Outstanding Rachmaninov operas, though a libretto would've h
Eric S. Kim | Southern California | 02/03/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Neeme Jarvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (Goteborgs Symfoniker) have done an excellent job with Sergei Rachmaninov's three influential operas. The sound quality is amazing, and the soloists sing their heart out...WAY out.
Aleko: This is the story of love, deception, and sorrow between an old man, who is now a gypsy, and his unbalanced family. The ending is as tragic as the ending to "Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky.
The Miserly Knight: Albert is a man who finds himself in an inheritance crisis, while his father is a man who can't get enough of his own greed. The two confront each other, through words, and through violence.
Francesca da Rimini: The darkest of the three, it tells of how Francesca da Rimini & Paolo Malatesta were sent to hell with their atrocious love affair.
I'm giving this box set only four stars, clearly because of lack of the librettos by Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and Modest Tchaikovsky. All in all, this is for those who are interested in Rachmaninov's lesser-known works.
I give this an A-"
A Very Different Rachamninoff!!!
Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 06/20/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The great Sergei Rachmaninoff was not primarily known as an opera composer. However, his three operas have an important place in the music history books.
This three-disc set includes all three of Rachamninoff's operas in their entirety (one per disc) and are presented in jaw-dropping performances under the baton of conductor Neeme Jarvi. The orchestra as well as the soloists and choirs truly deliver emotionally-drenched performances on all three operas.
Musically, these operas may be overwhelming to some. There is a definite darker approach heard in these works which is a drastic departure from Rachmaninoff's romantic-styled Piano Concertos and Symphonies. There is also a definite Tchaikovsky influence heard in this music as well. Depsite the darker atmosphere of these operas, the power of this music is emmense and dynamic while never losing momentum. In other words, this is some great stuff here.
While the CD booklet includes synopsises of each opera, there are no libretti included which is a shame because the opera's are sung in Russian. To have the full set of lyrics printed out both in Russian and English would have been fantastic to follow along with while listening. No so here, though.
Despite this, this set of Rachmaninoff's complete operas is essential to any diehard Rachmaninoff fan. Even though these operas weren't as successful as his other works, his genius comes through loud and clear here and are just as good as anything else he has done.
Definitely Essential Rachmaninoff Operas!!!!"
If only it didn't have Leiferkus...
Mr. Allan K. Steel | Sydney, AUS | 05/14/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I can hardly believe how bad Sergei Leiferkus is in the Aleko recording: how did he get chosen by a major company (DG), etc. Rough, harsh voice, ill-focused and out tune at times. For his big aria "Ves' tabor spit", he is pretty woeful: it's just SO weak apart from anything else! In contrast, Vassily Gerello sings this so wonderfully and passionately under Orbelian on the Delos recording (get that instead for this!).
Otherwise, the other singers are very good on these recordings, the orchestra and sound quality are excellent, and the conducting acceptable. (Though the harp with the distant young gypsy is very weak! Again, Orbelian's recording is vastly better here.)
So pity about Leiferkus: this would be a great set otherwise..."
Very good performances of very interesting music, but no lib
G.D. | Norway | 07/25/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a very valuable set comprising Rachmaninov's three one-act operas. Although not, perhaps, among his very best music, there are still a lot of things to savor, especially when the performances are as satisfactory as here. All three works have received a number of recordings, and to be honest I'll have to admit at the outset that I am not really familiar with the alternatives.
The early Aleko inhibits the world of Tchaikovsky and The Mighty Five (although the former more than the latter). It is not a masterpiece, but still a mightily impressive, accomplished and interesting work containing several striking themes, numbers and arias; it surely deserves a place in the collection of any serious opera lover. Among the virtues of the set at hand, there is a fabulous Sergei Leiferkus, whose firm and steady and beautiful tone is full of character and depth. Furthermore, Maria Guleghina is an expressive, expertly sung and steady Zemfira - I can hardly imagine this pair of soloist being much bettered. They are backed by a solid cast in the minor roles, a very good chorus, and a Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra which is surely on top form. Järvi plays up the Tchaikovskian qualities of the work - full of drama, pathos and fire - and draws some marvelous playing from the orchestra (listen in particular to the brass, especially the snarls and braying in some of the orchestral interludes).
The Miserly Knight is probably the best of the set. It is based on one of Pushkin's four short tragedies (written in the 1830s) - the other ones had already been set by other composers - and was premiered in 1906. Despite the obvious quality of the music, not even this one belongs among the composer's very strongest works, however, and it hasn't exactly helped its performance history that the libretto is at least borderline anti-Semitic.
The music is gloomy (appropriate for the darkly fatalistic and darkly dramatic story) and obviously inspired by Wagner, especially in the orchestral writing and the use of leitmotifs. The darkness isn't exactly alleviated by the fact that all five soloists are male - in addition, Sergei Aleksashkin's bass-baritone is particularly dark (though able to vary the colors impressively). He is an excellent singer, however, and is well supported, especially by Sergei Larin, though I could possibly have asked for a little more variety and subtlety in some of the singing. The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is impressive here as well, and Järvi has a good sense of the idiom. Even so, the performances strike me as just a tad to Tchaikovskian (appropriate for Aleko, but a little more questionable here) and - at the same time - even a tad uninvolved at times. Still, there is much here to impress, and the performance is overall quite firmly recommended.
Francesca da Rimini is in many ways the most problematic, and possibly also the weakest. A large part of the problem is the libretto, which is less than distinguished, to put it mildly. Still, there are some very striking things here - the sensuous love duet is remarkably effective despite the banality of the libretto, and the wordless wailings of the chorus of the damned certainly makes an impact - at least the first couple of times around. It is in any case good to have this interesting if flawed work in performances as strong as these. Maria Gulegina is again impressively steady and full of character, and although not always beautiful in the classical sense, her singing is full of drama - and that is surely even more important in a work like this. Ilya Levinsky manages to be both lyrical and dramatically intense at the same time, and delivers a thoroughly impressive performance, whereas Leiferkus is as good as always in Rachmaninov. Again the Gothenburg players give us the appropriate level and ranges of color and drama, and Järvi has the measure of the work in the sense of being able to pace the drama and climaxes very effectively as well as drawing out the appropriate colors.
The sound is big and a little reverberant throughout, but still thoroughly effective. So to sum up, this is a strongly recommended set consisting of generally very impressive performances of good, often truly inspired music, and although several alternative performances have been lauded over the years, I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed with these versions. In total, I landed on somewhere between four and five stars - five for Aleko; closer, perhaps to four for the Miserly Knight and midway between for Francesca. Though for the final calculation, the lack of librettos had to be a deciding factor."