The old Bolshoi style was irresistible: huge choruses on stage, dozens of extras – and great personalities who brought glory to the USSR, whatever the political climate might have been. In this 1982 Boris Godunov, once available briefly on Chant du Monde, the voices are well forward, sometimes too much so, but one senses a performance tradition, a way of declaiming the text that would be impossible for non-Russian singers. As the Tsar, Evgeny Nesterenko begins ‘I have attained the highest power’ by almost speaking the lines, gradually building up to a terrific climax that has tears and horror in his voice. It is very effective, as is the over-the-top, hammy clock scene. On stage it must have been overwhelming.

Alexander Ognivtsiev as Pimen is authoritative and sings with beauty and subtlety, whereas his cell-mate, the monk Grigory, sung by Vladimir Atlantov, is self-indulgent in his melodramatic emoting. The voice is magnificent, as always. The Polish scene was added by Mussorgsky to bring some light relief, as well as a short but brilliant role for a prima donna. Elena Obraztsova is regal and forceful, and relentlessly loud in her dealings with Atlantov as the false Dimitri. Yuri Mazurok is a superbly wily Rangoni. Conductor Mark Ermler displays all the necessary understanding of the opera.

The Rimsky-Korsakov edition used is now seldom heard but until the 1960s at least the one most often used on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Competition on CD for this version is complicated. The two recordings with Boris Christoff, in which he sings not only the title role, but those of Pimen and Varlaam, too, have both been reissued, on EMI and Pearl, in recent years. The obvious comparisons with this Bolshoi set, though, are two earlier ones from the same theatre, both conducted by Alexsander Melik-Pashayev: one from 1960 (a Sony import) with George London – the first non-Russian to take the role at the Bolshoi – and a later one with Ivan Petrov (Melodiya, nla). At its super-budget price, this 1982 set is an easy recommendation.