Search - Nosyrev, Kondina, Giladze :: Ballet: Song of Triumphant Love

Truly a wonderful work, surprisingly neglected!

David A. Hollingsworth | Washington, DC USA | 01/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Try this on for size! Add some serving spoons of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Rachmaninov (for lyricism), tablespoons of Glazunov, Gliere, Stravinsky, and Scriabin (for some mysticism & earthbound beauty), a teaspoon of Gavriil Popov, Ravel, & perhaps Poulenc, Dukas & Roussel (for a beautiful union of a man and a woman sitting over a waterfall in ways impressionistic), and sprinkles of Puccini, and perhaps Lehar (for some sense of passion mixed in w/ soaring, exotic beauty upon us even today). The ingredients make up of what has become Nosyrev's "The Song of Triumphant Love", the ballet in two acts with Epilogue. It's also revealing how the Epilogue in some ways anticipate the beginning bars of Denisov's Symphony of 1987, with the timpani roll in many ways avant garde. It is also revealing that some of the language of the ballet is shared with his First Symphony (1963).No way am I to suggest that this ballet is derivative. On a contrary, it's quite an original work and to my mind measures up to Ravel's "Daphnes et Chloe." But look, for example, how similar this ballet is to Popov's Suite from the film "Komsomol is the Chief of Electrification" or Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe": with vocal soloists adding dimensions of romantic love that even Gene Roddenberry (creator of Star Trek) would have love to use whenever Captain Kirk has a romantic rendezvous with a woman he fell in love with. Even the harp arpeggios are so beautiful and sumptous that Glazunov himself would rise up and perhaps give Nosyrev a hug (or a firm hand shake). Composed in 1968-1969, the ballet became arguably Nosyrev's most successful work, and hence, his most important one. By then, the composer was recovering from the false imprisonment that ultimately damaged his real chance of success as a well-trained, well-developed composer. Along with his mother and stepfather, Nosyrev was arrested in 1943 at the age of nineteen for relating an anecdote surrounding Andrei Zhdanov. He was reported by his teacher (an agent of the secret service). Incidentailly, Nosyrev just began his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and was a violinist at the Musical Comedy Theatre. The sentence was for ten years and Nosyrev did not compose until the age of 30. The age when his composing career started was not deplorable by any means. But his musical development and discipline did not florish because of the imprisonment. The saving grace however, was his famiarity with both the orchestra (besides a violinist, he was also a conductor) and with Rimsky-Korsakov's theory of instrumentation he studied while in the gulag. The ballet scored a tremendous success since the January of 1971 premiere at the Theatre for Opera and Ballet in Voronezh (Nosyrev's adopted home since the days after the gulag). But even the success did not earn Nosyrev a wholehearted approval. He was essentially a non-person and was not rehabilitated (meaning forgiven, or apologized to) until after his death in 1981. Again, the ballet was a tremendous success. Based on the infamous story of Ivan Turgenyev, among the most powerful authors of Russia since the first half of the 19th Century, the ballet tells a tale of the rivalry between Fabio and Muzio for the love of Valeria. Valeria does not favor one over the other until she's asked to pick between them for the promise that the one rejected will leave the town of Ferrara (in Italy) and not to return until his love has waned. Fabio was chosen, Muzio left Ferrara, and both Fabio and Valeria wed. But, Muzio, unexpectantly, returned five years later with his Malayan servant. With his violin, he played a song of love which discomforted Valeria. She had a dreadful dream that night, dreaming that she and Muzio met, with a song of love heard again. She woke up, and assured Fabio that she loves him. Fabio left, Muzio returned, and with his violin, singing the song of love. But Fabio returned, stabbed Muzio and then himself. The servant utters a magic spell over Muzio's body, bringing him back to life while playing the violin. Both Muzio and his servant left Ferrara for good while Valeria is left behind.Nosyrev's brilliant orchestration and his handling of thematic materials are the main reasons why the ballet ran for almost every season since 1971. The three characters were portrayed with a great deal of vividness and imagination while the passion and the tension between them were admirably maintained, especially in "Muzio's departure" and the Act I finale where Valeria & Fabio wed. It's quite amazing that major ballet companies, especially the Bolshoi and the Kirov, had not taken up this work, at least more faithfully. But the fact that Olympia sleeve cover (or anywhere in the booklet) did not mention that this present recording is a premiere suggest that it may have been recorded before, most probably by Melodiya itself. There's no doubt that the Voronezh State Symphony felt fully at home with this work. Its'performance was truly committed and vivid, keeping the beauty, sumptousness, magic and the passion of the ballet alive. Vladimir Verbitsky, who conducted and recorded the composer's four symphonies with the St. Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra (recorded by Olympia) paced the work euphoniously, despite some small cuts made in this present recording. Dare I hope for this enterprising recording to awaken interests in giving public performances of this quasi masterpiece, even in Russia?"