Story of a Real Man [Original recording remastered]

Prokofiev (Artist), Kibkalo (Artist), Deomidova (Artist), Shulpin (Artist), Ermler (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 22, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Chandos
• ASIN: B00006JN9N
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #451,935 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Epigraph. Song Of The Collective Farmers

2. Act I, Tableau 1: 1. Alexei At The Crash Site

3. Act I, Tableau 1: First Entr'acte

4. Act I, Tableau 2: 2. Death Field

5. Act I, Tableau 2: 3. Olga's Song

6. Act I, Tableau 2: 4. A Barrage

7. Act I, Tableau 2: Second Entr'acte

8. Act I, Tableau 3: 5. A Scene With Some Children

9. Act I, Tableau 3: 6. Seryenka's Story

10. Act I, Tableau 3: 7. The Arrival Of The Collective Farmers

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Act II, Tableau 5: 14. Alexi's Delirium

2. Act II, Tableau 5: 15. Green Grove

3. Act II, Tableau 6: 16. Klavdia's Scene With The Commissar

4. Act II, Tableau 6: 17. The Commissar's Ballad

5. Act II, Tableau 6: 18 A Scene

6. Act II, Tableau 6: 19. A Scene

7. Act II, Tableau 6: 20. Kukushkin's Song

8. Act II, Tableau 6: 21. A Scene

9. Act II, Tableau 6: 22. Alexei's Scene With The Commissar

10. Act II, Tableau 6: Reprise Of The Third Entr'acte

See all 27 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Story of a Real Man was based on the heroic tale of a Soviet airman who overcame the amputation of his feet to fly again and become a war hero by shooting down seven German planes in 1943. Prokofiev wrote the opera in 1948 with two aims in mind. He wanted to create a politically correct stage work that would protect him as Stalin launched a new purge of the arts. And he wanted to write an artistically sound Soviet opera. His first aim was imperiled by the opera's poor reception, leaving him suspect as a modernist. The second aim is still in doubt despite this idiomatic performance recorded after a 1960 Bolshoi revival that, significant cuts notwithstanding, makes a case for the neglected work. While the text suffers from politically inspired naïve optimism, there's plenty of fine music. Instrumentally, it's reminiscent of the composer's Semyon Kotko, another neglected patriotic war epic with worthy music. The opening and closing choruses, several of the pilot's monologues and scenes, the love duet, dance music, and Act II's closing tableau are all outstanding. This Bolshoi production makes a strong case for the opera. Ermler's idiomatic conducting is never sentimentalized and always fluid. The singing is excellent, with baritone Yevgeny Kibkalo a convincing hero, and the supporting cast boasts numerous fine voices and deft characterizations. The 1961 Soviet sound is clear and vital in Chandos's remastering. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cut and cut again, November 27, 2002

By 

Anonymouse (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Story of a Real Man (Audio CD)

It was exciting to see this on the shelf in the record store. It was a trifle disappointing to see that it was a 1961 recording. And it was terribly disappointing to read in the liner notes that this is a cut version of Lina Mendelssohn's cut version (three acts) of Prokofiev's original four act opera. If you're the type of hardcore collector who has Katerina Ishmailova along with Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, then buy this. If you're the type of hardcore Prokofiev fan who cannot wait for Gergiev's performance of the complete opera (he IS going to do that, isn't he?), then buy this. It's not nearly as exciting as Semyon Kotko, which Gergiev has done, brilliantly, but it's by Prokofiev, so it can't be ALL bad.