Glinka Ruslan and Lyudmila
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka
Genre:
Opera
Label: Philips
Magazine Review Date: 5/1997
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 202
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 446 746-2PH3
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Ruslan and Lyudmila |
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Composer
Anna Netrebko, Lyudmila, Soprano Galina Gorchakova, Gorislava, Soprano Gennadi Bezzubenkov, Farlaf, Bass Irina Bogachova, Naina, Mezzo soprano Kirov Opera Chorus Kirov Opera Orchestra Konstantin Pluzhnikov, Finn, Tenor Larissa Dyadkova, Ratmir, Contralto (Female alto) Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Composer Mikhail Kit, Svetozar, Bass Valery Gergiev, Conductor, Bass Vladimir Ognovienko, Ruslan, Baritone Yuri Marusin, Bayan, Tenor |
Author:
Let’s get things completely out of proportion, in the way for which we canary-fanciers are notorious, and draw attention first to a marvellous new soprano. At least, Anna Netrebko, the Lyudmila here, is, as far as I can see, new to the Gramophone Database and, as far as I can remember, new to me. She is delightfully pure in tone, even and steady in production, highly accomplished and at her ease in florid passages, ranging widely and ‘taking’ cleanly, expressive as well (though perhaps less strikingly so). It would no doubt be rash to call her a new Nezhdanova, but I daresay that listening in suitable company I might have risked it, at least as an observation with question-mark.
But of course “The play’s the thing”, or here the opera – ‘the father of Russian opera’, a famous paternity – and it certainly was time for a new recording. The previous one (Melodiya, 1978, recently reissued in BMG’s Russian opera series) has an excellent, and superior, Ruslan in Nesterenko but a needly Lyudmila in Bela Rudenko. Still, it is not so much in the solo singing as in recorded sound and the spark running through the orchestra that the distinction of the new version lies. With Gergiev, the playing rises well above the reliability of long-practised routine; indeed, the Overture, always a winner, has quite exceptional brilliance and exhilaration. Later, the performance is just as remarkable for its refinement of detail and for sensitivity in the meditative, tender passages which enrich the musical score as they do the humanity of this operatic fairy-tale.
The video here begins to press its claims, in the Deluxe Edition (‘limited’, note) which houses both records and film. This is a rather curious business, since, for much of the time, there is not really a great deal to watch. Good story-book sets and magnificent costumes satisfy the eye for a while, but soon the sight of those serried ranks of chorus, doing nothing, incites the producer manque in us, and we fret to take hold and move them about – not so as to distract, for heaven’s sake, but because music and drama provide both opportunity and need. Ruslan should, one feels, be a strongly visual opera, and the Russians should know how to produce it: yet they are really not very clever. Big dramatic moments such as the great darkness and Lyudmila’s abduction in Act 1, or the Head’s appearance (pure pantomime – “He’s behind you!”) in Act 2, have far less effect when seen than one had imagined when merely listening. And yet there is the magical Fourth Act with Chernamor’s garden, the processions and dances, veiled women and pantalooned warriors, not to mention the great white beard which requires attendants preceding its owner, almost as numerous as those who elsewhere tend the silken train following in the wake of the Princess Turandot.
The principals act with the professionalism of those brought up in a rigid school; they know their job and proceed accordingly. Essentially, they are singers, the Ruslan (Ognovienko) an ample bass-baritone, the Farlaf (Bezzubenkov) a sturdy bass with a neat capacity for patter, Bayan (Marusin) a tenor with tense tone, slightly flat intonation, especially memorable when seen as the white-haired bardic figure who holds in thrall an audience with a longer attention-span than might be counted on today. Larissa Diadkova’s Ratmir made a strong impression in the 1995 Edinburgh Festival and is good to see as well as hear. Gorchakova brings glamour of voice as of appearance to her role of Gorislava, and, as I say, the Lyudmila of Netrebko is outstanding. The recording (I am thinking now of cost and conscience) might almost be justified as essential, the Deluxe Edition as one of those luxuries that are essential too, once in a way, every now and then.'
But of course “The play’s the thing”, or here the opera – ‘the father of Russian opera’, a famous paternity – and it certainly was time for a new recording. The previous one (Melodiya, 1978, recently reissued in BMG’s Russian opera series) has an excellent, and superior, Ruslan in Nesterenko but a needly Lyudmila in Bela Rudenko. Still, it is not so much in the solo singing as in recorded sound and the spark running through the orchestra that the distinction of the new version lies. With Gergiev, the playing rises well above the reliability of long-practised routine; indeed, the Overture, always a winner, has quite exceptional brilliance and exhilaration. Later, the performance is just as remarkable for its refinement of detail and for sensitivity in the meditative, tender passages which enrich the musical score as they do the humanity of this operatic fairy-tale.
The video here begins to press its claims, in the Deluxe Edition (‘limited’, note) which houses both records and film. This is a rather curious business, since, for much of the time, there is not really a great deal to watch. Good story-book sets and magnificent costumes satisfy the eye for a while, but soon the sight of those serried ranks of chorus, doing nothing, incites the producer manque in us, and we fret to take hold and move them about – not so as to distract, for heaven’s sake, but because music and drama provide both opportunity and need. Ruslan should, one feels, be a strongly visual opera, and the Russians should know how to produce it: yet they are really not very clever. Big dramatic moments such as the great darkness and Lyudmila’s abduction in Act 1, or the Head’s appearance (pure pantomime – “He’s behind you!”) in Act 2, have far less effect when seen than one had imagined when merely listening. And yet there is the magical Fourth Act with Chernamor’s garden, the processions and dances, veiled women and pantalooned warriors, not to mention the great white beard which requires attendants preceding its owner, almost as numerous as those who elsewhere tend the silken train following in the wake of the Princess Turandot.
The principals act with the professionalism of those brought up in a rigid school; they know their job and proceed accordingly. Essentially, they are singers, the Ruslan (Ognovienko) an ample bass-baritone, the Farlaf (Bezzubenkov) a sturdy bass with a neat capacity for patter, Bayan (Marusin) a tenor with tense tone, slightly flat intonation, especially memorable when seen as the white-haired bardic figure who holds in thrall an audience with a longer attention-span than might be counted on today. Larissa Diadkova’s Ratmir made a strong impression in the 1995 Edinburgh Festival and is good to see as well as hear. Gorchakova brings glamour of voice as of appearance to her role of Gorislava, and, as I say, the Lyudmila of Netrebko is outstanding. The recording (I am thinking now of cost and conscience) might almost be justified as essential, the Deluxe Edition as one of those luxuries that are essential too, once in a way, every now and then.'
Glinka Ruslan and Lyudmila
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
Subscribe
Gramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.