Customer Reviews

Borsi Godunov

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After the monumental recording of Khovanshchina, I had great expectations to this Boris. Ghiaurov as Boris and Ghiuselev as Pimen looks promising, but where are Alexandrina Miltcheva, Kaludi Kaludov and Stoyan Popov? All three of them were tremendous in Khovanschina, and they would have been perfect to cast as Marina, the false Dmitri and Varlaam.

Instead we are treated with Stefka Mineva, Josef Frank and Dimiter Petkow. Actually Kaludov does perform a small part in this recording, and therefore it's very understandable that we have to settle for Frank's unpersuasive timbre. Miltcheva has recorded the part of Marina for Harmonia Mundi in 1976, with Nicola Ghiuselev as Boris and Varlaam, and hearing this, convinces me that she would have been vastly superior to Mineva in this part. Dimiter Petkow is way past his prime and his voice has lost a great deal of that authority that it used to have. Unfortunately it is also very wobbly and unsteady. Stoyan Popov would certainly have been a better choice here. Assembling a perfect cast can be a difficult task, and perhaps Miltcheva and Popov were not available, but evidently Kaludov Was!

As Tsar Boris Ghiaurov displays a great deal of authority, but being a great fan of his, I'm sorry to say that it is not one of his greatest achievements. The glow and involvement of his Ivan Khovansky (Khovanshchina) is only present occasionally. The great scene in the Moscow, Kremlin suffers a great deal from this, and his clock scene is nowhere near as effective as it should be. Despite these reservations it is still a noble rendering by the greatest Boris in recent times, only not as good as one would have expected.

Nicola Ghiuselev has just the right voice for Pimen and sings excellent throughout, but unfortunately he is unable to make up for all the flaws in this recording.

Emil Tchakarov doesn't seem nearly as inspired as he did in Khovanshchina. The music never really flows as it does with Abbado (also on Sony).

Tchakarov's Khovanshchina is a must, but unfortunately I cannot recommend his Boris Godunov. My first recommendation would be Abbado, although I would have preferred Ghiaurov and Ghiuselev as Boris and Pimen, instead of Kotcherga and Ramey. But nevertheless - go for Abbado!

I had been hesitant to buy this recording, especially considering how expensive it was, because I thought that by 1986 Ghiaurov's voice could not longer do the role justice. Boy, was I wrong! While there are a few moments when his vocal decline is in evidence, most of the time he sounds resonant, ringing and beautiful. It was so nice to hear the "bite" in his voice again. His first entrace is excellent, all the way up to the high F. In the death scene, right before the funeral bell sounds, his pianissimo singing is stunning. His interpretation is, of course, peerless, and very different from his previous recordings. Well worth hearing.

Stefka Mineva is also quite good. I recall admiring her singing on the Met broadcast from the mid-80s and I was not disappointed. A nice, full, rich, dark voice with a ringing top. The chest voice is a little raw, but hey... Mihail Svetlev does better on the live recording from La Scala than here. A few times he is audibly in vocal distress. But he sings passionately and really throws himself into the role. Nicola Ghiuselev sounds marvelous as Pimen. Boris Martinovich is an excellent, sly Rangoni. Dimiter Petkov is very good as Varlaam, less wobbly than I remember him being. The Simpleton is Mincho Popov. It's a very nice voice, actually! I think he would make a fine Dmitrii. The comprimarii are all wonderful, especially the mezzos Stefka Popangelova and Penka Dilova. I am not entirely crazy about all of Tchakarov's choices, but perhaps they'll grow on me. Overall, this recording did not disappoint. I am glad to have a record of Ghiaurov's mature reading of one of his best roles. It's a treasure.