Sadko in Folklore, Painting, and Music

FEBRUARY 15, 2019

10am Hawaii – 12pm PST – 1pm MST – 2pm CST – 3pm EST

Duration: 15 mins

Presented by Anna Nehyba, University of Wisconsin – Madison

ABSTRACT

Part 1 – explanation of the tale

Sadko, a poor musician from Novgorod, is the main character of an ancient Eastern Slavic bylina. He played the gusli at the seaside and it pleased the sea god, who then helped him become wealthy. Later, he offered himself as tribute to the sea god and in the end, he married the sea god’s daughter.

Part 2 – Repin’s painting

The famous painter Ilya Repin created his own rendition of this story in 1867. On the painting, one can see how Sadko is choosing his wife amongst the sea god’s many daughters.

Part 3 – Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote an opera in which he somewhat modified the tale. In this ending, Sadko marries Tsarevna Volkhova. The premier of this opera was in 1989 and many songs from this opera, including the Song of the Varangian Guest, remain famous today. 

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