Stage costume belt from the opera-ballet "Mlada"
Costumes
Inventory number
2021.12.15.15.CO.SC.1894.RUDescription
Egyptian style belt made of burgundy grosgrain silk waistline ribbon, fastening on the back. The main central decoration is made of golden metal thread stripes and squares, blue velvet stripes, circles and triangles, golden sequins and metal springs. Two shorter parts of burgundy fabric on the sides, with golden thread horizontal stripes and sequins on the bottom. All three parts are embellished with golden metal spring tassels on the bottom.The belt is a part of a stage costume in the Act 3 of the opera-ballet "Mlada", where the shadow of Queen Cleopatra, originally played by Maria SKORSYUK in 1892, appears with the shadows of her dancers and servants. The costumeS were designed by Evgeni PONOMAREV.
"Mlada" (Млада) opera-ballet in four acts, composed between 1889 and 1890 by Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, to a libretto by Viktor KRYLOV that was originally employed for an aborted project of the same name from 1872. The St. Petersburg premiere of RIMSKY-KORSAKOV's setting of the libretto was given on 1 November 1892.
"Mlada" is a fantasy tale about ancient pagan Slavs, but in the middle of the piece, Cleopatra emerges in a scene that exudes sensuality. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV was inspired by musical impressions of Paris during the World Exhibition in the summer 1889, and reflected on music in Hungarian and Algerian cafes. The virtuoso playing of a Hungarian orchestra on tsevnitsas gave him the idea of introducing this ancient instrument during the dances at Cleopatra's. In an Algerian cafe, he was attracted to the beat of a large drum and also borrowed this effect for the scene of Cleopatra.
Materials
Silk grosgrainVelvet
Golden thread
Sequins
Metal string
Metal beads
Cotton