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World music CD DVD shop and Classic distribution
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ID: PTC5186089 (EAN: 827949008962) | 1 SACD | DDD/DSD Publi: 2006
- LABEL:
- PentaTone
- Subcollection:
- Opéra
- Compositeurs:
- BORODIN, Alexander Porfir'yevich | DARGOMYZHSKY, Alexander Sergeyevich | GLINKA, Mikhail Ivanovich | RACHMANINOV, Sergey Vasil'yevich | TCHAIKOVSKY, Pyotr Il'yich
- Orchestre
- Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra | Choir and the Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre
- Chef d'orchestre:
- VEDERNICOV, Alexander
- Pour plus amples dtails:
Multichannel Hybrid SACD - DSD
Highlights of the Russian opera
During the eighteenth century, especially at the time of Catherine the Great, Russia enjoyed a lively opera life; however, it was not until the nineteenth century that the national Russian opera was created. Musical life at the court of the Czar was predominantly oriented towards the West and attracted, for example, many Italian composers to St. Petersburg. The works they wrote there were also mostly based on Italian libretti, and if a Russian opera was ever performed, it followed on musically in the tradition of the operas that could be heard in Naples, Milan or Vienna.
A slow change came about in this situation during the first half of the nineteenth century, after Russia also began to be influenced by the sense of nationhood which was spreading through great parts of Europe in that period. Furthermore, this was the time during which the well-to-do middle class began to participate increasingly in the cultural life, and therefore, it is not just a coincidence that the birth of the national Russian opera more or less concurred with the opening of the ‘Great’ or ‘Bolshoi’ Theatre in Moscow in 1825.
| GLINKA, Mikhail Ivanovich (1804-1857) | | | A Life for the Czar | | | 1. | Act 2: Bog vojnyi posle bitv…(After the battle the god of war) - Polonaise and chorus | 4:39 | | | 2. | Act 4: Tchujut pravdu!(They sense the truth!) - Ivan Susanin's aria | 5:08 | | | Vladimir Matorin - bass | | | DARGOMYZHSKY, Alexander Sergeyevich (1813-1869) | | | Rusalka | | | 3. | Act 3: Nevol'no k etim grustnyim beregam.. (Some unknown power) - Prince's cavatina | 6:00 | | | 4. | Act 3: Chto eto znachit? (What does this mean?) - Mad scene | 11:39 | | | Mikhail Gubsky (Prince) - tenor / Alexander Naumenko (Miller) - bass / Male chorus | | | TCHAIKOVSKY, Pyotr Il'yich (1840-1893) | | | Iolanthe | | | 5. | Net, charyi lask krasyi myatezhnoj…(No, the charms of a voluptuous beauty)(Vaudémont's Romance) | 4:14 | | | Vsevolod Grivnov - tenor | | | Pique Dame (Queen of Spades) | | | 6. | Act 3: Uzh polnoch blizitsya (It is close on midnight already) - Lisa's aria | 5:14 | | | Elena Zelenskaya - soprano | | | Mazeppa | | | 7. | Act 2: O Marija, Marija - Mazeppa's arioso | 5:12 | | | Yuri Nechaev - baritone | | | RACHMANINOV, Sergey Vasil'yevich (1873-1943) | | | Aleko | | | 8. | Volšébnoy síloy pesnopén'ya (The magic power of song) - Old Gipsy's Story | 5:25 | | | Taras Shtonda - bass / Male chorus | | | BORODIN, Alexander Porfir'yevich (1833-1887) | | | Prince Igor | | | 9. | Act 2: Ni sna ne otdykha (No sleep no rest) Prince Igor's aria (orch. Rimsky-Korsakov) | 6:53 | | | 10. | Act 2: Zdorov li, knyaz? (Are you in good health, Prince?) Konchak' s aria | 6:31 | | | 11. | Act 2: Gey, privesti syuda! (Hey, bring the captive girls here!) Recitativo (orch. Rimsky-Korsakov) | 2:57 | | | 12. | Act 2: Polovtsian Dances | 11:40 | | | Yuri Nechaev (Prince Igor) - baritone / Valery Gilmanov (Konchak) - bass / Chorus | | “This recent release will be quite a treat for opera fans. While the early years in the Bolshoi's history were heavily influenced by non-Russian influences (mainly Italian) it was in the 19th century that the emerging feeling of Russian nationalism created a surge of operas by Russian composers like Tchaikovsky, Mikhail Glinka and Alexander Borodin. While many of the Russian operas are now remembered by a few select pieces (Polovtsian Dances from Borodin's Prince Igor comes to mind) other composer's operas are still mainstays in opera houses around the world (Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades and Eugene Oneigin and Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila).
PentaTone is one of a number of labels that I have come to be very fond of. I have the ultimate respect for the Polyhymnia team (the same team responsible for the fabulous Caro Mitis SACD recordings). The sound is expansive, well detailed, very transparent and gives the listener an excellent feel for the house. I have no trouble "seeing" into the forces and there is plenty of detail captured. As usual, the sound is simply excellent!
Sadly, there are not many recordings available of the Bolshoi. If you think you would like to hear the Bolshoi but never expect to get to Russia, then this SACD is for you. Same goes for opera fans that like Russian opera (and want to hear it done correctly) then this SACD is also for you. Do I like this SACD? You bet, in case you have not already guessed!!
---Mark Wagner, positive-feedback.com
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