Prokofiev: Betrothal In A Monastery

Sergey Prokofiev (Composer), Valery Gergiev (Conductor), Kirov Chorus and Orchestra (Orchestra), Alexander Gergalov (Performer), Anna Netrebko (Performer), Evgeny Akimov (Performer), Larissa Daidkova (Performer), Marianna Tarassova (Performer), Nikolai Gassiev (Performer), Sergei Alexashkin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Alexander Gergalov, Anna Netrebko, Evgeny Akimov, Larissa Daidkova, Marianna Tarassova, et al.
• Orchestra: Kirov Chorus and Orchestra
• Conductor: Valery Gergiev
• Composer: Sergey Prokofiev
• Audio CD (April 14, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Kirov/Philips
• ASIN: B0000069CR
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,188 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mellow? Prokofiev, February 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Prokofiev: Betrothal In A Monastery (Audio CD)

In my opinion this is a "strange" opera (strange comparing to other Prokofiev operas). It has elements of ROSSINI, a little Verdi, a little of Puccini, Strauss AND, of course a lot of Prokofiev in it. It IS modern in style but has its roots in the Italian bel canto/buffa 1800 (Rossini)tradtion.

I dont know if I dear to reccomend this to opera-newcombers, looking for some ROMANTIC period russian opera music/singing (Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninovs "The Bells", Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky etc) BUT if you are looking for VERY good music, singing, and GREAT conducting... and SOMETIMES a more "mellow" Prokofiev... this set is for you.

This has not the schezoid music you could find in, as an example, "The Fiery Angel" or some theme moments you find in "Love for three oranges" (well it has some themes but not that famous as in "the oranges") but it has a lot of good music, singing and those discs has a nice sound and that should be enough for music lovers in general (Prokofiev lovers should def. NOT be out of of this masterpiece but dont expect anything spectacular... more than straight, forward moving good music, conducting and singing, specially good Prokofiev-style music at the first disc).

For Philips.. I should advice you do a libretto in western style written russian, so you could follow this in english, german, french and so on. I understand if you like russians to enjoy and follow this libretto too, but I think TWO versions of this libretto would be in order. Othervise this libretto is filled with information in english, french, german, so dont worry about that (songtexta/libretto too comes but its probably hard to follow for must of us even if english is our language because of russian kryllic version choosed by Philips).

To rate this disc and not give it five star would be, in my opinion, nearly insane but as I wrote before... dont expect any "Tosca" arias or typical good Prokofiev ballet music in this... or russian romantic... or not completly modern style either. Its a mixed bag having its roots in Italian buffa/bel canto AND some modernism parts in music and is by that very special, fun, intresting... true art from one of the greatest composers ever.

This is a good, quite FUN solid opera with fantastic singing, music and conducting and if that is what you want, this set is highly recommended.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Get the DVD, October 29, 2005

By 

W. Gillham (Albion, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prokofiev: Betrothal In A Monastery (Audio CD)

This is a 5 star opera and performance, but the DVD is $20 cheaper and much better. The sets and costumes are gorgeous; no skimpy, kooky mod-squad quirks. The music has much more lovely melody than we sometimes get from the earlier Prokofiev. The comic plot from Sheridan is complex, but more lucid and logical than is sometimes the case in this genre. The multiple deceptions which lead to the comic conclusion unfold with delicious irony. This is a rare gem of an opera; a comedy which bears comparison with Mozart's MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Berlioz' BEATRICE AND BENEDICT, and Verdi's FALSTAFF.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A deligthful discovery among Prokofiev's unknown operas, January 12, 2008

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Prokofiev: Betrothal In A Monastery (Audio CD)

A performance of any Prokofiev opera remains rare in the West (outside France, with its strong axis toward Russia), and even the recent extravagant triumph of War and Peace at the Met hasn't opened the gates. At home, Prokofiev was primarily a theater composer, and he produced operas in every idiom from thorny, brutal modernism (The Fiery aangel) to the simple tunefulness of Betrothal in a Monastery Garden. It'ss as easy to listen to as Peter and the Wolf, which is both the opera's strength and its weakness. Catchy ditties with music-hall bass lines are the norm, although we alos get some nice atmospherics a l Rimsky-Korsakov.

I agree with the reviewer who advises customrs to see the DVD so that Sheridan's convoluted plot can be followed visually. As pure music, however, the score is appealing, but you have to enjoy wandering in a candy shop. Anyone who knows Romeo and Juliet or the Fifth Sym. will recognize the idiom here -- jaunty, dotted with percussion, driven by motor rhythms but genial ones. The vocal acting approaches mugging, but why not? Nobody but Russian speakers is going to laugh at the humor. In all respects the Kirov company performs with expertise and charm. Gergiev is in top form, and the Philips engineers give us full, natural, sweet sound.