Pushkin's Fairy Tales Concert (With Music By Rimsky-Korsakov) Celebrates the Power of Timeliness Stories

On December 20, the St. Giles Episcopal Church was transformed into a fairytale kingdom as Campanella Children's Choir's younger choristers performed to the music based on fairy tales written by acclaimed Russian poet and writer Alexander Pushkin.

Campanella Choir performs at Puskin's Fairy Tales concert

Pushkin is widely regarded as one of Russia's greatest poets and one of the founders of Russian literature. A writer since the age of 15, he wrote hundreds of poems and novels. Most Russian children grew up hearing their parents read Pushkin's fairy tales. But the distinguished author remains unknown to many Americans.

With the Puskin's Fairy Tales concert, Campanella Children's Choir set out to bring the beauty Pushkin's verse and share it with the community.

The concert was made up of two parts. During the first part, Campanella's Beginners, Prelude 1 and Prelude II read poems from Pushkin's fairy tales and performed dances that were choreographed based on the fairy tales.

 During the second part, long-time Campanella collaborators the Chicago Trio ((Natalya Chernysh - violin, Irene Schweizer - cello, Diana Kofman – piano) performed pieces from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's operas "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" and "The Golden Cockerel." Both of those operas were based on Puskin's work.

The music was accompanied by Pushkin's fairy tales performed by Campanella teachers and students. Students wore dressed as characters from the operas. The show was further augmented with kids' illustrations Pushkin's fairy tales, which were projected in the background. At Campanella, we believe that performances that incorporate music, visual art and poetry allows us to better introduce the beauty of classical culture to the wider audience of kids and adults alike.

Check out some of the costumes featured in the concert.

Emma Laverty as the Squirrel from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Mia Shepel as Tsaritsa Lebed' (the Swan Princess) from the from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Abby Laverty as Shemahan Tsaritsa from the Golden Cockerel

Richard Slapins as the Stargazer (left) and -Alexandr Shor as Tsar Dodon (right)
 from Golden Cockerel

All and all, Pushkin's Fairy Tales Concert turned out to be a great event for Campanella kids and the audience alike.