Masters of puppetry, Purple Rock Productions, brought the Russian folk tale “The Snow Maiden” to the Enfield Public Library on Wednesday, April 30, delighting the mixed audience of youngsters and adults.

Nathaniel Hawthorn wrote a story based on “The Snow Maiden.” Composer Rimsky-Korsakov turned it into an opera in 1882, and an animated Russian film in 1968 told a version of the same story.

“Even though it’s called ‘The Snow Maiden,’ it’s not really a winter story. It’s a spring story,” said Rolande Duprey , who staged the production. “It’s a story about the change of seasons.”

She found the painting of the snow maiden on a lacquer box fascinating and described the impression as “magical .” She explained that the typical Russian lacquer box is very small, featuring exquisite painting.

The puppet stage Duprey set up is based on the design of a Russian Lacquer box, and done in 19th century toy theater style. Although she was out of public view for the most part, Duprey was dressed in 19th century costume, to retain the theme of rediscovering Russian folk art.

It is the story of a childless old man and woman, whose only joy seemed to be watching the children from the village dancing in their yard. The couple crafted a little girl out of snow, and each wished for exactly the same thing at the same moment under the first star of the evening. They wished that the snow sculpture could become a real living, breathing laughing little child, like the ones from the village. A little celestial magic brought their wish to life, and the snow maiden (Snegurochka) began to dance and sing.

In their exuberance, they brought the Snow Maiden into their warm cabin. But the snow creature begged to be kept outside where she was more comfortable . The Snow Maiden survived through the winter and into the spring, dancing and singing to the delight of the old couple.

Snegurochka eventually begins to melt away with the warmth of spring but vowing to return. In her place, the old couple was entertained by the sprites of the season, which Duprey represented with swirling puppets of flowing fabric, a different color for each season. And every winter Snegurochka returned to entertain the couple and the village children.

True to the storytelling technique of folk tales, this one ended with Duprey’s assurance: “and the old couple were never lonely again.”

The tunes played by mandolinist Bill Walach throughout the performance were all original Russian melodies, with frequent repetition of the “Russian Round Dance,” which Duprey taught willing members of the audience after the show.

Once the performance was over, Rolande Duprey put aside the puppets and stepped out in front of her puppet stage to describe the workings of the little actors and to answer questions. Then, as promised, she gathered a circle of dancers – mostly children with a few adults. She demonstrated the basic steps of the simple Russian folk dance. Then, with Bill Walach playing the tune, which had by then become familiar to everyone, big feet and little attempted to keep in step with the others. As the pace of the mandolin music increased, so did the giggles of the little children, until, finally , the dance ended. The seriousness with which the young audience had absorbed the performance was transformed into dance and laughter, and most left the Enfield Public Library to head off to dreamland.

A few children, keenly interested in the mechanics and artistry of the snow maiden, lingered and were treated to an encore of special antics, as well as details of the puppet’s creation and the revelation of the mechanics of her movements.

Charlotte, a 7-year-old who had already begun to create her own puppets, got a complete description of the components used to create the puppet and the steps Duprey followed. The head and body are made of wood and neoprene . Ribbons form the strands of her hair. She has a full body, complete with fully jointed arms and legs, enabling her to do ballet moves. She is controlled by a complex set of 14 strings, each with its own purpose.

The duo from Purple Rock Productions performs “The Snow Maiden” every year. They start in November and finish in April. Together Duprey and Walach also do a collection of folk tales called Puppet Panorama. In Puppet Vaudeville, they use a broad spectrum of different kinds of puppets, and they also team up to perform a version of “Rapunsel.” Their most acclaimed performance of “The Snow Maiden” was staged at the Hillwood Museum in Washington DC.