Maxim Mikhailov

On this CD:

1. A Life for the Tsar (Ivan Susanin; Zhizn' za tsarya), opera in 4 acts with and epilogue, G. xii They guess the truth
Composed by Mikhail Glinka
Performed by Bolshoi Theater Orchestra with Maxim Mikhailov
Conducted by Alexander Melik-Pashaev

2. Boris Godunov, opera (Rimsky-Korsakov edition, 2 versions) Yet one more last tale
Composed by Modest Mussorgsky
Performed by Bolshoi Theater Orchestra with Maxim Mikhailov
Conducted by Nikolai Golovanov

3. Rusalka, opera You young girls are all alike
Composed by Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomizhsky
Performed by Bolshoi Theater Orchestra with Maxim Mikhailov
Conducted by Aleksandr Orlov

4. Prince Igor, opera (completed by Rimsky-Korsakov & Glazunov) Are you well Prince?
Composed by Alexander Borodin
Performed by Bolshoi Theater Orchestra with Maxim Mikhailov
Conducted by Aleksandr Orlov

5. Sadko, opera in 3 (or 5) acts Against the cruel rock
Composed by Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov
Performed by Bolshoi Theater Orchestra with Maxim Mikhailov
Conducted by Samuel Samosud

6. Eugene Onegin, opera, Op. 24 Everyone knows love on earth
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Bolshoi Theater Orchestra with Maxim Mikhailov
Conducted by Alexander Melik-Pashaev

7. Roméo et Juliette, opera Buvez doncce breuvage
Composed by Charles Gounod
Performed by Bolshoi Theater Orchestra with Maxim Mikhailov
Conducted by Aleksandr Orlov

8. Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), opera, K. 620 O Isis und Osiris
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Maxim Mikhailov, Nikolai Korolykov

9. O gentle autumn night (Noch' osennyaya lyubeznaya), song for voice & piano, G. x96 Autumn Night
Composed by Mikhail Glinka
Performed by Maxim Mikhailov

10. Civil Servant for voice & piano
Composed by Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomizhsky
Performed by Maxim Mikhailov

11. On the old burial mound, for voice & piano
Composed by Viktor Kalinnikov
Performed by Maxim Mikhailov

12. The Blacksmith
Composed by Yuri Sergeyevich Sakhnovsky
Performed by Maxim Mikhailov, Nikolai Korolykov

13. Volga Boatmen Song
Composed by Anonymous
Performed by Maxim Mikhailov, Nikolai Korolykov

14. O you my faith
Composed by Anonymous
Performed by Maxim Mikhailov, Nikolai Korolykov

15. The Seafarers
Composed by Vilboa
Performed by Ivan Kozlovsky, Maxim Mikhailov

16. Through the wild mysterious Taiga
Composed by Anonymous
Performed by Russian Folk Orchestra with Maxim Mikhailov
Conducted by D. Osipoc

17. Sun rises sun sets
Composed by Anonymous
Performed by Russian Folk Orchestra with Maxim Mikhailov
Conducted by D. Osipoc

Amazon.com

This is an outstanding disc of Stravinsky's choral music, beginning with a visceral performance of Les Noces that captures the raw barbarism of the score. If you like Orff's Carmina Burana, this is where it comes from. A series of tableaux depicting a peasant wedding, Les Noces is a revolutionary work--and it sounds it in this blazing performance. The Mass is revolutionary in a different way, returning to earlier music traditions like Gregorian chant. It can sometimes sound too ascetic for its own good, but Reuss's superb chorus and wind band invest it with the warmth and color it needs to make its full effect. The Cantata, written four years later in 1952, is a prime example of Stravinsky's late neo-classicism. Based on medieval English texts, its small chorus and soloists, sparely backed by a chamber band, rebuke the work's neglect through their incisive performance. -- Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Good versions of Strawinsky choral works.......2007-01-13

These are decent interpretations, in good sound.- I would prefer "Les Noces"
somewhat more "barbaric" and "primitive".- The seldom heard Mass (in Latin) and Cantata (in English) are quite satsfactory.-

Essential Stravinsky.......2006-12-08

If what you mostly know of Igor Stravinsky are the three great early ballets, then this release may help take you further into his unique sound-world and cultural stance. The three great vocal works on this album are wonderful introductions to Stravinsky's neo-Classical period (although Les Noces somewhat anticipates the constructivism of that period and combines it with some primitivist methods left over from Petrushka and The Rite).

But I don't want to get all academic about this. Les Noces, especially, is great fun! It's a depiction of a Russian peasant wedding, with all the characters present, saying and doing what they are expected to say and do. Stravinsky emphasizes the irony and humor -- and the emotional violence just under the surface -- with his bare-bones "orchestration" of four pianos and percussion, and by deconstructing the ritual monologues so that, for example, the bride's lines may be delivered by a soprano, a tenor, or the whole choir. The thing starts chugging away in a kind of grey texture and timbre (lots of ostinati throughout) and eventually builds to a galumphing, shouting, exalted climax of sorts -- and then some well-earned anticlimax, as bells ring out in the otherwise silent, deserted wedding arena, the guests lumber drunkenly off, and the happy couple retire to their chamber, whispering the customary fond cliches that newlyweds are expected to whisper.

The Mass is more severe, but beauty can be found in its exquisite wind scoring and in the quasi-medieval purity of the sung lines. The Cantata evokes a similar mood, with old English poetry set to minimal, repetitive accompaniments.

The RIAS Kammerchor is superb throughout, but especially in Les Noces. What rhythmic and tonal authority, what style! The vocal soloists also do very well, with what is sometimes rather ungrateful writing. And I have never heard a better-played instrumental accompaniment for Les Noces or the Mass. The engineers have wonderfully captured balances here -- allowing us to hear "into" the deep, and deeply clever, scoring for two trombones and two bassoons in the Mass, for example. Even though I've known this music for years, I realized I had never really heard those chords before. A revelation. Only the Cantata could be bettered, engineering-wise: the multichannel balance is fine, but the stereo slights the singers a bit. A person shouldn't have to strain to catch the words there.

Add three cheers for the excellent DigiPak and the 87 pages of great notes and translations! Why can't all CDs be this beautifully presented? (Down with jewel cases forever.) Widen your world. Buy this.

Average customer rating:

Wow!
One Of The Two Great Recordings of Eugene Onegin
Idiomatic Performance Filled With Charm
The second-ever recorded 'Onegin'

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Eugene Onegin

ASIN: B00007DWLN
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Amazon.com

This is the second Onegin ever recorded, a Soviet production from 1937. Ward Marston has done wonders with the sound, though, and while today's competition is stiff, the set's strong points are worth the while of any opera lover. The strengths begin with Ivan Kozlovsky's lyrical Lensky. The great tenor is caught here at the peak of his powers, and his poetic rendition is full of delicate vocal touches that enchant. Kruglikova is an excellent Tatiana, her Letter Scene encompassing all the character's confusion and emotions. Nortsov's Onegin is worthy as well, and you can't beat a cast and chorus of native speakers for atmosphere. Oddly, there are two conductors. Orlov did several scenes, Melik-Pashaev most of the opera--the notes tell who led what. They also give a detailed track-by-track synopsis. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Wow!.......2007-04-11

We can thank Naxos and their Wizard of Oz sound engineer, Ward Marston, for resurrecting this legendary 1937 recording off of 78rpm discs. Note to the faint of heart: despite Marston's amazing ability to perform musical CPR on this recording, the sound quality is, well, old. 70 years old. It will sound thin and tin-like, as if you are listening to this opera through two metal cans strung together with twine and connected to an AM radio. But if you want to hear Onegin as Tchaikovsky might have heard it (and applauded), this is it.

One Of The Two Great Recordings of Eugene Onegin.......2005-05-18

The Amazon editorial review here by Dan Davis is a good description of this performance's merits. To my taste, it is one of the two great recordings of Eugene Onegin. I used to own this account in its original American LP release (Period 507, 3 discs), and this Naxos transfer is superior in every way (the LPs were pitched at least a half-tone high, which made episodes like the reapers' chorus sound like Munchkins saluting Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz"). On the original LPs, the conducting was attributed to Melik-Pashayev - there was no mention of Orlov.

The stand-out singer here for me is the Lensky of Ivan Kozlovsky, probably my favorite Russian tenor. His Simpleton in Mussorgsky's "Boris" was also virtually definitive, as was his Hindu Guest's "Song of India" in Rimsky-Korsakov's "Sadko" (in the complete recordings of both operas, conducted by Nikolai Golovanov - see my reviews).

My other favorite "Eugene Onegin" is the 1955 Bolshoi Theatre recording conducted by Boris Khaikin. It was formerly available in an excellent transfer on the defunct Legato Classics CD label, which replicated the beautiful sound of my old LP set (MK 204). This performance is now available on Opera d'Oro in a mediocre transfer (I heard parts of it at a used CD store recently).

I think the Khaikin performance over-all is better than this earlier Bolshoi account, with one important exception. The young Galina Vishnevskaya gives what I feel is the finest Tatiana of any complete recording, and the Onegin of Yevgeny Belov has never been bettered. Likewise Ivan Petrov's superb Gremin. Khaikin's conducting captures the diverse moods of this opera better than anyone else I have heard. And the recorded sound is vastly superior, at least as heard on my Legato Classics CDs and the original LPs.

Unfortunately, the exception to all this excellence is Sergei Lemeshev's Lensky, which I feel was recorded when the great Russian tenor was a little past his prime. Lemeshev's lower range sounds quite weak, and much of his soft singing is nearly inaudible. While Lemeshev still has lots of style, I think Kozlovsky's Lensky is unquestionably better - in fact, the greatest-ever.

These two recordings of Tchaikovsky's masterpiece are now the only ones in my collection. Hopefully Melodiya will make available a well-mastered edition of its classic 1955 Khaikin reading. Meanwhile, be sure to avail yourself of this splendid Naxos CD set - it has the finest-ever Lensky and wonderful performances by such Russian vocal greats as Mark Reizen, Andrei Ivanov, and Elena Kruglikova. The conducting is also excellent, if just a little short of Khaikin's.

Highly recommended.

Idiomatic Performance Filled With Charm.......2003-06-13

This performance, beautifully restored by Ward Marston, is full of charming idiomatic singing that gets right to the heart of this special opera in a way modern readings can't. Do not let the dated sound stop you from purchasing this recording. A modern digital version, full price, is Bychkov on Philips with Hrovostosky and Focile. It is excellent in every way, but not special in the way this is.

The second-ever recorded 'Onegin'.......2003-02-14

This 2 CD set of the complete 'Yevgeny Onegin', its second-ever recording, was made at the Bolshoi in 1937 and, oddly, features two different conductors. Alexander Melik-Pashaev, principal conductor of the company, led most of it, but for some reason Lensky's gorgeous first act aria as well as other seemingly random parts of the act were omitted when it was issued. They were re-recorded in 1948 with Alexander Orlov conducting the same artists as in the original recording.

The opera's first recording was the sound track of a 1936 film, and in spite of its poor recorded sound it was released widely in the West by Melodiya. This recording unaccountably was never released in the West except briefly on an obscure label.

Customer Reviews:

`Wonderful Russian Bel Canto.......2007-01-20

I had heard many excerpts from Ivan Susanin. This made me more than a little interested in the opera. The only disappointment was the cut of the Epilogue. The singing was wonderful without exception. The sound considering the era was really pretty good.I think this is a must for anyone interested in historical recordings from Russia/Soviet Union.

The first Russian Opera.......2000-01-30

Ivan Susanin is not known in the west, and it is unfortunate. Without knowing "Life for the Tsar" it is impossible to fully understand the works of Mussorgsky and Rimskiy-Korsakov. In this recording, the sound is not first class, but the master of the Bolshoi orchestra Aleksandr Melik-Pashayev is conducting wonderfully. Mikhailov is great. His voice is warm and large. Nelepp has a rare dramatic tenor, with a ring at the top, equal to Del Monaco or Corelli. Shpiller has a full liric soprano, and her Antonida is better then most sopranos I have heard. The only serious cut is the epilogue "SLAV'SIA". Melik-Pashayev's tempos are faster then most conductors tend to use in this opera.

Finaly!.......1999-10-19

This recording of Ivan Susanin (better known in the west as "Life for the tsar") must be owned by all people, who are interested in Russian music. For us, the Russians, Susanin is as important as Rigoletto to the Italians, and the "Ring" to the Germans. This recording uses the libretto by Sergey Gorodetskiy, it is more focused on Mother-Russia, then on the Tsar. The only possible minus is the poor sound. Maxim Mikhailov, one of the richest (and lowest) basses of his generation is a wonderfull Susanin. His voice seems to be made for this role. He easily sings all the low notes (and there are many). He manages to sing a low F, and still sound louder then the whole orchestra. Natalya Shpiller is good, but to my personal taste, her voice is a little to sweet. Georgiy Nellep is an outstanding Sobinin. His powerfull dramatic tenor is equal in all registers, and he has an exciting ring not just on top, but even in his low notes. Antonova has a good low mezzo which is perfect for the role of Vanya. The small role of the Polish King (sometimes just the head of the Polish detachment) is sung by bass Feodor Svetlanov, the father of Evgheniy Svetlanov, one of the best Russian conductors. Melik-Pashayev does not allow the orchestra to rest. The tempos are all quite fast. After the few years when the only available choice of this opera in Europe and North America was between two Bolgarian versions, this recording is the first truly "Russian" one.

Average customer rating:

Famous Basses of the Past

Manufacturer: Preiser Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Famous Basses of the Past, Vol. 2

ASIN: B0000023QU
Release Date: 1997-01-21

Tracks:

Don Carlos: Elle Ne M'aime Pass - Pol Plancon
Le Songe D'une Nuit D'Ete: Chanson De Falstaff - Hippolyte Belhomme
Mignon: Del Suo Cor Calmai Le Pene - Francesco Navarini
Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail: Wer Ein Liebchen Hat Gefunden - Wilhelm Hesch
Der Barbier Von Bagdad: So Schwarmet Jugend - Paul Knupfer
Philemon Et Baucis: Au Bruit Des Lourds Marteaux - Marcel Journet
Ernani: Infelice E Tuo Credevi - Jose Mardones
La Juive: Si La Rigueur - Lev Sibiriakov
La Boheme: Hore, Du Alter Mantel - Leon Rains
La Sonnambula: Vi Ravviso, O Luoghi Ameni - Andres Perello de Segurola
A Life For The Tsar: They Guess The Truth - Feodor Chaliapin
Der Freischutz: No, Nessun Salvar Ti Puo - Adam Didur
Tristan Und Isolde: Tatest Du's Wirklich? - Paul Bender
Benvenuto Cellini: Gnade Den Sundern - Richard Mayr
Il Barbiere Di Siviglia: La Calunnia - Virgilio Lazzari
Nabucco: Sperate, O Figli! - Nazzareno De Angelis
Faust: Tu Che Fai L'addormentata - Fernando Autori
Faust: Le Veau D'or - Ezio Pinza
La Gioconda: Si, Morir Ella De! - Tancredi Pasero
Die Zauberflote: O Isis Und Osiris - Alexander Kipnis
Andreas Hofer - Emanuel List
Sadko: Against The Cruel Rocks - Maxim Michailov
Lohengrin: Habt Dank, Ihr Lieben Von Brabant! - Ivar Andresen
Schneewittchen: Komm, So Lang Sich Diese Hand - Wilhelm Tisch

Stravinsky - Le Rossignol ~ Renard / Dessay, McLaughlin, Urmana, Naouri, Caley, Mikhailov, Conlon

Average customer rating:

Solovyei - A Russian Nightingale
Dont miss this

Stravinsky - Le Rossignol ~ Renard / Dessay, McLaughlin, Urmana, Naouri, Caley, Mikhailov, Conlon
Igor Stravinsky , James Conlon , Natalie Dessay , Marie McLaughlin , Violeta Urmana , Vsevolod Grivnov , Albert Schagidullin , Laurent Naouri , Maxim Mikhailov , Olivier Berg , Wassyl Slipak , Grzegorz Staskiewicz , Claire Servian , Olga Oussova , Ian Caley , and Orchestre & choeurs de l'Opéra National de Paris
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000026D4I
Release Date: 1999-11-16

Tracks:

The Nightingale - Act I: Introduction
The Nightingale - Act I: Porte au vent, tombant au loin
The Nightingale - Act I: Ah! Ah! Ah!
The Nightingale - Act I: Voici l'endroit, pres de ces arbes
The Nightingale - Act I: Beau rossignol, incomparable oisea
The Nightengale - Act II: Des feux, des feux, bien vite
The Nightengale - Act II: March Chinoise- O Maitre Magnime
The Nightengale - Act II: Chanson du rossignol - Ah, Joe, emplis mon coer
The Nightengale - Act II: Au coucher du soleil
The Nightengale - Act II: Jeu du rossignol mecanique
The Nightengale - Act III: Vois-nous rassembles
The Nightengale - Act III: Ah, me voici, o prince magnanime
The Nightengale - Act III: Ah, j'aime a t'ecouter
The Nightengale - Act III: Cortege solennel
The Nightengale - Act III: Bonjour a tous
Renard: Marche
Renard: Ou ca, ou ca?
Renard: Ah! mon Dieu! mon Dieu! Il me tir' par la queue
Renard: Je suis sur mon baton
Renard: Ah! mon Dieu! mon Dieu! Il m'a pris les ch'veux
Renard: Ah, canaille, que les betes te mettent en morceaux

Amazon.com

At the dawn of the new century, as the heated musical debates of the last fade into irrelevance, Igor Stravinsky remains a towering presence--in perspective, his legacy appearing less a mere totem of musical modernism than a potent force of creative self-renewal. Indeed, there's been a recent bumper crop of significant Stravinsky interpretations, from Gergiev's glorious Firebird to the revealing triptych recorded by Tilson Thomas--who in the summer of 1999 also led the San Francisco Symphony in a heralded festival reappraising the composer--as well as Sony's reissue of Stravinsky's own Columbia recordings.

Add to the mix this thoroughly delightful account of a pair of undeservedly lesser-known treasures. Based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, Le Rossignol is usually encountered in its guise as an orchestral suite, but the original opera (1908-1914), presented here, is a work not to be missed. James Conlon simply allows the music to speak for itself and sympathetically enters into its stylistic collage, accenting the essential Stravinskian antitheses: nature and artifice, archaism and future shock. Because of a sort of telescopic brevity, you can hear the stylistic quantum leaps made by the composer, from the opera's lushly orchestrated, Rimsky-Korsakovesque opening scene to the bitonality and sonic experimentalism of the rest. Soprano Natalie Dessay marries acrobatic agility with the necessary air of longing and exotic beauty in the pivotal role. In the burlesque theater piece Renard--Stravinsky's over-the-top riff on Russian folktales of cunning animals--Conlon is attuned to the angular, acid-tinged sonorities (featuring such wonderful instrumentation as the cimbalom) as well as the hilarious antics. In both works, the sense of theatrical narrative emerges to give a completely enchanting experience. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

Solovyei - A Russian Nightingale.......2002-08-15

This 'Rossignol' is not to be confused with the orchestral suite 'le chant du rossignol' ('song of the nightingale'), a symphonic poem which the composer drew from the opera later. The story here is based on a fairy tale 'The Emporer's Nightingale' by Hans Christian Andersen, and given a russian folk slant in a libretto by Stravinsky and Stefan Mitusov.

Given the title "le Rossignol" some record buyers will be slightly taken aback when the Fisherman (sung by Vsevolod Grivnov here) starts singing in Russian. There is an early version sung in French, by Cluytens (Testament 1955 mono), but the premiere in Paris in 1914 was sung in Russian, so were the Stravinsky and Boulez versions (1961 Sony, 1991 Erato) and so is this 1999 production from the Opera National de Paris. Hence the traditional french name 'Rossignol' only comes from the location of the premier, the real name of the opera being 'Solovyei' ('nightingale' in Russian).

Paris opera darlings Natalie Dessay and her husband Laurent Naouri are inevitably the stars of the show as the nightingale and the chamberlain respectively, but there is also an impeccable Russian contingent: Grivnov (as above), Violeta Urmana as death, Shagidullin as the emporer, Mikhailov as the bonze.

The second item on this CD is the 15 minute burlesque 'Renard' for two tenors and two basses. This is also based on a fairy tale, this time by Afanassyev, and known to Russians under the title 'Baika'. The four singers do not take roles of the animals but stand among the peasant band while the actions are mimed by clowns. Some reviews have carped that this performance of Renard is not 'earthy' enough, that the singers sing too beautifully, but really there is enough burlesque in the score without the singers hamming it up too.

Incredibly neither the Erato or EMI recordings include the Russian text (despite what the increasingly careless Gramophone Good CD Guide says to the contrary), which means that anyone wanting to follow word-for-word will have to track down a copy of Vol.8 of the now deleted Sony Stravinsky Edition. Even having done this this will not help with 'Renard' because the Sony Edition offers this sung in English.

Dont miss this.......2002-05-08

This is one of my Stravinsky favourites because of splendid Stravinsky music (somewhere between his early modernist period and his early Rimsky-Korsakov style topped with a little... just a little neo classicism). It is not "Rite of spring" style but very Stravinsky anyway and conducting and singing is marvelous.

Customer Reviews:

Agreed with below.......2006-10-08

Hard to hold back on the superlatives. The sound quality flattened me; it's extraordinarily vivid, and for some fascinating reason an older monaural recording with a bit of swoosh in the background actually adds to the dark atmosphere of the work.

The soloists--Pirogev, certainly and especially--are consistently strong; the chorus is spot on and punched up, the orchestra is phenomenally muscular and the conducting is flawless. All in all one of the most powerful opera recordings you may ever encounter. I'm surprised it isn't a staple.

This was recorded only a few years after WWII, or the Great Patriotic War, and this recording has the same potent whiff of catharsis that some of Furtwangler's Beethoven Ninths from that era also emit. I'm not sure anyone has tracked this, but it seems that during the years immediately following the war (I'd guess at very latest till the early sixties) European orchestras, soloists, and conductors were engaged in a tremendous and ferocious mass exorcism. As I'm writing this I'm listening to de Sabata's 1954 Verdi Requiem and that same degree of intensity is present there too.

The best Boris forever!.......2002-12-17

This famous recording made in 1949 by the Bolshoi Theater forces remains to my mind the best Boris available on record nowadays.
Deep and profound Boris sung by Pirogov, expressive Pimen by Mikhailov, passionate Dmitry by Nelepp, excellent Shuyskiy by Khanaev and incomparable Jurodiviy by Kozlovsky. The vocal team has no weaks at all including second part roles. Excellent chorus and orchestra lead by inspired Golovanov who perfectly conducted every note of this masterpiece.
All that is combined with masterful recording engineering which produces excellent sound quality of this recording.

Tracks:

Boris Godunov. Scene 1: Prologue - Sergei Krasovsky/Bolshoi Chor/Nikolai Golovanov/Ivan Sipaev
Boris Godunov. Scene 1: Declaration Of Andrei Tchelkaloff And Chor Of Pilgrims-Final - Iuri Bogdanov/Bolshoi Chor/Nikolai Golovanov
Boris Godunov. Scene 2: The Coronation - Nikhander Khanaev/Alexander Peregudov/Bolshoi Chor/Nikolai Golovanov
Boris Godunov. Scene 2: Monologue Of Boris And Final - Alexander Pirogov/Bolshoi Chor/Nikolai Golovanov
Boris Godunov. First Act, Scene 1: Monologue Of Pimen - Maxim Mikhailov/Bolshoi Chor/Nikolai Golovanov
Boris Godunov. First Act, Scene 1: Dialogue - Maxim Mikhailov/Georgi Nelepp
Boris Godunov. First Act, Scene 2: The Hostess's Song - Alexandra Turtshina
Boris Godunov. First Act, Scene 2: Scene - Vassily Iakuchenko/Vassily Lubenzov/Alexandra Turtshina/Georgi Nelepp
Boris Godunov. First Act, Scene 2: Varlaam's Song - Vassily Lubenzov
Boris Godunov. First Act, Scene 2: Final - Vassily Iakuchenko/Vassily Lubenzov/Alexandra Turtshina/Georgi Nelepp/Sergei Krasovsky
Boris Godunov. Second Act: Scene - Yelena Kruglikova/Bronislava Zlatogorova/Yevgenia Verbitzkaya
Boris Godunov. Second Act: The Song Of The Gnat - Yevgenia Verbitzkaya/Bronislava Zlatogorova
Boris Godunov. Second Act: Clapping Game - Bronislava Zlatogorova/Yevgenia Verbitzkaya
Boris Godunov. Second Act: Scene - Alexander Pirogov/Bronislava Zlatogorova/Yelena Kruglikova
Boris Godunov. Second Act: Monologue Of Boris - Alexander Pirogov

Tracks:

Boris Godunov. Second Act: Scene - Alexander Peregudov/Alexander Pirogov/Nikhander Khanaev
Boris Godunov. Second Act: Monologue Of Boris: Scene W. The Chiming Clock - Alexander Pirogov
Boris Godunov. Third Act, Scene 1: Chor Of Maidens Of Sandomir - Bolshoi Chor/Nikolai Golovanov
Boris Godunov. Third Act, Scene 1: Marina's Air - Maria Maksakova
Boris Godunov. Third Act, Scene 1: Scene - Maria Maksakova
Boris Godunov. Third Act, Scene 2: Monologue - Maria Maksakova
Boris Godunov. Third Act, Scene 2: Polacca W. Chor - Maria Maksakova
Boris Godunov. Third Act, Scene 2: Duetto - Maria Maksakova/Georgi Nelepp
Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 1: Chor - Georgi Nelepp
Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 1: Lament - Ivan Kozlovsky
Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 1: Scene - Ivan Kozlovsky
Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 2: The Duma Of The Boyards - Nikhander Khanaev
Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 2: Scene - Maxim Mikhailov
Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 2: Pimen's Tale - Alexander Pirogov

Tracks:

Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 2: Boris' Death - Alexander Pirogov
Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 2: Chor - Vassily Lubenzov/Vassily Iakuchenko
Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 2: Scene - Georgi Nelepp
Boris Godunov. Fourth Act, Scene 2: Scene - Ivan Kozlovsky
'Youthful Years': The Old Man's Song - Alexander Pirogov/Alexander Zibtsev
'Youthful Years': Kalistrat/Cradle Song - Alexander Pirogov/Boris Iourtaikin
Desire - Alexander Pirogov/Boris Iourtaikin
Songs And Dances Of Death: No.2, Serenade - Alexander Pirogov/Alexander Zibtsev
A Feast - Alexander Pirogov/Boris Iourtaikin
'Haughtiness' - Alexander Pirogov/Boris Iourtaikin
The He-Goat - Alexander Pirogov/Boris Iourtaikin
Gathering Mushrooms - Maria Maksakova/Boris Iourtaikin
Garden By The Don - Maria Maksakova/Boris Iourtaikin
'Hopak' - Maria Maksakova/Boris Iourtaikin
The Merry Hour - Georgi Nelepp/Nikolai Reznikov
Songs And Dances Of Death: 'The Field Marshall' - Georgi Nelepp/Nikolai Reznikov
Boris Godunov. Second Act, Monologue: 'I Have Attained The Highest Power...' - Alexander Pirogov

Customer Reviews:

A Lost Tradition.......2002-05-07

I know this performance from its Arlecchino release, whose sound I don't find terribly distressing considering the original is a Soviet recording of the late 1940's. Preiser will undoubtedly improve on the quality of Arlecchino in terms of extraneous noise, although the latter offers plently of punch and vitality in the quality of the music itself. Somehow Arlecchino omitted the line "Proshchai, moi sin, umyrayu" (Farewell, my son; I'm dying) from Boris' death scene, and the Simpleton's lament is not well edited, which interrupts the eerie intensity of Kozlovsky's matchless singing in this role. But the Arlecchino does have the Polish act complete (filled out by a remarkably well sounding radio broadcast from the Bolshoi of the same period); the original recording, faithfully transferred by Preiser, presented only the second half of this act (as was a popular Soviet performance tradition). It's good that Arlecchino went into the vaults and dug up this live taping of the first half which rounds out Maria Maksakova's well characterized Marina and gives us Alexei Ivanov's sinister Rangoni. For sonics though, stick with Preiser.

Preiser's version may not contain the entire Polish act, but it will preserve all of Alexander Pirogov's stunning and powerfully enunciated Boris, generally considered superior to Reizen's by Russian listeners; Maxim Mikhailov's sonorous, effortlously noble Pimen; Georgi Nelepp's Dimitri, alternating much heroic singing with fine lyrical phrases, and a host of colorfully depicted smaller parts fleshed out with a truthfulness that non-Russian interpreters simply cannot replicate. The commitment of the Bolshoi's massive chorus sends chills down the spine and presents Russian peasant life with almost alarming immediacy. The Bolshoi orchestra conspires with the chorus to create a tidal wave of sound. Steering it all into the bull's eye is the titanic Nikolai Golovanov, a onductor of volcanic temprament (like his protagonist, Pirogov) and startling imagination. We don't get performances like this today of anything, not "Boris" nor The Ring" nor "Aida." Such emotive force and dramatic truthfulness -- and most of all, acting WITH THE VOICE -- seems to have fallen from favor among today's major singers, including the Russians. These discs are a must for those who want to hear the most idiomatic and truthful "Boris Godonov" ever recorded. I would never replace this performance with any of the more modern ones, even those produced in Moscow or Saint Petersburg.

A performance that makes the skin crawl...........2002-04-02

This is arguably the finest sung BORIS GODUNOV on discs. It features the unexcelled Boris of Pirogov, the superb Pimen of Maxim Mikhailov, and the shattering Simpleton of Ivan Kozlovsky. Melodiya later re-recorded the role of Boris with Mark Reizen, inserted him for Pirogov, and released the performance again. (That issue is also available I think.) The sound on these Arlecchino discs is adequate, if dated (1948-49); however, I understand that Preiser Records is releasing this performance as well (April 2002), so it might well be worth the wait to hold on until the Preiser edition is available. In any event, if you have a more modern Boris (perhaps the Semkow, or Rostropovich, or von Karajan), this performance will come as a revelation....

Rimsky-Korsakov - Christmas Eve / Moscow Forum Theatre Orchestra, Yurovsky

Average customer rating:

Older is better, perhaps
Comedy, Magic and Russian Soul

Rimsky-Korsakov - Christmas Eve / Moscow Forum Theatre Orchestra, Yurovsky
Nicolay Rimsky-Korsakov , Mikhail Yurovsky , and Elena Zaremba, Vladimir Bogachov, Maxim Mikhailov Ekaterina Kudryavchenko
Manufacturer: Le Chant Du Monde
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Customer Reviews:

Older is better, perhaps.......2007-04-05

I certainly agree with the previous reviewer about the quality of the work--it's an enchanting piece and deserves to be in the repertory. (I'd nominate a few more of Rimsky's operas, too, but this one is probably the easiest to sell.) The performance here is adequate, but my preference remains the 1948 recording under Golovanov. The leads are older but far more expressive, and the intensity of Golovanov's conducting is miles better than the slack direction of Yurovsky. If you can tolerate older sound, I'd suggest you Google "rimsky christmas eve gogol" for a treat--the complete 1948 recording on MP3.

Comedy, Magic and Russian Soul.......2002-01-09

If you can find it, I highly recommend getting to know Rimski's "Christmas Eve". Years ago I read an Andrew Porter review in the New Yorker that piqued my interest. When I ran across this opera recording I jumped at the chance to become acquainted with this seldom heard opera. I think it's Rimki-Korsakov's most successful opera. It's a little like a cross between "Hansel and Gretel" (witches, magic and folk-like melodies with gorgeous orchestration) and "Elixer of Love" (love-sick,not-so-bright tenor who seeks to win charming, vixenish soprano). Lots of comedy, lots of magic, lots of charm. The singers are wonderfully characterful: no stars, but very able singers with plenty of Russian flavor to their voices. And very good tunes, too!

Average customer rating:

Russia's Folk Opera

Rimsky-Korsakov: Mainacht (May Night)

Manufacturer: Capriccio
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001WUQ
Release Date: 1997-12-23

Tracks:

May Night: Act One: Overture
May Night: Act One: No. 1 - Reigen ,,'Hirse', 'Millet-sowing game' (Chor)
May Night: Act One: No. 2: Lied - Song: ,,'Sonne schon sinket...' (Lewko - Lefko)
May Night: Act One: No. 3: Duett - Duet: ,,'Du schlafst nicht...' (Lewko - Levko, Hanna)
May Night: Act One: No. 4: Erzahlung - Narration: ,,'Es lebte vor Zeiten...'
May Night: Act One: No. 5: Rezitativ und Pfingstlied - Recitative And Whitsun Song: ,,'Das, meine Hanna...' (Hanna, Chor der Madchen, Chorus Of Girls)
May Night: Act One: No. 6: Hopak - Szene - Hopak Scene: ,,'Hopp, hopp, hopp, trala...'(Kalenik, Chor der Madchen - Chorus Of Girls)
May Night: Act One: No. 7: Trio: ,,'Hanna! Hanna!' (Der Alteste, Hanna, Lewko - Mayor, Hanna, Levko)
May Night: Act One: No. 8: Rezitativ und Spottlied - Recitative & Mocking Song: ,,'He! Burschen!' (Lewko, Chor der Burchschen - Levko, Chorus Of Youths)

Tracks:

May Night: Act Two : No. 9: Trio: ,,'Sagt, gedenkt ihr bald...' (Der Alteste, Schwagerin, Brenner )
May Night: Act Two: No 10: Szene des Kalenik und Erzahlung - 'Sieh mal, wie den Weg der Bose...' (Kalenik, der Alteste, Brenner, Schwagerin)
May Night: Act Two: No. 11: Spottlied, Szene und Trio : 'Ah!' - 'Was Gibts?' (Schwagerin, der Alteste, Brenner, Lewko, Chor, Schreiber)
May Night: Act Two: No. 12: Finale : 'Hier? . . .' (Der Alteste, Schreiber, Brenner, Schwagerin, Chor, Kalenik)
May Night: Act Three: No. 13: - Ukraine Nacht und Lieder Lewkos : 'Wie stil, wie herrlich' (Kewko, Nixenkonigin, Chor der Nixen)
May Night: Act Three: No. 13: Nixenreigen : 'Auf, sammelt euch . . .' (Nixe, Chor der Nixen, Lewko, Nikenkonigin)
May Night: Act Three: No. 13: Tanze und Spiele der Nixen : 'Freundlicher Jungling . . .' (Nixenkonigin, Lewko, Chor der Nixen)
May Night: Act Three: No. 14: Szene und Pfingstlied : 'Nur vorwarts!' (Der Alteste, Lewko, Schreiber, Brenner, Chor, Hanna)
May Night: Act Three: No. 15: Finale : 'Lewko, Lewko, du mein Liebster . . .' (Hanna, Lewko, Burschen, Der Alteste, Schreiber, Brenner, Chor, Kalenik, Schwagerin)

Customer Reviews:

Russia's Folk Opera.......2001-08-18

I found this recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera, May Night, to be a fine example of his unique orchestral sound and ability to manipulate Russian folk elements. These performers provide a solid and silky interpretation of this opera, allowing its truly Russian demeanor to prevail. The villager's exuberant song beginnig the first act provides a clean introductoin into the opera's characture and musical elements. Throughout the piece, an air of honesty and directness not often felt in Rimsky-Korsakov's works is evidnet in the vocal lines, folklike in origin. His melodies flow beautifully from an excellent lead tenor, who has a depth and vocal quality that permeate the opera's central action. Anyone familular with Rimsky-Korsakov's usual instrumentation and treatment of harmony will find nothing new here, but are treated with fine examples of his charactristic style. Particularly notable is the orchestral introduction to the third act. Here, one should observe the true imagery and impact that the Mighty Handful sought to achieve in thier orchestral writing which Rimsky-Korsakov perfected. Russia's rural scene is vividly depicted through lush music, folk lore, and a few stock charactures. These elements, calling on traditional Russian opera techniques and then hightened by such a skillfull composer, fullfill anyone's hunger for musical satisfaction.

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