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COMPOSER

ALEXANDRA CHERNYSHOVA

"The Northern Lights Fairytale"

Opera-Ballet in II acts for CHILDREN 

Fascinated and inspired by the beauty of the Northern lights, mother and daughter created an opera-ballet for children where the future and the past comes together. The Northern Lights Fairytale is based on the classic folklore tales of both Iceland and Scandinavia. 

"The Northern Lights Fairytale"

"Ævintyrið um norðurljósin"

"Сказка о Северном Сиянии"



Opera-ballet in II acts  


Music by : Alexandra Chernyshova 

Story and libretto by : Evgenia Chernyshova  

Year of creation : 2017  

Years of working on the opera : 

Story and libretto, 3 years

Music and orchestration, 3 years

 

Full orchestration ( Partitura ) and Vocal music scores are  available in Icelandic & Russian languages . 

“The Northern Lights Fairytale”
opera-ballet for children 
 
Music: Alexandra Chernyshova
Story: Evgenia Chernyshova

Opera written in Icelandic and Russian languages for orchestra, 8 opera singers, 8 ballet solo dancers, children/women choir, mixed opera choir, ballet & actors.

Premiere of this opera was presented on December 2, 2018 at the Harpa Northern Light Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland.

                                            Credits 
 

Troll girl Triesta
Ingveldur Ýr Jónsdóttir, mezzo-soprano

 

Elf boy Grímlir
Gunnar Björn Jónsson, tenor

 

The Elf Queen 
Alexandra Chernyshova, soprano

 

Njörður 

Michael Jón Clarke, baritone

 

Skaði 

Soffia Dröfn Marteinsdóttir, ballet dancer

 

Grandmother Valdís 

Gerður Bolladóttir, soprano

 

Squirrel Ratatoski 

Jón Svavar Jósefsson, baritone

 

Grandchildren 

Alexander Logi & Nikolai Leo Jonsson

 

Adventurous creatures 

School choir of Stóru-Vogaskóli

& School choir of MÍR

Adventurous dancers & the 7 fairies 

Students from Edda Scheving ballet school

Choreographer 

Soffia Marteinsdottir

 

Conductor 

Julian Hewlett

 

Animation 

Khaled Roshdy

 

Video work 
Jón R. Hilmarsson

 

Stage & artistic director 

Alexandra Chernyshova

 

2018 - presentation of the Music and Book "The NorthernLights fairytale" at St.Petersburg and Moscow.

        2018-2022 - Opera for the little ones - with music from the opera ballet "The Northern Lights fairytale" at Reykjanesbær, Vogar, Grindavík, Akureyri and Reykjavík, Iceland. 

          2019 - 2 prize at the International Composer Competition  by Isaak Dunajevskiy in Moscow, Russia

            

        2019 - presentation of the Music and Book " The Northern Lights fairytale" at Vogar and Reykjanesbær libraries , Iceland.

 

          2020 - Grand Prix of International Art Competition "Aurora"  in Stockholm,  Sweden 

          2021 - online presentation of the Vocal Book: 10 vocal numbers: arias, duets, trio and ensemble  for voice and piano from the opera "The Northern Lights fairyatale", as well as study material for the Icelandic Music schools, Iceland: https://aevintyridumnordurljosin.myportfolio.com

In this winter adventure, granny Valdís tells her grandchildren a fairytale about the birth of the seventh Northern Lights fairies and the Elf Queen who protects the Law of Harmony in the Nine Worlds. 

This fairytale is about the love between a girl troll named Triesta and Grímli the elf boy.The mighty Njörður and his wife Skaði.

How magical love between Grímli and Triesta created the Northern lights which we enjoy every winter in Iceland.

 

The adventurous country of the Nine Worlds and the present become one in a fairytale about the northern lights.

 

"The Northern Lights Fairytale" is a fun winter show for the whole family!

 

 

“The Northern Lights Fairytale” opera-ballet

 

Music : Alexandra Chernyshova

Story: Evgenia Chernyshova

Libretto | "The Northern Lights Fairytale" by Alexandra Chernyshova
 

Act I


Scene one: Winter, it's already getting dark, it's snowing. The dance of snowflakes and winter. Grandmother Valdis at home. She is busy making  pancakes for her grandchildren and sings grandmother’s aria "Grandma’s pancakes." Brothers - Alexander and Nikolai play their favorite football game outside and sing Viking football song. Suddenly, the weather changes dramatically and on the scene appears appears Skadi - the Goddess of Lightnings, hunting and winter. Solo dance of Skazi. Together with Skadi appears Njordur-God of the Wind and Ocean of the Nine Worlds. Everything grimaces and rumbles. Njordur sings the aria "I am the almighty Njordur." Njordur controls the wind and blizzards, which prevent the brothers from reaching their grandmother's house, where they are staying on a winter vacation. The ballet-dance of snow flakes  and blizzards "The snow flakes are whirlin and whirling” . The dance is directed by Skadi, and Alexander and Nikolai fall into a dance, inside the snow storm. The boys do not believe, that they have seen with their own eyes Njordur and Skadi. They rush home to tell their grandmother what happened.

Scene two: Alexander and Nikolai run home to the boule, frozen after football and eager to tell what happened to them. But grandmother insists that they need to refresh them self. Granny meets them with joy and ready pancakes. Children and grandmother sing Russian song together while dancing and having fun. Valdis believed that in a past life she was Russian and loved everything Russian. She even taught her grandchildren the Russian language, which she owned perfectly. Children eat pancakes and try to tell what happened to them. Suddenly, the light turned off. The children were frightened and lit candles. Dance of the shadows. Valdis, so her grandchildren would be so scary began telling them a fairy tale about The Nine Worlds. The lullaby of the grandmother Valdis with the angelic chorus sounds made grandchildren fall asleep.

Scene three: The Fairyland of the Nine Worlds. 13 times the chords of the magic instrument called celesta are heard and the Queen of Elves and Nine Worlds appears. It is surrounded by flowers and fairy-tale inhabitants. The Elf queen is busy with the teaching of her people to the Law of Harmony. She sings aria "I am the queen of the Nine Worlds" . Triesta, Grimli and Ratatosk appear on the stage. They sing, dance and play the game "Au, Find me. "At the end of the trio, Triesta kisses Grimli. Njordur appears with lightning and thunder, he sings an aria "You will never be together!" He calls on the Queen of the Elves to restore order in the country. Trieste is left alone with her thoughts and sings a very dramatic for a young girl love aria about Grimli "What's wrong with me?" Hearing how Triesta cries plaintively, her friend squarell  Ratatosk decided to cheer her up and tries him in a role of clown. He dances the dance of "Happiness" for Triesta and thereby tries to stir it up. With the wind flew news of the love of Triesta and Grimli to the inhabitants of the Nine Worlds.

Scene four: Everything and everyone is in confusion in the Nine Worlds. Residents of the are unhappy, rebellious, drums are sounded and the choir sings "How it can be?!! No!” They call the Queen of the Elves to deal with Grimli and Triesta and protect  The Law of Harmony. The Queen of the Elves is arriving on the horse. She goes to the inhabitants of the Nine Worlds. Before starting her speech, she claps her hands 13 times. Everyone is fascinated by her. 

 

Intermission.

 

Act II

Scene five: On the stage, the Queen of the Elves extol her conviction over Grimli and Triesta. Sounds Queen's Aria. She informs inhabitans of Nine words about keeping Harmony in the Nine Worlds, a young couple will forever be underground, at the bottom of the Lake Laugavatn. And only their children will live and own the same rights as other inhabitants of the Nine Worlds. The children of Grimli and Triesta will be for all ages remembered as a beautiful reminder of magic of love of two hearts in the winter, cold nights and that you need to cherish what you have. She said it and clapped her hands 13 times.

Scene six: Suddenly, from nowhere, on the stage, appears Niordur, who is trying to overtake Grimli and Triesta. Skaði  launches his lightning that nearly overtook Grimli and Trieste. Njordur sings arietu "Fear me, I'll Find You!" They escape from him, and he in turn, blows all the trees from Iceland, trying to find offenders. Just a little bit, and Njörður  would overtake Triesta and Grimli, but he was prevented by a friend of the abusers - Ratatosk. Grimli and Triesta sing the duet "We will be together until the death us separated”

 

Scene seven: At grand mother’s Winter home at grandmother Valdis. They dream Fairy-tale country. The choir sounds - Fairytale country. Chorus of flowers. Dance - a ballet of fabulous residents of the Nine Worlds. The flowers, trolls, elves and all the inhabitants of the fairy-tale country are quiet and their voices merge into one fabulous tune. Grandmother wakes up she seemed that she hears voices of fabulous characters from her tale and tries to wake her grandchildren that they would see what a beautiful Northern Lights.

 

Scene eight: Lake Lougavatn. The birth of the Seven Sisters. Dance-ballet Northern Lights fairies. Skaði  observes Seven Northern Lights fairies and threatens to tell Njörður  if they dare to violate the Law of Harmony. The Queen of the Elves appears and gives the magic sand to the Seven daughters of Triesta and Grimli. Now each of the Northern Lights fairie has its own color thanks to the magic sand of the Queen. All of a sudden the Northern Lights flashed in the sky. On the stage are Grimli, Triesta, Ratatosk, Skaði, Njörður and other people of the fairy-tale country. The present and the fairy tale merge into a single chorus of "The Magic of Love - Live forever!"

 

To be continued...

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