Genre:
Opera
Release Date:
Mar 2016
Subtitles:
En, Fr, De, It, Es, Ne
Sound Format:
2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS
Catalog Number:
OABD7193BD
Russian Opera Classics (De Nederlandse Opera; Fundacio Gran Teatre del Liceu)
Eva-Maria Westbroek (Lady Macbeth (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk)); Misha Didyk (Hermann (Pique Dame)); Orlin Anastassov (Boris Godunov (Boris Gudunov)); Alessandra Marianelli (Xenia (Boris Gudunov)); Bo Skovhus (Eugene Onegin (Eugene Onegin)); Andrej Dunaev (Lensky (Eugene Onegin)); Vladimir Vaneev (Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich (Kitezh)); Maxim Aksenov (Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich (Kitezh)); Svetlana Ignatovich (Fevroniya (Kitezh)); Ian Storey (Grigory (Boris Gudunov));
With Boris Godunov Mussorgsky sets the stage, managing to embody Mother Russia in his monumental tale of Nation and Tsar at an eventful turn in history. Two more texts by Pushkin see achingly lyrical realisations by Tchaikovsky, who first tells of the callous, young Eugene Onegin and his tragic story of illusion, disaffection and frustrated love, and then, in Pique Dame, of the soldier Hermann, who is obsessed with the aristocratic Lisa and with coaxing a winning secret from her gambling grandmother, the Queen of Spades. In Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, his finest work for the stage, the master orchestrator spins a supernatural tale with the mystical flavour and steady unfolding of a legend of redemption, while Shostakovich runs the gamut of love, lust, power and oppression in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, a drama exploring the shadowy boundaries between victim and perpetrator. Orlin Anastassov, Bo Skovhus, Ewa Podleś and Eva-Maria Westbroek shine in the title roles, as does Svetlana Ignatovich as the forest maiden Fevronia, in vivid, opulent productions from De Nederlanse Opera and Barcelona’s Liceu.
Mussorgsky - BORIS GODUNOV (Teatro Regio, Torino)
Boris - Orlin Anastassov
Xenia - Alessandra Marianelli
Fyodor - Pavel Zubov
Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Regio, Torino
Conductor - Gianandrea Noseda
Director - Andrei Konchalovsky
Tchaikovsky - EUGENE ONEGIN (De Nederlandse Opera)
Eugene Onegin - Bo Skovhus
Lensky - Andrej Dunaev
Prince Gremin - Mikhail Petrenko
Tatyana - Krassimira Stoyanova
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor - Stefan Herheim
Director - Mariss Jansons
Tchaikovsky - PIQUE DAME (Liceu)
Hermann - Misha Didyk
Liza - Emily Magee
Count Tomsky - Lado Ataneli
Prince Yeletsky - Ludovic Tézier
Countess - Ewa Podles
Symphony Orchestra and chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Conductor - Michael Boder
Director - Gilbert Deflo
Rimsky-Korsakov - THE LEGEND OF THE INVISIBLE CITY OF KITEZH (DNO)
Fevroniya - Svetlana Ignatovich
Grishka Kuterma - John Daszak
Prince Yuriy Vsevolodovich - Vladimir Vaneev
Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich - Maxim Aksenov
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra / Chorus of Netherlands Opera
Conductor - Marc Albrecht
Director - Dmitri Tcherniakov
Shostakovich - LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK (DNO)
Katerina Lvovna Ismailova - Eva-Maria Westbroek
Sergey - Christopher Ventris
Aksinya - Carole Wilson
Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor - Mariss Jansons
Director - Martin Kušej
Reviews
"Orchestrally and vocally outstanding." (The Opera Critic - Boris Godunov)
"The Concertgebouw Orchestra, of which Mr. Jansons is music director, is here a dream of a pit orchestra. Mr. Jansons’s musicality is stamped on every phrase, and he ensures ideal coordination between singers and orchestra" (The New York Times - Eugene Onegin)
"It gives us a thoroughly traditional production from the Liceu but it works because it tells the story so compellingly and because the singing and playing is excellent from everyone...Watching this DVD reawakened me to the dramatic and musical treasures of what must surely be Tchaikovsky’s greatest opera (with apologies to Onegin fans). This is an ideal way to introduce the opera to someone for the first time, and a great way for established Tchaikovskians to remind themselves just how great it is." (Musicweb International - Pique Dame)
"[Tcherniakov's staging] worked perfectly and the long evening was a triumph. Thanks to the conductor Marc Albrecht, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the excellent Chorus of Dutch National Opera this became a great event also musically. Star of the production is the soprano Svetlana Ignatovich who created a totally believable character out of Fevroniya. Opera at its best." (Trouw - City of Kitezh ★★★★★)
"Mariss Jansons, an inspired interpreter of Shostakovich, conducts a searingly dramatic performance of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk ... with the glorious sounds of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra bringing beauty as well as power. The casting is strong, with Eva-Maria Westbroek in the title-role bringing out the poignancy of her situation, as her love for the workman, Sergei, turns sour and finally tragic, a role well sung and acted by Christopher Ventris." (The Penguin Guide - Lady Macbeth)