravely dives into the boiling milk. He emerges as a miraculous handsome man. The Tsar then jumps into the cauldron and disappears.
The people greet Ivan and the Tsar Princess and dance around them.