The Snow Maiden
About The Snow Maiden
Snegurochka, daughter of Spring and Ded Moroz, is left in Berendey’s kingdom with a heart of ice. She likes the shepherd Lel, who then turns to her friend Kupava. Spring gives Snegurochka the power to love, and she melts in the sun. Mizgir throws himself from a cliff. Lel and Kupava stay together, and Tsar Berendey says the sun god Yarilo has turned from anger to mercy.
Cast & crew
More about The Snow Maiden
Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya directed this drawn feature at Soyuzmultfilm, from Alexander Ostrovsky’s 1873 play. Oleg Leonidov shares the writing credit. L. Shvarts arranged music from Rimsky-Korsakov’s 1882 opera. Wikipedia lists a 2 February 1952 release and a 70-minute running time.
Themes
Making
The score is not new. Shvarts arranged the 1882 opera for the cartoon.
Look
Nikolay Voinov and Elena Petrova shot the drawn scenes of the Berendey kingdom and the melt in the sun.
Music
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s 1882 opera The Snow Maiden, arranged by L. Shvarts.
Preservation
The Russian Federal Agency of Culture and Cinematography has listed it as public domain. The U.S. copyright lapsed and was later restored under the GATT treaty.
Notes
- The Leshy is set to watch her. She lives with Bobyl and his wife.
- Kupava is Mizgir’s fiancée before he turns to Snegurochka. Lel stops Kupava when she tries to kill herself, and he stays with her.
- Veniamin Shevtsov, Veronika Borisenko, Irina Maslennikova, and Leonid Ktitorov are the billed voices.
- Nikolay Voinov and Elena Petrova are the cameramen.
- The Russian title is Snegurochka. A restored DVD came from Soyuz Video in the 2000s. Studio PRO Video issued a VHS collection in the mid-1990s that included it.
Scenes
- Spring gives Snegurochka the ability to love.
- She melts in the sun.
- Tsar Berendey announces Yarilo’s mercy.
Influenced by
- Alexander Ostrovsky’s 1873 play and Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera
Also available
- Soyuz Video DVD (restored edition, 2000s)
