Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas Eve / Night On Mount Triglav

Although Rimsky-Korsakov’s reputation outside Russia may rest primarily on a number of colorful orchestral works, his principal achievement must be seen to rest on his 16 or so operas, major contributions to a relatively new repertoire. Christmas Eve (Noch’ pered rozhdestvom) was completed in 1895 and first staged in December that year at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. (Naxos)