Other recording
available:
Valery Gergiev, Borodina, Hvorostovsky,
Kirov Opera, (2) Philips 462 618
Those who are rapturously
in love with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade
and other colourful orchestral showpieces
are often disappointed in his operas.
Opera in Russia at that time was an
entertainment not taken very seriously
by much of anyone. Nevertheless, there
are many small diamonds to be found
in the operas of Rimsky Korsakov — the
"Song of India" from Sadko,
the "Flight of the Bumblebee"
from Christmas Eve, the "Hymn
to the Sun" from Coq d’Or.
When I approach a recording
of an opera I don’t know at all, I subject
it to the cruellest of tests: I make
no attempt to follow the story, and
just put the records on and let them
play through while I work on something
else. I dare the music to get and keep
my attention, and this opera passed
this test very well. The opera opens
with a turbulent overture reminiscent
of the composer’s early symphonies —
the orchestral style throughout is much
more classical in feel, avoiding the
lush orientalism of Coq d’Or.
We are at once gripped by Grigory Gryaznoy’s
powerful and beautifully sung opening
soliloquy. The polyphonic choruses are
enthusiastic; one of them uses the familiar
hymn from the coronation scene from
Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. The
arias are lyrical and entertaining even
without knowing the text, and as usual
with Russian recordings of this period
the words are so clear you can see the
Cyrillic text pass by in your mind even
if you don’t know all the words. All
in all, this work is enjoyable as a
Russian symphony, as absolute music,
which is a good thing, since the plot
of The Tsar’s Bride could almost
be a satire on gruesome Russian historical
tales.
The beautiful Marfa,
betrothed to Lykov, has the misfortune
to be desired by both Ivan the Terrible
and his henchman, Grigory Gryaznoy.
The jealous Lyubasha determines out
of spite to destroy Marfa by poison
and she succeeds in driving her mad.
Meanwhile Gryaznoy has had Lykov tortured
to death. The insane Marfa, now the
Tsar’s bride, imagines her true lover
beside her. Gryaznoy kills Lyubasha
and is dragged off to execution.
From these strong primary
colours of feeling the composer has
built a magnificent score, worth hearing
independent of the story. Others have
said this is musically the best of Rimsky
Korsakov’s operas and from my experience
I find this credible. The Gergiev recording
(which I have not heard) features Hvorostovsky
and Borodina but could hardly be any
better sung than this one. Everyone
here is in excellent voice and their
passionate commitment makes the story
almost believable. The transfer is remarkably
good, thoroughly enjoyable, sounding
better than LPs from the same period;
if you have the LPs of this performance,
you will value this transfer. The background
is very quiet; there is some barely
audible crackling on loud notes, but
everything has been so skilfully processed
there is no stridency or artificiality
to the sound.
Paul Shoemaker
Chorus
and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater, Moscow/Lev
Steinberg 