Flight of the Bumblebee

"Flight of the Bumblebee" is an orchestral written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. Its composition is intended to musically evoke the seemingly chaotic and rapidly changing flying pattern of a bumblebee. Despite the piece's being a rather incidental part of the opera, it is today one of the more familiar classical works because of its frequent use in popular culture.

The piece closes Act III, Tableau 1, during which the magic Swan-Bird changes Prince Gvidon Saltanovich (the Tsar's son) into an insect so that he can fly away to visit his father (who does not know that he is alive). Although in the opera the Swan-Bird sings during the first part of the "Flight", her vocal line is melodically uninvolved and easily omitted; this feature, combined with the fact that the number decisively closes the scene, made easy extraction as an orchestral concerto piece possible.

Here is the text of the scene where the Swan-Bird sings during this music:

ЛЕБЕДЬ-ПТИЦА:
Ну, теперь, мой шмель, гуляй, (Nu, teper', moy shmel', gulyay,)
судно в море догоняй, (sudno v more dogonyay,)
потихоньку опускайся, (potikhon'ku opuskaysya,)
в щель подальше забивайся. (v shchel' podal'she zabivaysya.)
Будь здоров, Гвидон, лети, (Bud' zdorov, Gvidon, leti,)
только долго не гости! (tol'ko dolgo ne gosti!)
(Шмель улетает.)

SWAN-BIRD:
Well, now, my bumblebee, go on a spree,
catch up with the ship on the sea,
go down secretly,
get deep into a crack.
Good luck, Gvidon, fly,
only do not stay long!
(The bumblebee flies away.)

Although the "Flight" does not have a title in the score of the opera, its common English title translates like the Russian one (Полёт шмеля = Polyot shmelya). Incidentally, this piece does not constitute one of the movements of the orchestral suite that Rimsky-Korsakov derived from the opera for concerts.

Those familiar with the opera Tsar Saltan may recognize two leitmotifs used in the Flight, both of which are associated with Prince Gvidon from earlier in the opera. These are illustrated here in musical notation:

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