Harmonic language and triadic magic in the last 'fantastic' operas by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov

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My PhD project seeks to conduct an in-depth analysis of the harmonic language in the last 'fantastic' operas by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Kashchey the Immortal, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and The Golden Cockerel). As demonstrated in a pioneering study by Richard Taruskin three decades ago (1985), Rimsky made significant use in his music of unconventional harmonic techniques such as octatonicism, more often associated with his pupil Stravinsky and later twentieth-century practice, most notably when depicting the supernatural or the fantastic. Yet such explorations have barely been taken further since then, a lacuna all the more notable given the remarkable developments in harmonic theory in the last two decades. This research will offer an innovative perspective on this historically crucial but neglected repertoire by drawing on and developing some of the major trends in contemporary music theory.