| S. Prokofiev. Opera "Semyon Kotko". Victor Lutsyuk (Semyon Kotko), Tatyana Pavlovskaya (Sofya), Gennady Bezzubenkov (Tkachenko), Victor Chernomortsev (Tsarev), Ekaterina Solovyova (Lyubka), Olga Markova-Mikhailenko (Khivrya), Olga Savova (Frosya), etc. Choir and orchestra Mariinsky Theater. Conductor Valery Gergiev. 2 CDs, Philips.
For many years, Prokofiev’s best opera, according to Svyatoslav Richter, was labeled as a pro-Soviet composition. Of course, some episodes of this epic, written based on Kataev’s pathetic story “I am the son of the working people,” will cause a shudder in any modern listener. Like, for example, the scene of the execution of Tsarev and Ivasenko, who, sticking their heads through the noose, shout: “Long live Lenin!” But the ideological spirit of the libretto recedes before the magnificent music - such colorful everyday episodes and crowd scenes shocking with tragedy are difficult to find in the opera heritage of the 20th century. Valery Gergiev and director Yuri Alexandrov, who staged “Semyon Kotko” at the Mariinsky Theater, increased the fame of Prokofiev’s music - in particular, on the London tour in August 2000, it was “Semyon” that made the greatest impression on critics and the public. The current broadcast recording, made in the Vienna Konzerthaus, is living proof of the power of the Mariinsky musicians. There are no Russian stars of the first magnitude here, which, however, does not in any way detract from the merits of the cast of singers. Gennady Bezzubenkov in the role of Semyon, Ekaterina Solovyova (Lyubka) and Viktor Chernomortsev (Tsarev) are very convincing and accurate. Special thanks go to the Mariinsky Orchestra, which, under the experienced hands of Gergiev, surpassed itself.
J. Haydn. Piano concertos Nos. 3, 4, 11. Leif Ove Andsnes (soloist and conductor), Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. EMI Classics.
Russian pianists have long been tormented by the question: why out of Haydn’s 14 piano concertos, which are reported by the “Musical Encyclopedic Dictionary”, only two are performed - the Fourth and the Eleventh, and sometimes (on major holidays) the Third? As the clever article in the booklet attached to the new recording tells, because all the other eleven Haydn concertos were actually written not by him, but by his little-known contemporaries. It’s just that old Haydn, compiling a catalog of his works in the last years of his life, inadvertently included other people’s opuses there. The remaining three piano concertos, still featuring the old numbers, are miraculously good. Haydn was never a virtuoso pianist like Mozart and Beethoven, but he spent his modest energies very wisely. His piano parts, artless in their beauty, conceal a special, truly Haydnian charm, which will later be called holy simplicity. To be able to convey this sacred simplicity to the listener is a great art, but the young Norwegian pianist with the hard-to-pronounce surname Andsnes masters it in full. Its matte, slightly cold (after all, Norway!) sound, combined with the rich palette of orchestral timbres, is ideal for Haydn. A great pleasure for many hours for connoisseurs of the simple and elegant.
J. Brahms. Choral works: cantata “Rinaldo”, “Song of the Parks”, “Funeral Song”, etc. Véronique Gen (soprano), Steve Davislim (tenor), “Ernst-Senf-Chor”, Dresden Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra. Conducted by Michel Plasson. EMI Classics.
Do you love Brahms? If you are partial to his symphonies, piano sonatas and you are close to his restrained manner of speaking, where behind the apparent emotional stinginess there is a real romantic fire, then this disc is for you. Brahms's choral music is known much less than his instrumental opuses, and this recording generally presents sheer delights - there is not even the grandiose "German Requiem". But here real revelations await you: Brahms’s choral writing is emphatically ascetic, it is based on the great Protestant tradition - from Luther’s chorales to Bach’s passions, and the breath of antiquity, not so frequent in the era of romanticism, will undoubtedly impress the most sophisticated listener. That same romantic fire, hidden from prying eyes, is somewhat obscured by German musicians - no doubt neat and professional - which is a shame. "Funeral Song", this amazing apocalyptic opus about death and resurrection, clearly lacks scope, and the cantata "Rinaldo" to the text by Goethe seems more dynamic and operatic in spirit than it was played by Plasson. The beauty of the music, however, redeems some of the coldness of the performers.
G.F. Handel. Opera "Rinaldo". David Daniels (Rinaldo), Cecilia Bartoli (Almirena), Lyuba Orgonashova (Armida), Bernarda Fink (Godfred), Daniel Taylor (Eustasius), Gerald Finley (Argant) and others. Academy of Ancient Music Orchestra. Conducted by Christopher Hogwood. 3 CDs, Decca.
You can't sing that well. After such divine vocals, you don’t want to leave the house, listen to singers at the Bolshoi Theater and watch Lyubov Kazarnovskaya with Nikolai Baskov on TV. Authentic English conductor Christopher Hogwood assembled an international team of stars for the recording of Rinaldo, one of Handel's best operas; lovers of baroque music will recognize famous singers even in tiny - in three words - roles, and what can we say about the “lead singers” - the American countertenor David Daniels with an incredibly beautiful timbre of his voice, the exalted Slovenian Lyuba Orgnonasheva in the role of the baroque vamp Armida and, finally , the temperamental Italian Bartoli, who embodied the gentle Almirena. (It is one of her arias - “Let me mourn my fate” - that sounds at the climax of the film “Farinelli the Castrato”: on the stage there is the main character singing an aria of wondrous beauty, and in the hall Handel, sliding from his chair with apoplectic stroke.) In addition to the luxurious vocals, the music lover who purchased this expensive new product will get to know the full arsenal of stage miracles from the Baroque times: a machine that produces peals of thunder, singing nightingales and other cunning inventions. It’s just a pity that the performers didn’t have enough money for the stage production - after all, the opera must be seen. However, closing your eyes, you can imagine all the splendor of the Baroque theater: castrati singers, prima donnas and, of course, Handel himself. Mikhail FIKHTENGOLTS
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