Rimsky-Korsakov: Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh - DVD

ENGLISH

Rimsky-Korsakov: Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (OA1089D) (2012)<br /> <br /> Vladimir Vaneev (Prince Yuriy Vsevolodovich); Maxim Aksenov (Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich); Svetlana Ignatovich (Fevroniya); John Daszak (Grishka Kuterma); Alexey Markov (Fyodor Poyarok); Mayram Sokolova (Page); Vladimir Ognovenko (Burunday); Ante Jerkunica (Bedyay); Chorus of Netherlands Opera; Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; Marc Albrecht<br /> <br /> Opera lies at the heart of Rimsky-Korsakov's colourful idiom but performances are few and far between; this staging of his penultimate and grandest stage work is a very rare and special experience. Kitezh is known as 'the Russian Parsifal', which encapsulates its mystical flavour and steady unfolding of a legend of redemption. A largely Russian cast (headed by the stunning Svetlana Ignatovich) and production team works within a set that moves from opulent naturalistic scenery to some startling theatrical coups worthy of Rimsky's under-rated dramatic instincts. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.<br /> <br /> "Svetlana Ignatovich’s soprano rode the orchestra here with ease, singing with an appealing Slavonic glint (but never edge) and warmth; even if the colours in her voice get paler near the top, at least this very moving singing-actress has the top notes required.<br /> <br /> Marc Albrecht, the Netherlands Opera’s new music director, did a magnificent job ... stamping his mark on the long score and drawing warm playing from the very start, where melting wind solos spun their lines over a cushion of strings—forest murmurs that suggest Siegfried perhaps more than Parsifal. The orchestral playing was consistently brilliant, not least in the battle interlude. And in the final scene, where the grandiose diatonic chords that accompany Fevroniya’s spiritual transformation do call to mind Parsifal’s ‘Dresden Amen’, Rimsky’s score attains a fascinating mix of Wagnerian and Slavonic elements to be found nowhere else." (Opera)