Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (New Suite)

In 1970 at the UNC music library, I first saw and studied the score of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's second to last opera, Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, and fell in love with the rich orchestration. During a concert tour to the Soviet Union in 1973, I found at G.U.M. a recording of the opera on Melodya, and the last opera, Le Coq d'Or, performed by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Yevgeny Svetlanov conducting.
I heard the few rare recordings of the suite- a trio of excepts haphazardly patched together as filler music for other Rimsky Korsakov works on obscure record labels. They always left me wanting more.
I converted the USSR State recording digitally and then carefully edited a better suite to showcase this remarkable music. In my opinion, nowhere is Rimsky-Korsakov's colorful, masterful orchestral genius better shown than in this music.
The story is about a girl, Fevronia, captured by invaders, who prays for salvation of her city of Kitezh from the marauders. When they crest a hill to attack, Divine intervention makes the city rise in the air and vanish. Only its reflection is left in a lake below. The terrified invaders flee, and Kitezh is saved.
How to really stage that? Is there anyplace on earth that captures that kind a magic in reality?
Uyuni Lake and Salt Flats in Bolivia does. Its unbelievable scenery as the worlds largest mirror needs no enhancement or digital effects. It was a set for movies like Star Wars, for its unearthly, almost heavenly beauty in the high altitude of the Bolivian Andes. In fact, a set for the story of the fabulous Rimsky Korsakov opera.
I don't know who owns USSR State copyright now. No doubt You Tube will assign it to some claim. The assembly of this "new suite" is an effort to rectify a long overlooked opportunity for the world to experience a truly stunning orchestral masterpiece set to imagery that reflects its rich and unbelievably subtle orchestral colors.

[@ArtyFactual_Intelligence]

Thanks for the dedication and commitment to this piece of magic.

[@viniciodecheco3433]

Maravilloso...wonderful...¡gracias!...¡thank you!...

[@sogeking1586]

Thank you for arranging this suite. I'm in love with it. Interestingly, this relatively unpopular opera was actually the very first work of Rimsky I heard. I've known the name of Rimsky for quite a while mainly from his involvement in Borodin's unfinished Prince Igor, but I never really listened to any of his work until RUclips recommended this opera one day. And it is only after this did I discover all his other famous works like Scheherazade, so to me this opera holds a very special meaning.

[@tserkoslavjanskij]

I saw the opera in the Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg,) several years agp ani became an instant fan. Thank you for arranging and uploading this suite. I hope that others who will listen to it will become as great fans of it as I have.

[@carmenpaiva6442]

Música mágica maravilhosa.

[@luden6794]

А ведь эта опера очень похожа на Бориса Годунова

[@shanevigil8399]

Loved the imagery as well as the performance! I’m curious about the city with gondola you showed; where was that?

[@Inness54]

La Paz, Bolivia. The big mountain is Illimani, a 21,122 foot Andean volcano. I chose this scenery because of the mirror reflective properties of the Uyuni salt flats and lake, which the image of Kitezh would have resembled.