Search - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Valery Gergiev, St. Petersburhg Kirov Chorus and Orchestra :: Rimsky-Korsakov: Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh

At last - a COMPLETE Kitezh

Julian Grant | London, Beijing, New York | 01/03/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording has the field to itself, as the only competitor (on KOCH, from the Harry Kupfer production at the 1995 Bregenz Festival) cuts 1 hour (out of 3) from the running time. 'Kitezh' is a strange, complex, beautiful and infuriating work. It combines two ancient legends, that of the saintly maiden Fevronia who heals and cures a Prince, with the legend of Kitezh, a holy city that avoids destruction by a Tartar invasion by becoming invisible. Some tableaux are contemplative and static, others represent tumultuous happenings, such as the Tartar invasion interrupting a wedding feast, others depict strong psychological conflict between the saintly heroine Fevronia and a befuddled atheist drunkard, Grishka Kuterma, who betrays the position of the holy city to the Tartars, blames it on Fevronia, and ends up running deranged into a vast forest, the bells of the holy city echoing in his head(a moment of rare psychological frisson in Rimsky's operas). The final scene in Paradise where everyone dead is resurrected and a letter sent to the lost Grisha (the scene that is almost completely missing in the KOCH recording) is possibly overlong, anti-climactic and repetitious, yet contains some of Rimsky's most spell-binding music. Other highlights are the scene of the Tartars flight when they see the reflection of the invisible city in the lake, and not the city itself (CD 2 track 25), a rapt tonally unvarying scene where a magic mist descends over the beseiged city (CD 2 tracks 14-15)- (some people find this exasperatingly long, but in the age of wholesale minimalism a la Philip Glass, a few static long drawn out sequences shouldn't frighten anyone), the transformation of the dark forest into a paradise in act 4, in fact almost the whole final act is inspired at the highest level. In the psychological scenes Rimsky tries hard, but he was not a natural dramatist and you do miss the hallucinatory intensity that Mussorgsky would have provided. In fact Rimsky appropriates quite a few ideas from the mad scenes of 'Boris Godunov'. So, an uneven, ambitious work that has a unique and compelling flavour. The performance, a live one from 1994 (why has this taken nearly 6 years to appear?)is musically on a very high level. Gergiev paces the work unerringly and the orchestral playing is alternately exquisite and forceful and in general the singing is fine. Galina Gorchakova as Fevronia sings with glorious tone. Unfortunately she cannot begin to suggest the other-worldly saintly quality of the heroine with such a timbre, but she sings a long role tirelessly, and compared to some of her other recordings, is genuinely involving and her intonation is fine. Yuri Marusin as her fiance has one of the strangest tenorial timbres I have heard - almost vibratoless and rather plummy. I rather like it, though I can imagine it is not to all tastes. He does have intonation problems in the last act, but attempts to bring to life what is a thankless role. The mad Grisha is the same tenor as on the KOCH abridgement, Vladimir Galuzin. This performance predates the KOCH one by a year - there he is gripping but all over the place as regards the score, here he is reined in, much more accurate and just as intense - a great deal better for repeated listening. Nicolai Ohotnikov is disappointing as the patriarch Prince Yury, he has a gravely beautiful solo (recorded with real gravitas in the past by Boris Christoff) which lacks breadth and grandeur here, mainly due to an infuriating habit of anticipating the beat. Luxury casting to have Larissa Diadkova as a bird of paradise, and other solo roles vary from good to characterful. The recording quality is not great - some orchestral details get lost, particularly muted brass and woodwind and the live aspect is trying: the audience is enthusiastic but bronchial (noticeably worst in Act 3), applause ruins the (what should be) shocking end of Act 3, which never resolves - brass depicting a vast tolling bell that fades into nothingness is drowned out. Luckily the fading chord at the end of the opera is able to fade before the understandably enthusiastic audience takes over - ideally silence would be best. The Tartar invasion in Act 2 sounds as if someone is trying to force your front door. But all reservations aside, this is an essential release for lovers of russian opera - there's nothing quite like it in the repertoire, and here it packs a powerful, if discursive, punch."

Mmmmmm......

skytwo | Boston | 10/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think some folks have gotten their wires crossed in terms of recordings here. The Philips release was recorded live in St. Petersburg in 1994, but there isn't the slightest trace of crowd noises, and if I hadn't gone back to check just now, I would have sworn it was a studio recording.That said, I'm afraid I don't have the expertise to comment on the vocal talents of individual performers. I might be an opera buff, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to make skilled critiques of individual performances. What I CAN say is that in spite of my lack of formal training, this opera (this recording, specifically) quickly became one of my favorites in my collection of over one hundred operas. The vocalists certainly don't sound bad, and the orchestra plays with all the passion due an opera by a Russian Nationalist composer. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, or maybe it's just that I love magic opera of the romantic persuasion, but I think that Rimsky-Korsakov's operas are starting to get some more attention among fans in the US. Kitezh has everything that you'd expect from Rimsky-Korsakov-- highly romanticized, mythological themes, lush orchestration (and I can say with some confidence that Gergiev conducts the music with emotion and fire to spare), and drawn-out arias that highlight the emotions and sincerity of the lead characters. One frequent criticism that just plain confuses me is that this opera is long-winded and dull. Unfortunately, the only response I can think of is 'No, it's not.' Perhaps what it comes down to is an individual take on Rinsky-Korsakov's music. If you're drawn toward his lush sound and devotion to larger-than-life themes, then Kitezh will most likely satisfy you with its aural richness, unfailingly romantic themes (of a Brothers Grimm meets Andersen bent), and epic scope. If you're looking for gritty realism or head-on engagement of contemporary philosophical themes, then you've come to the wrong place. This opera is strictly for adults who retain a special place in their hearts for a fantasy world that never was, and may never be, but can always be dreamt of. This is that world's soundtrack."

Quite wonderful

gellio | San Francisco, CA | 03/23/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A few months ago I discovered Boris Godounov which caused this Mozart and Wagner opera lover to go Russian mad! After hitting Boris, Khovanschina and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Pique Dame, I decided Rimsky-Korsakov would be my next target. Not knowing quite what piece I should start with I choose this- because I fit it's subject matter appealing.This really is a wonderful opera and the previous reviewer certainly has posted a top notch review, so there isn't much to add to it other than that I agree with him.While this certainly is not at the level of Moussorgsky's Boris Godounov or even his unfinished Khovanschina, it is a wonderful piece that is worthy of many listens. Kitezh is full or beautiful and thrilling chorus', great orchestral interludes, and just plain great musical tunes.The scenes described by the previous reviewer are indeed compelling and beautiful, however, I don't think the ACT III finale is necessarily ruined- fading off to silence is hardly a point that is much missed.It's a wonderful opera full of great tunes. If you are a Russian opera lover- get it. If this is one of your first Russian operas and/or you don't have Moussorgsky's Boris Godounov- get that instead. The Kirov recording of Boris is incredible and Philips went way above and beyond the call of duty by recording both the 1869 version (2 discs) and the 1872 version (3 discs)-- giving us 5 discs for the price of 3 and two complete libretto's. Boris is the greatest of Russian operatic masterpieces."