During the winter of 1898, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov often visited with V.I. Byelsky, a librettist with whom he was familiar, for the purpose of developing subject matters, such as mythical legends or literary works, for possible operas. Only one of these proposed subjects was actually acted upon, Pushkin's Tale of Tsar Saltan. There were a few other ideas of merit developed during this time, but they were all set aside for another date in order that the librettist and composer could concentrate work on the opera that was to be The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1900).

Byelsky started on the libretto, which Rimsky-Korsakov thought was magnificent, in the spring of 1890. The librettist attempted to stay true to Pushkin's writing style as much as possible. As Byelsky would complete a scene of the opera, it would be handed to Rimsky-Korsakov, who subsequently began composing the music for the scene. The entire opera was constructed this way, piece by piece.

The composer described the manner in which he composed The Tale of Tsar Saltan as "instrumental-vocal." The story of the opera has elements of fantasy and realism. Rimsky-Korsakov composed in a pictorial, instrumental manner for the parts of the opera which were fantastic, while the realistic parts were written in an declamatory, vocal style. The opera begins with a scenic Prologue, in which the character of the Tsar Saltan is introduced. This dramatic prelude takes the place of the traditional orchestral overture to begin the opera. Also, each of the four acts was preceded by a rather lengthy orchestral prelude. At the beginning of each act, a short trumpet fanfare signaled the audience that the action of the opera was resuming. Rimsky-Korsakov considered the fanfare to be "a device quite original and suitable for a fairy-tale." The orchestral preludes heard before the beginning of Acts I, II, and IV were made into a concert suite by the composer titled Little Pictures for the Tale of Tsar Saltan.



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The Flight of the Bumblebee (various arrangements)

Rimsky-Korsakov was quite prolific in the realm of opera, having completed 15, leaving four others in sketch form. The Tale of Tsar Saltan was the tenth and its music is among the most-familiar scores the composer wrote, both in operatic form and in the suite derived from the opera. The Flight of the Bumblebee has emerged as the score's most-famous musical passage, arguably as familiar-sounding as anything in Scheherazade, Rimsky-Korsakov's most often-heard large work. Though many recordings of the Tsar Saltan Suite include it, The Flight of the Bumblebee is not a part of that work. It has also appeared in various arrangements for piano (Cziffra made a well-known one), for violin and piano, for brass ensemble, and many other instrumental combinations. The music occurs in the opera when Prince Gvidon consents to be turned into a bumblebee by a magical Swan, whose life he saved in his youth. The strings are heard buzzing hurriedly about at the outset, brilliantly conveying images of a busy bee racing about. A flute and later, a clarinet, joins in the fun, though the orchestral soloists negotiating the myriad of notes at breakneck speed may consider it anything but fun. Eventually, the Russian-flavored counter theme, played throughout in the background by pizzicato strings, is played more emphatically by low, pizzicato strings against the buzzing and bustling strings. The whole piece, all two minutes or so of it, is brilliant and colorful, its music having an instant catchiness.

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