With one or two very
minor reservations, this release is
absolutely magnificent and very well
worth obtaining, provided you have the
same attitude towards opera recordings
as I do. It is a re-creation of a 1944
production of the opera, then conducted
by Alexander Melik-Pashaev and directed
by Boris Pokrovsky.
All scenery and costumes
are based upon the 1944 originals, and
the best part of this whole production
is that there is not one jot of the
malaise which seems to have overtaken
current productions. That is of the
Director/Producer who tries to be clever,
and ignores the historical age in which
the opera is set. Thus we can have modern
dress, cars coming out of the scenery,
gangsters etc., an approach which for
me totally ruins the sterling work of
singers, musicians and conductor.
The main star here
is Mark Ermler, well known for his dramatic
performances of the Tchaikovsky ballets
with the Royal Opera House Orchestra
a recording of which used to be on the
ROH label. There are no histrionics,
just a good-natured smile once or twice
or more, plus a clear flowing beat and
an instinctive understanding of the
dramatic points of Tchaikovsky’s masterly
score. He has the ability to pass on
this understanding to his co-workers,
who produce first class results for
him.
Are there any misgivings?
Well, the recording is not hi-fi by
any of the normal definition of the
word, but captures the somewhat cavernous
acoustic of the Bolshoi quite well,
with no major problems. The voices come
over clearly, allowance being made for
occasional drop in level as though something
has masked the microphones; nothing
serious though. I was beginning to think
that even at the Bolshoi, the current
vogue for having all orchestral bodies
sounding as though they had come from
the same source, had hit home. I was
therefore extremely gratified by the
raucous trumpets at one or two dramatic
highspots in the drama (the end of Tatyania’s
Letter Scene being a good example) which
tended to swamp most of what else was
going on – even the relatively rowdy
audience.
As this production
was recorded on one night, it has to
come warts and all. The Bolshoi audience
is in general reasonably well behaved
apart from a few bronchial supporting
"singers". It does however,
create a hell of a din at the conclusion
of Acts with one or two of the particularly
loud members meriting the same treatment
as Lensky.
Enough of the complaints
– the singers, once one has got over
a slight tendency to rawness of tone
(generally thought to be a normal Russian
characteristic), are absolutely first
class, with the principals giving superb
renditions of Tchaikovsky’s masterly
score. The principals, Onegin, Tatyana,
Lensky, Olga, Larina and Filippyevna,
are all visually and vocally first rate.
Any production should be proud to have
a group of artists such as this. No
superstars, just good-looking and good-sounding
singers.
At the beginning of
Act III, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking
with the Bolshoi production department
doing themselves proud. We are left
in no doubt that we are in a Russian
Grand Ballroom; the effect is wonderful.
I am sure that the surroundings made
the singers give that little bit extra,
and spurred them all on to greater things.
This is not to say that the scenery
elsewhere is not also superb, it is,
but the difference of the sets, compared
with what went before is so dramatic
as to be well worth mention.
As far as opera DVDs
are concerned, I have not enjoyed one
so much for a very long time. If traditional
productions are for you, then try this
one – you will not be disappointed.
John Phillips
Chorus and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre/Mark
Ermler. 
TDK
DV-OPEON [2 DVDs: 157:00]
