“The Snow Maiden”
Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Moscow, Russia
February 21, 2026 (matinee)
by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf
The legend of a girl made of snow who falls in love with a human but cannot survive the warmth of spring has its roots in Slavic mythology. The fairy tale entered the stage in 1873 when, due to the renovation of Moscow’s Maly Theatre, all three Imperial companies—drama, opera, and ballet—were accommodated by the Bolshoi Theatre. To seize the occasion, the management decided to unite them in a single fairy tale production. The Russian author Alexander Ostrovsky was commissioned for the libretto and Pyotr Tchaikovsky a composition. A few months later, Nikolay Rubinstein conducted the premiere. This marked the stage birth of The Snow Maiden. Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s 1880/81 opera version is also based on Ostrovsky’s libretto.
While The Snow Maiden is popular in Russia, I’ve never come across its ballet adaptation in Western Europe. Hence, I was surprised to learn that Vladimir Burmeister (1904-1971) created his 1961 version (set to Tchaikovsky’s score) not for his home company, the Stanislavsky Theatre, but for the British Festival Ballet. It premiered only two years later on the Stanislavsky’s stage, where it has stayed in the repertory since then.
The story unfolds at four locations for which Vladimir Arafiev created beautiful folkloristic sets and costumes. The Snow Maiden and Father Frost are at home in a fathomless winter realm of crystalline white that shimmers through the haze created by many dancing snowflakes. From there, the frisky Snow Maiden runs off to the village of Berendeevka. Its cozy huts look down on a snow-covered forest glide where she secretly observes the villagers’ fete, including the love couple Mizgir and Kupava. We follow the Snow Maiden as she finds a new home in the steepled wooden cottage of her adoptive parents, Bobyl and Bobylikha, and is courted by the young village men.
Mizgir met her in Berendeevka during the local winter games and fell in love at first sight. The second, much shorter, act plays at the spring festival next to a frozen lake where the tsar gives his blessings to the romance of the Snow Maiden and Mizgir despite Kupava’s bitter complaints. Their bliss is short-lived, though. The first rays of the spring sun (and presumably the heat of her love) melt the Snow Maiden, and she vanishes without a trace. Stupefied, Mizgir ignores Kupava’s attempt to comfort him and drowns himself in front of all eyes.
What I liked most about Bourmeister’s interpretation was its calm and harmony. Like his Swan Lake, The Snow Maiden has a spiritual aspect that speaks to the soul and imparts peace. The fairy tale’s stereotyped characters create a feeling of warmth and familiarity; genuine, unaffected rituals and interactions resonate with the essence of being human.
Kamilla Ismagilova’s Snow Maiden was her father’s (Stanislav Bukharaev) nuisance and nestling alike. She knew how to wrap him around her little finger. Once Mizgir (Innokenty Yuldashev) declared his love, her dancing matured. She soared in his arms and reeled off fouettés until the appalled Kupava (Olga Sizykh) collapsed. I’m not sure if the Snow Maiden understood why. She was a good-hearted spirit but inexperienced with human emotions. The inner life of Mizgir was inscrutable too. He stared at the Snow Maiden, mesmerized by her beauty, and from that moment on was absorbed in another world. All he had to set against Kupava’s reproaches were two helplessly spread arms that said, “That’s how it is.”
Unlike in other versions of The Snow Maiden, the young Lel (Taiga Kodama-Pomfret) seemed only interested in the Snow Maiden’s friendship, nothing more. His kindness was universal. The old Bobyl (Evgeny Poklitar) was quite a yokel and fell over his own feet due to excessive boozing. A red cap with two horns indicated his wife’s feisty temperament (an en travestie role danced by Roman Miller). She gave him a good trashing, shouldered him like a potato bag, and carried him home. Her watchful eye especially extended to the Snow Maiden, who had become the apple of her eye.
Stanislav Bukharest doubled as Tsar Berendey, passing the final judgment over the Snow Maiden’s and Mizgir’s romance. The corps portrayed twirling snowflakes, life-loving villagers, and merry carnival acrobats.
Roman Kaloshin and the Stanislavsky Theatre’s orchestra gave a fine rendition of Tchaikovsky’s score.
| Links: | Website of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre | |
| The Snow Maiden—trailer | ||
| Photos: | 1. | Kamilla Ismagilova (Snow Maiden), Stanislav Bukharaev (Father Frost), and ensemble; “The Snow Maiden” by Vladimir Burmeister, Stanislavsky Ballet 2026 |
| 2. | Kamilla Ismagilova (Snow Maiden) and ensemble, “The Snow Maiden” by Vladimir Burmeister, Stanislavsky Ballet 2026 | |
| 3. | Innokenty Yuldashev (Mizgir) and Kamilla Ismagilova (Snow Maiden), “The Snow Maiden” by Vladimir Burmeister, Stanislavsky Ballet 2026 |
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| 4. | Kamilla Ismagilova (Snow Maiden) and Innokenty Yuldashev (Mizgir), “The Snow Maiden” by Vladimir Burmeister, Stanislavsky Ballet 2026 | |
| 5. | Kamilla Ismagilova (Snow Maiden) and Innokenty Yuldashev (Mizgir), “The Snow Maiden” by Vladimir Burmeister, Stanislavsky Ballet 2026 | |
| all photos © MAMT/Karina Zhitkova | ||
| Editing: | Kayla Kauffman |
