# The Tale of the Stone Flower (Prokofiev)

The Tale of the Stone Flower, Op. 118 (Russian: Сказ о каменном цветке), is Sergei Prokofiev's eighth and last ballet, written between 1948 and 1953. It is based on the Russian Ural folk tale The Stone Flower by Pavel Bazhov and is also the last of the trilogy of ballets Prokofiev wrote in the Russian ballet tradition. It was premiered posthumously in 1954, conducted by Yuri Fayer.

## Numbers
   ### Prologue

          1 The Mistress of the Copper Mountain
          2 Danila and his work

   ### Act I

       Scene 1
          3 Danila in search of the flower
          4 Danila meets some fellow villagers
          5 Scene and Duet of Katerina and Danila
          6 Interlude
       Scene 2
          7 Round Dance
          8 Katerina dances with her friends
          9 The Peasant Girls' Dance
          10 Danila's and Katerina's Dance
          11 The unmarried men's dance
          12 Severyan's Dance
          13 Altercation over the malachite vase
          14 Scene of Katerina and Danila
          15 Danila's Meditation
       Scene 3
          16 Danila enticed away by the Mistress of the Copper Mountain

   ### Act II

       Scene 4
          17 The Mistress shows Danila the treasures of the earth
          18 Duet of the Mistress and Danila
          19 Scene and Waltz of the Diamonds
          20 Dance of the Russian precious stones
          21 Waltz
          22 Danila's Monologue and the Mistress' Reply
          23 The Mistress shows Danila the stone flower
          24 Severyan and the Workers; The Mistress' Warning
       Scene 5
          25 Scene and Katerina's Dance
          26 Severyan's Arrival
          27 "Where are you, sweet Danila?"
          28 The Appearance of the Mistress; Katerina's Joy
       Scene 6
          29 Ural Rhapsody
          30 Interlude
          31 Russian Dance
       Scene 7
          32 Gypsy Dance
          33 Severyan's Dance
          34 Solo of the Gypsy Girl and Coda
          35 Katerina's Appearance and Severyan's Rage
          36 The Appearance of the Mistress and Scene of Severyan transfixed to the earth
          37 Severyan follows the Mistress
          38 Severyan dies
       Scene 8
          39 Katerina sits by the fire and yearns for Danila
          40 Scene and Dance of Katerina and the skipping of the Fire Spirits
          41 Katerina follows the Fire Spirits
          42 Dialogue of Katerina and the Mistress
          43 Danila turned to stone
          44 The Joy of the reuniting of Katerina and Danila
          45 The Mistress presents gifts to Katerina and Danila
          46 Epilogue

## Instrumentation

The work is scored for an orchestra consisting of 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets (1st doubling E-flat clarinet, 2nd doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), 4 french horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (triangle, castanets, wood blocks, tambourine, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam, tubular bells, xylophone), harp, piano, and strings.

## Premiere

12 February 1954, Bolshoi Theater, Moscow, conducted by Yuri Fayer. Choreography by Yuri Grigorovich. Dancers included Marina Kondratieva [ru] (one of the title roles), Raisa Struchkova (Yekaterina), Galina Ulanova (Yekaterina's sister), Aleksey Yermolayev (Severyan), Maya Plisetskaya (Icy Rusalka of the Copper Mountain), Vladimir Preobrazhensky [ru] (Danila's brother), Gennadi Lediakh [ru] (one of the good bailiffs), and Yuri Grigoriev [ru] (Danila) and more.

## Recordings

| Orchestra | Conductor | Record Company | Year of Recording | Format |
| Radio Philharmonie Hannover des NDR | Michail Jurowski | CPO | 1995/7 | CD |
| BBC Philharmonic Orchestra | Gianandrea Noseda | Chandos Records | 2003 | CD |
| Bolshoi Theater Orchestra | Gennady Rozhdestvensky | Melodiya | 1968 | CD/LP |

## Orchestral suites from The Tale of the Stone Flower

As usual, Prokofiev extracted music from the ballet for concert performance.

### Wedding Suite, Op. 126 (1951)

Available recordings:
| Orchestra | Conductor | Record Company | Year of Recording | Format |
| Royal Scottish National Orchestra | Neeme Järvi | Chandos Records | 1989 | CD |
| Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra | Arnold Katz | Russian Season | 1997 | CD |
| Lahti Symphony Orchestra | Dima Slobodeniouk | BIS | 2020 | CD |
| USSR Radio/TV Large Symphony Orchestra | Gennady Rozhdestvensky | Melodiya | | LP |

### Gypsy Fantasy, Op. 127 (1951)

Available recordings:
| Orchestra | Conductor | Record Company | Year of Recording | Format |
| Lahti Symphony Orchestra | Dima Slobodeniouk | BIS | 2020 | CD |
| Moscow Radio/TV Symphony Orchestra | Gennady Rozhdestvensky | Melodiya | | LP |

### Urals Rhapsody, Op. 128 (1951)

There are no available recordings.

### The Mistress of the Copper Mountain, Op. 129

Available recordings:
| Orchestra | Conductor | Record Company | Year of Recording | Format |
| Lahti Symphony Orchestra | Dima Slobodeniouk | BIS | 2020 | CD |