Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Prelude
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 1. But this is just fantasy!
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 2. Plain. Round-shouldered
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 3. She has shaken your hand
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 4. The moon looks in your window
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 5. Stop that mewing
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 6. Masker's Dance
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 7. I had better get her married off
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 8. Friends, depart
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 2. Scene 1. It will work, Nanny, won't it?
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 2. Scene 2. Splendid, Se?or, splendid
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 2. Scene 3. Will you cherish me in my old age?
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 2. Scene 4. Give it back!
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 2. Scene 5. If you have a daughter
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 2. Scene 6. It looks like the first act has been played out wi
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 3. Scene 1. Buy some fish from Se?or Mendoza's barges!
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 3. Scene 2. Rosina... Rosina...
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 3. Scene 3. Ferdinand alone is dearer
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 3. Scene 4. I had known what pranks
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 3. Scene 5. My beard? My beard is not at all bad
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 3. Scene 6. There is no greater happiness
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 4. Scene 1. Yes, yes, yes!
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 4. Scene 2. My pretty... my pretty
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 4. Scene 3. When the cheerful fop
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 2. Tableau 4. Scene 4. Well?
Track Listings (21) - Disc #2
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 1. Ah, time does not want to move on
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 2. Come in, come in
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 3. Should we take a sly look?
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 4. It's bad to peep
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 5. Scene 5. How my soul is beaming!
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 6. Scene 1. You are not playing in tune
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 6. Scene 2. My respectful greetings to the Se?or!
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 6. Scene 3. Please, let us continue
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 6. Scene 4. Lopez! Lopez!
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 7. Scene 1. Here I am, a nun
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 7. Scene 2. They have gone, gladdened, happy and in love...
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 3. Tableau 7. Scene 3. It must be here
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 4. Tableau 8. Scene 1. The bottle is the sun of our lives
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 4. Tableau 8. Scene 3. They bring more wine!
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 4. Tableau 8. Scene 4. Take care, Antonio!
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 4. Tableau 8. Scene 5. Straight down to business now, Don Ferdinand
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 4. Tableau 9. Scene 1. I can't understand it
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 4. Tableau 9. Scene 2. Aha, here's Mendoza at last
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 4. Tableau 9. Scene 3. What is this? Why are you here?
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 4. Tableau 9. Scene 4. Son! At last
Betrothal in a Monastery ('The Duenna'), opera, Op. 86: Act 4. Tableau 9. Scene 5. Don Jerome, Don Herome!
Prokofiev composed his last complete opera, Betrothal in a Monastery, as the Nazis were invading Russia and the country descended into a period of political repression and terror. However, the opera, a romantic comedy loos... more »ely based on Richard Sheridan's 1775 play, The Duenna, was according to Shostakovich `one of Prokofiev's most radiant and buoyant works'. Betrothal in a Monastery highlights the cultural divisions between the faded glamour of the impoverished aristocracy and the new wealth of the lower classes. Ostensibly the plot concerns the trials of two pairs of lovers, Louisa and Antonio, and Clara and Ferdinand, but ultimately it is the fishmonger, Mendoza, who in the great tradition of the anti-hero, wins our empathy. The predominantly Russian cast is led by Viacheslav Voynarovskiy, with Sergei Alexashkin as Mendoza. Alexandra Durseneva sings The Duenna, with the two sets of lovers sung by Vsevolod Grivnov (Don Antonio), Lyubov Petrova (Louisa), Andrey Breus (Ferdinand), and Nino Surguladze (Clara) making her notable Glyndebourne debut. Established UK artists Alan Opie (Don Carlos) and Jonathan Veira (Father Augustine) make up the cast. Recording of rarely performed work with consummate Russian conductor and cast. **Contains full libretto translated from the original Russian (Cyrillic) into English, French and German. **Extensive accompanying booklet including a commissioned article about the opera, and a synopsis in English, French and German. **Recorded live at Glyndebourne on 12, 15 & 22 August 2006. **2 discs in 250-page hard-bound book.« less
Prokofiev composed his last complete opera, Betrothal in a Monastery, as the Nazis were invading Russia and the country descended into a period of political repression and terror. However, the opera, a romantic comedy loosely based on Richard Sheridan's 1775 play, The Duenna, was according to Shostakovich `one of Prokofiev's most radiant and buoyant works'. Betrothal in a Monastery highlights the cultural divisions between the faded glamour of the impoverished aristocracy and the new wealth of the lower classes. Ostensibly the plot concerns the trials of two pairs of lovers, Louisa and Antonio, and Clara and Ferdinand, but ultimately it is the fishmonger, Mendoza, who in the great tradition of the anti-hero, wins our empathy. The predominantly Russian cast is led by Viacheslav Voynarovskiy, with Sergei Alexashkin as Mendoza. Alexandra Durseneva sings The Duenna, with the two sets of lovers sung by Vsevolod Grivnov (Don Antonio), Lyubov Petrova (Louisa), Andrey Breus (Ferdinand), and Nino Surguladze (Clara) making her notable Glyndebourne debut. Established UK artists Alan Opie (Don Carlos) and Jonathan Veira (Father Augustine) make up the cast. Recording of rarely performed work with consummate Russian conductor and cast. **Contains full libretto translated from the original Russian (Cyrillic) into English, French and German. **Extensive accompanying booklet including a commissioned article about the opera, and a synopsis in English, French and German. **Recorded live at Glyndebourne on 12, 15 & 22 August 2006. **2 discs in 250-page hard-bound book.
CD Reviews
Comic masterpiece
S. Jones | Schenectady | 09/12/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1