Customer Reviews

Russian Opera Arias

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Serious music lovers with half an ear will be aware that Russian is one of the most suitable languages for singing. They'll also be aware that not many CDs come to hand which provide opportunities to hear it. All the more welcome therefore is this issue, from the adventurous and widely-distributed Naxos label, of a collection of tenor arias and orchestral excerpts from Russian operas.

The tenor arias are allocated to Vladimir Grishko, a Ukrainian tenor whose career seems to date from several prize winning appearances he made in competitions in 1989. He enunciates beautifully, his voice is free of wobble, and the tone is free and open throughout the whole range. All the orchestral forces are Russian and the orchestral items are conducted by Theodore Kuchar, who secures wider dynamic extremes that are usually heard in the popular Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky items.

A final word of praises is for the format of this CD. Juxtaposing orchestral and vocal excerpts from the selected Russian operas makes for 67 minutes of varied and well-programmed listening.

This is the first of a two-volume collection of tenor arias from classic Russian operas. The first volume offers arias from works by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Arensky. The second volume, in addition to more of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, features arias from works by Glinka, Rachmaninov, Borodin, and Dargomizhsky. All in all, a wide selection of the best known Russian operas. The arias are interspersed with orchestral interludes, providing some context and mood for the vocal displays.

Vladimir Grishko, a Ukrainian, has that reedy high voice typical of the Russian tenor, but he sings with great feeling. He is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and the Ukraine State Radio Symphony Orchestra, under Theodore Kuchar and Vladimir Sirenko, respectively. Both orchestras play with verve.

If you want a fairly comprehensive sampling of Russian operatic music for tenor voice, at low cost, you cannot do better than this. Naxos excels once again at providing excellent quality at a budget price.

These two disks are a very nice compendium of the tenor arias in Classical Russian Opera, and very nicely sung too. They are certainly not disgraced by comparison with the likes of Koslovsky and Lemeshev. And the interpositioning of the interludes from the various works does make a nice balanced program and prevents the tedium sometimes incurred when listenig to any singer for a straight uninterrupted hour. It belongs in any Russian opera collection.

When people think of the great tenors, the name Vladimir Grishko does not come as quickly to mind as say, Placido Domingo or Franco Corelli and a disc with arias from Mussorgsky's SOROCHINTSY FAIR or Rimsky Korsakov's May Night may not be as tantalizing as a disc with arias from AIDA, LA BOHEME, or FAUST. While I do not expect that this disc from Naxos will steer people away from the tried and true favorites, it will certainly show people the beauty of Russian opera. It will also introduce many people to a tenor who performs some beautiful arias from a type of opera known primarily for its great bass roles.

Two of the sets of arias are from Tchaikovsky's well known QUEEN OF SPADES and EUGENE ONEGIN. Grishko does a particularly fine job with the three arias from QUEEN OF SPADES, displaying the lyrical quality of his voice. He does a good job with the ONEGIN arias as well. Since the other operas with arias are not all that familiar to most non-Russian listeners (including me), it is hard to say whether he does an exceptional job or his interpretations are on the mark, but it is safe to assume that with the beauty of his voice, his pace and control, and overall delivery of the pieces that he does them justice as well. An added bonus to this disc are the orchestral excerpts including the well known Waltz and Polonaise from ONEGIN and the familiar Gopak from SOROCHINTSY FAIR, as well as lesser known works such as Arensky's overture to DREAM ON THE VOLGA and Rimsky Korsakov's overture to MAY NIGHT.

This disc will be a great addition to any opera recording library and fans of great tenors may discover a new rising star. Since he is young and his voice is in excellent shape, he may also be a name we hear with critical acclaim in the future.