During the last year
quite a few recordings of Russian opera
have come my way, both historical and
latter day, both CDs and DVDs, among
them several Bolshoi productions. Now
here comes a compilation of excerpts
from the present generation of Bolshoi
artists, recorded less than a year ago
in stunning SACD sound, rendering an
impressive realism to the performances.
The chorus and orchestra, always among
the top contenders in the operatic world,
are heard in their full glory with magnificent
brass and silken strings. The chorus
includes excellent voices, less vibrato-laden
than earlier incarnations and with a
punch that makes the Polovtsian dances
really thrilling. I have a 15-year-old
recording of these dances under former
principal conductor Alexander Lazarev
(Erato) and the feeling of deep familiarity
and involvement is just as tangible
but the present recording has an even
greater impact thanks to the sharply
etched SACD sound.
I had the great good
fortune to hear these forces under their
present chief conductor Vedernikov a
little over a year ago, at Dalhalla,
on the company’s first ever visit to
Sweden and was greatly impressed. Then
it was Puccini’s Turandot; here
we have them in more home-grown repertoire.
The choice of items seems to have been
made to give a picture of the development
of Russian opera in the nineteenth century:
Glinka, Dargomizhsky, Tchaikovsky and
Rachmaninov presented in chronological
order. The four numbers from Borodin’s
Prince Igor, constituting the
second half of act 2, have been tugged
out of the chronology to make a thrilling
end to the programme.
I have already praised
the chorus and orchestra and Alexander
Vedernikov - not to be confused with
the imposing bass singer during the
1960s, 1970s and 1980s - leads his forces
idiomatically. Isolated pieces like
these can’t tell us everything about
his large-scale capacity but his handling
of the Puccini score at Dalhalla last
year left no doubts that here is an
important opera conductor. The opening
number, the Polonaise and chorus
from A Life for the Czar, is
a real cracker that should be a favourite
at any concert with opera choruses.
By the way, do they exist nowadays?
The disc also gives
us the opportunity to hear a handful
of singers from the present generation.
As usual there are several fine basses
on display, among whom Kiev-born Taras
Shtonda is the most well-known with
a number of fine recordings to his credit.
He sings the old Gypsy’s song from Rachmaninov’s
Aleko and confirms the good impression
from other recordings with his beautiful
and warm delivery. Vladimir Matorin
also sings well in Susanin’s aria from
A Life for the Czar. He can’t
quite compete with Mark Reizen or Evgeny
Nesterenko on two complete sets I have
reviewed recently, but he is an impressive
bass even so. Even more involving is
Valery Gilmanov as Konchak in Prince
Igor – a big-voiced expressive singer.
The two tenors are good though not exceptional
and Elena Zelenskaya is a somewhat occluded
Lisa in Pique Dame. The baritone
Yuri Nechaev, however, who sang the
small role of The Mandarin at Dalhalla,
turns out to be a major artist. His
Mazeppa is excellent, maybe not in the
Leiferkus or Putilin class, but not
far behind and he is a really imposing
Prince Igor.
There is an essay on
the music in three languages and several
fine colour photos from Bolshoi stagings
but no texts. Playing time is generous
and I wouldn’t mind a second issue,
covering operas that are not included
here and giving another opportunity
to hear some of these singers again
and maybe some others from the Bolshoi
roster.
Göran Forsling
for
details
Chorus and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow/Alexander Vedernikov 
PENTATONE
CLASSICS PTC 5186 089 (SACD) [75:59] 
