Prokofiev: Betrothal in a Monastery

Prokofiev (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Prokofiev
• Audio CD (July 29, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Glyndebourne
• ASIN: B0018J90LC
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #422,831 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Prelude

2. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 1. But this is just fantasy!

3. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 2. Plain. Round-shouldered

4. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 3. She has shaken your hand

5. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 4. The moon looks in your window

6. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 5. Stop that mewing

7. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 6. Masker's Dance

8. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 7. I had better get her married off

9. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 8. Friends, depart

10. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 2. Scene 1. It will work, Nanny, won't it?

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 1. Ah, time does not want to move on

2. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 2. Come in, come in

3. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 3. Should we take a sly look?

4. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 4. It's bad to peep

5. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 5. How my soul is beaming!

6. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 6. Scene 1. You are not playing in tune

7. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 6. Scene 2. My respectful greetings to the Señor!

8. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 6. Scene 3. Please, let us continue

9. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 6. Scene 4. Lopez! Lopez!

10. Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 7. Scene 1. Here I am, a nun

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comic masterpiece, September 12, 2008

By 

S. Jones (Schenectady) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Prokofiev: Betrothal in a Monastery (Audio CD)

A biography of Prokofiev suggested that this was his best stage work, while other reviews I'd heard of the opera were largely positive but not superlative. Now that I have it, I have to go with the superlative. This is one of the greatest comic operas I've ever heard, and gives all the others a run for their money. The music is truly brilliantly comic; only R. Strauss and sometimes Haydn can, in my experience, equal this for music that is both well composed and laugh-producing without visual accompaniment. The opera and its music are well structured, melodic as well as funny, and fit the drama's situations to a tee. The loopy music Don Jerome intends for his party has to be heard to be believed. As a composition the opera may lose some of its steam toward the end, but it has plenty of steam left to make the end very enjoyable.

As to this recording, the singers are a bit recessed and can probably be bettered for beauty of sound -- I'm unfamiliar with the Gergiev recording-- but the cast is solid and the vocal acting excellent. The women generally do have fine voices, the men less so (particularly Vsevolod Grivnov, the young hero). The conducting of Vladimir Jurowski is extremely lively and engaging (and funny); I don't see how it could be bettered, by Gergiev or anyone else. (And his name is on both the front and back of the album, as well as inside; I don't understand what the other reviewer was fussing about.) The sound of the recording itself is fine, for compact disks. All in all, a wonderful investment for anyone who loves opera, comedy, and/or Prokofiev.

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely performance but odd sound, February 5, 2011

By 

NPW (Paris France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prokofiev: Betrothal in a Monastery (Audio CD)

This is a lovely performance of a great work, and anyone who doens't know it should be encouraged to buy it. But the recorded sound has an odd "cardboard box" side to it, so anyone who's specially picky about such things might want to have a listen before deciding whether to order.

2 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete information, August 1, 2008

By 

brambeus "brambeus" (Manhattan, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prokofiev: Betrothal in a Monastery (Audio CD)

I've given this recording 4* on the basis of the cast. When I've heard it (yes, I know one ought to rate based on first-hand (or first-ear) acquaintance, but my set will soon be on order. I simply couldn't find another way of pointing out that the conductor described as "consummate" in the blurb is not named. If he is, as I suspect, Vladimir Jurowski, who was appointed Music Director of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and who is renowned for his interpretations of Prokofiev, why not say so? If, after auditioning the set, I am given another chance to review it, I'm likely to give it 5 stars. I cannot conceive that I'll be disappointed.