Stage design for Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera the 'The Tsar's bride' 1920

Boris Kustodiev’s stage design for Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera 'The Tsar's Bride'—where do you even begin with something so theatrical? Imagine Kustodiev, brush in hand, conjuring this world of Tsars and brides, of lavish interiors with bold reds and blues. I love to look at how painters design space; Kustodiev places a figure to the left by a stove—you get the sense he's dozing, lost in his own world. Then your eye is drawn to the bride herself, standing near a table laden with food. Is she nervous, excited, or just plain bored? The texture in the painting is amazing: you have the smooth, cold surface of the windows, the rough-hewn wood of the walls, the richness of the fabrics. Painters, like opera composers, are always talking to each other across time, borrowing ideas, riffing off each other's work. To me, this stage design isn't just a backdrop, it's a whole world, full of stories waiting to be sung.