Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Static but sumptuous - Sadko casts a spell,
By A Customer
This review is from: Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko (Audio CD)
You can really smell the sea in this opera - the simple evocation of the rocking sea that opens the opera weaves itself into every corner of the score. Don't expect a well made opera a la Puccini, instead it's a leisurely series of tableaux recounting the adventures of Sadko, a musician turned merchant who finds himself on the bottom of the sea. The second and sixth scenes are probably the high spots, the Sea Princess and her watery cohorts are given some gorgeously florid music, but the market scene runs it close, with its songs of three travelling merchants - including the famous Hindu Song. Unfortunately that is one disappointment on this recording, Gegam Gregoriam has neither the line or control to make this old chestnut suitably hypnotic. However the lead performers, Vladimir Galusin (a tireless Sadko) and Valentina Tsidipova (an alluring Sea-Princess) are very appealing - and the rest of the cast is very strong indeed. Gergiev is excellent at pacing this score, which can seem repetitive in lesser hands. Recording quality is perhaps not the best, and there is a fair amount of stage noise, particularly in the more folksy crowd scenes, but Rimsky's vision of a fantastical old Russia and the full spectrum of his technicolour score comes through unimpaired. I play this set a great deal and highly recommend it.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Korsakov's Finest Work...,
By Sébastien Melmoth (Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko (Audio CD)
Premièred in 1898, Sadko is possibly Korsakov's finest work. Gerald Abraham says, `Sadko is not only Rimsky-Korsakov's best opera, but his most quintessential--that in which he is most completely and exuberantly himself and most profoundly Russian.' Sadko isn't a drama in the sense of La Bohème or Carmen; rather it is an `opera-bylina in seven tableaux'--meaning, a musical pageant entertainment in a series of scenes based on mediaeval epic tales (byliny). Ultimately, Sadko is an exemplary exercise in Korsakov's beauteous melodies, brilliant orchestrations, and enthusiastic Russian nationalism. Sadko features fairy-tale transformations in the story line and developing variations in the melodic line, with a colourful cast of kulaks, merchants, and maidens. Aficionados who adore Korsakov's resplendent Antar and Scheherazade will swoon upon his marvellous Sadko, for it is extraordinary Art of the first water. The `live' recording was done at the Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg, 1993) with Gergiev's star in ascendancy. In the early- and mid-1990s Gergiev produced virtually all the great Russian operas with the Kirov Orchestra and Chorus, and released them on Philips--though now mostly OOP. The sound is fine, although there is a bit of applause after each tableau. Russian excellence: Rimsky-Korsakov: The Complete Symphonies; Russian Easter Festival Overture; Capriccio Espagnol [Germany] Rimsky-Korsakow: Scheherazade: Borodin: Polowetzer Tänze Alexander Borodin: Prince Igor Borodin: Orchestral Works Pytor Il'ich Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame Tchaikovsky: The Symphonies Scriabin: Complete Symphonies Scriabin: Complete Piano Sonatas Glière: Symphony No. 1, Op. 8; The Sirens, Op. 33 Kalinnikov: Symphony Nos. 1 & 2
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Glorious music, fine choral and orchestral contributions, but variable soloists,
By
This review is from: Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko (Audio CD)
One of the most popular and absorbing of Rimsky-Korsakov's operas, it is also one that requires a really good recording - one that captures all the colors and moods as well as the soaring arias and drama, without losing sight of the musical narrative. Not an easy thing, but at least Gergiev succeeds to a large extent. Sadko is based on one of the composer's relatively early tone poems, and is a true fairy tale opera that relies heavily on escapist magic and evocative atmospheres (with more than a dash of folk music and local color). The plot is somewhat confusing, and Rimsky admitted that the story itself wasn't the main issue; the characters are rather, shall we say, one-dimensional.
Despite the weaknesses of the storyline, Rimsky fills the opera with utterly magnificent music, and the beauty and power of many of the arias make one almost forget the shallowness of the characters who have them. It is really a sequence of the most lavishly detailed, gorgeously painted scenes; busy city markets with vendors of all nationalities, wonderful landscapes, journies under the sea, wistful dreaming and sorcery. And if you aren't really bothered by the lack of a coherent tale, you could hardly find much that is more dazzling, brilliant and engaging than Sadko. Not only is the orchestration at the level of Rimsky's best and the writing for voices superb, there is also a richness of truly imaginative themes and melodies, and if he didn't exactly have Verdi's sense of pacing, then - well, I cannot really care too much. This is a live recording and the Kirov Orchestra acquits itself pretty well under Gergiev's leadership. There are some instances where the playing is less than ideally refined, but in general the colors and drama are there. Likewise, the choral contributions are generally excellent. The soloists, however, are a bit up and down. Best is Marianna Tarassova, who provide a beautiful rendition of Sadko's wife and who sings well in some of the most wonderful arias in the opera. But apart from her, things are more variable - without mentioning anyone in particular, there is much wobbling and missed pitch; I have heard most of the soloists on better form elsewhere, to be honest. Still, with the choral and orchestral contributions as good as this, and with fairly good sound (though the fact that it is live does challenge the balance on occasions), this is still an eminently recommendable version of this glorious opera, and probably the best available alternative.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
