Which opera features the Polovtsian Dances?
Polovtsian Dances occur in act 1 or act 2, depending on which version of the opera is being used. Their music is popular and sometimes given in concert as an orchestral showpiece. At such performances the choral parts are often omitted. The opera also has a "Polovtsian March" which opens act 3, and an overture at the start. When the dances are given in concert, a suite may be formed: Overture – Polovtsian Dances and March from "Prince Igor". The first dance, which uses no chorus and is sometimes omitted in concerts, is No. 8, entitled "Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens" ["Пляска
Polovtsian Dances половецких девушек"]: presto, 6/8, F major; it is placed directly after the "Chorus of the Polovtsian Maidens" which opens the act and is followed by "Konchakovna's Cavatina". The dances proper appear at the end of the Act as an uninterrupted single number in several contrasting sections listed as follows (basic themes are indicated with letters in brackets and notated in the accompanying illustration) "Theme from No. 8" <score vorbis>\relative c{\key f \major \time 6/8 c4\p( bes8 a bes c bes a bes g a bes) a( g f g f e f e d d4) r8 \bar "||"}</score> "Themes from