As I owned in my review
of Naxos’s issue of the 1953 recording
of Boris Godunov featuring Christoff
in all three major bass roles, I grew
up in a household where his 78s stood
alongside those of Chaliapin, and were
as much treasured as those of Björling,
Schipa and Gigli and their soprano counterparts.
For me the recording highlights of the
LP 1950s were the emergence of sets
of Boris, Faust and Don Carlo from HMV
featuring Christoff in the lead bass
roles of each. I determined that one
day I would see him on the opera stage.
He first appeared at London’s Covent
Garden singing Boris, in Russian, in
1949. He later appeared as Philip in
Visconti’s ground-breaking Don Carlos
in 1958. Under Sir David Webster’s stewardship
of that theatre (1944-1970) Christoff
only ever sang those two roles, a fact
that rankled with him. He was, however,
heard in London in concert performance
as Zaccaria in Nabucco. In 1973, he
was at Covent Garden, as Fiesco in Simon
Boccanegra which I was privileged to
see. In February 1970 I first saw him
as Boris at Covent Garden in the last
days of Webster’s rule. Courtesy of
a kind usherette, who took mercy on
my restricted view seat, which cost
me my fee for the day’s work in London,
I saw the Coronation Scene where Boris,
holding the jewels of office, descends
a long staircase, from David Webster’s
personal seat as he was not in the theatre
that night. Christoff’s sonorous singing
and histrionic portrayal of Boris blended
to a perfection that made his interpretation
all-involving, even consuming. It is
no chance happening that on this disc
his singing of The Death of Boris
(Chs.11 and 12) and Philip’s soliloquy
Ella giammai m’amò (Ch.
9) are so overwhelming in their impact
that when closing my eyes the costume
and staging are vivid in my imagination.
In both these items Christoff’s secure
tone, expressive nuance, exemplary diction
and variety of tonal expression and
phrasing bring out his clear understanding
of the soul of the character so as to
realize a consummate whole. His singing
of Osmin’s Wer ein Liebchen from
Mozart’s Die Entführung (Ch. 7)
seems routine by comparison. It perhaps
reflects his limited stage experience
in the role whilst exhibiting his idiomatic
German and lower, profundo, notes. Christoff’s
La callunia (Ch. 5) is strongly
sung and his voice shows no spread as
he thunders out the words. However,
his vocal characterisation does not
erase memories of Chaliapin on his recordings.
The introductory Hopak
is one that Christoff featured in recitals
and appears on his collection of Mussorgsky’s
songs (EMI). He sings it with brio and
strong tone and it serves as an appropriate
voice warmer for the stronger meat to
come (Ch. 3). Applause is included after
the Rossini and Christoff shakes hands
with the conductor and leader as well
as acknowledging the audience. There
is no showing of his reaction to the
enthusiastic audience response to his
outstanding Death of Boris. At a London
Promenade Concert concluding with the
same item the audience went wild. The
singer stood still and impassive for
some time, eventually acknowledging
the audience response with a slight
inclination of the head. He was a singer
who knew his place as one of the outstanding
voices and singing actors of the century
and was known as a difficult colleague.
The Welsh bass Gwynne Howell recounts
how Christoff would regularly upstage
him by passing directly in front of
him as he started to sing. One night
Howell planted his staff well in front
of himself forcing Christoff to take
a different path. Later when the pair
passed near the dressing rooms Christoff
nodded silently as if to say ‘well done
and about time!’ This egocentric facet
of Christoff’s personality is largely
held in check in the interview with
the singer, which is interspersed between
the sung items (trs. 4, 6, 8, and 10).
He tries to look urbane but the intensity
of his personality soon shows through.
Conducted in Italian, the interviewer
takes the singer through his discovery
and fraught experiences in World War
2 to his rapid emergence on the international
operatic stage. More interesting than
those well known facts are Christoff’s
analysis of his own vocal and histrionic
strengths and the influence of other
singers. In this latter respect he is
adamant that predecessors provide an
example from which one can learn but
they must not be copied. Also interesting
are his comments, prompted by the interviewer,
in respect of the marrying of the Slav
personality with the Italian operatic
creativity. Christoff notes his relationship
to his fellow Slav the conductor Issay
Dobrowen and the influence and help
of Vittoria Gui.
The camera-work during
the recital is as varied as feasible
in such circumstances with facial and
full body shots of the singer from the
front, side to include the conductor,
and the rear of the orchestra. The colours
in the recital are well caught whilst
under the studio lights of the interview
they are rather anaemic and lacking
contrast and depth. The recorded sound
is clear with the voice set in a well
balanced perspective. The insights and
performance on this disc of one of the
20th century’s greatest singer
actors are well worth hearing. Although
I must warn potential purchasers that
the interview part of the disc, which
will not bear repeated hearing, constitutes
over 31 minutes of the playing time.
For me Christoff’s singing, particularly
his rendering of the Boris death and
Philip’s soliloquy justify the issue
and purchase of this DVD. Do note that
the item numbers in the leaflet, 1 to
9, do not correspond with the Chapters
that are as I indicate.
Robert J Farr
Boris Christoff (bass) (b. Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1914, d. Rome, 1993) 
DYNAMIC
DVD VIDEO 33476 [69:00]
