Name: Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila by Alexander Vedernikov
Brand: Alexander Vedernikov
SKU: 827949003462
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 3 (266 reviews)

ALBUM

Mikhail Glinka's opera Ruslan and Lyudmila is a landmark work in the history of Russian opera, yet the number of complete recordings made of this work can be counted on one hand. This is in spite of Ruslan and Lyudmila's popular overture and a variety of oft-recorded excerpts derived from the opera. Part of the problem is textual, as the original Glinka manuscript was accidentally destroyed through means that are historically still rather murky. This new Pentatone recording is the first to benefit from a new critical edition of Ruslan and Lyudmila prepared by Russian musicologists Nadezhda Taterina and Evgeny Lavashev, a condition explained in detail in a confusingly translated portion of the massive 183-page booklet that comes with this set.
Apart from the confusing booknote, everything else about this set is something to write home to "Mom" about, especially if she lives in Russia. The recording, made at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, is absolutely stunning -- you really feel as though you are at the opera house watching Ruslan and Lyudmila being performed. The cast is very good; it is worth singling out soprano Ekaterina Morozova, who is entrusted to the difficult and pivotal role of Lyudmila. Morozova gets off to a rough start, but quickly finds her way and is outstanding for the balance of the set. The Bolshoi Theater Orchestra under Alexander Vedernikov sounds splendid rendering the orchestral component of the score, significant as there are a lot of purely instrumental passages in Ruslan and Lyudmila, at least 45 minutes' worth of the total opera. If the listener has ever wanted to hear what Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila is all about, then this Pentatone set is automatically your first choice for the work.

Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila

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1. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Overture

2. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act I: No. 1. Introduction: Dela davno minuvsikh dnei (Bayan, Farlaf, Ratmir, Svetozar, Lyudmila, Ruslan, Chorus)

3. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act I: Est' pustynnyi Kraj (Bayan, Chorus)

4. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act I: No. 2. Lyudmila's Cavatina: Grustno mne, roditel' dorogoi (Lyudmila, Chorus)

5. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act I: No. 3. Finale: Chada rodimye (Svetozar, Ruslan, Lyudmila, Ratmir, Farlaf, Chorus)

6. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act I: Chto sluchilos'? (Ruslan, Ratmir, Farlaf, Svetosar, Chorus)

7. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act II: No. 4. Entr' acte

8. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act II: No. 5. Finn's Ballad: Dobro pozhalovat', moi syn (Finn, Ruslan)

9. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act II: No. 6. Duet of Finn and Ruslan: Blagodaryu tebya, moi divnyi pokrovitel (Ruslan, Finn)

10. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act II: No. 7. Scene and Farlaf's Rondo: Ya ves'drozhu (Farlaf, Naina)

11. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act II: Rondo: Blizok uz chas torzhestva moego

1. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act II: No. 8. Rusian's Aria: O pole, pole (Ruslan)

2. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act II: Dai, Perun, bulatnyi mech (Ruslan)

3. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act II: No. 9. Scene with the Head: Kto zdes' bluzhdaet (Head, Chorus)

4. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act II: No. 10. Finale: The Tale of The Head: Nas bylo dvoe, brat moi i ya (Head, Ruslan)

5. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act III: No. 11. Entr' acte

6. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act III: No. 12. Persian Chorus: Lozhitsya v pole mrak (Naina, Chorus of Maidens, Chorus)

7. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act III: No. 13. Gorislava's Scene and Cavatina: Kakie sladostnye zvuki (Gorislava)

8. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act III: No. 14. Ratmir's Aria: I zhar, i znoi smenila nochi ten' (Ratmir)

9. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act III. No. 15. Dances

10. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act III: No. 16. Finale: O moi Ratmir! (Gorislava, Ratmir, Ruslan, Chorus)

11. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act III: Vityazi! Kovarnaya Naina (Finn, Gorislava, Ratmir, Ruslan)

1. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act IV: No. 17. Entr'acte

2. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act IV: No. 18. Lyudmila's Scene and Aria: Vdali ot milogo (Lyudmila, Chorus)

3. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act IV: Akh ty dolya, dolushka (Lyudmila, Chorus)

4. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act IV: No. 19. March of Chernomor

5. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act IV: No. 20. Oriental Dance: I. Turkish Dance: Allegretto

6. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act IV: No. 20. Oriental Dances: II. Arabian Dance: Allegro con spirito

7. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act IV: No. 20. Oriental Dances: III. Lesginka: Caucasian Dance

8. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act IV: No. 21. Chorus: Pogibnet, nezhdannyi prishlets! (Chorus)

9. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act IV: No. 22. Finale: Pobeda, pobeda, Lyudmila (Ruslan, Gorislava, Ratmir,Chorus)

10. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act V: No. 23. Entr'acte

11. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act V: No. 24. Ratmir's Romance: Ona mne zhizn', ona mne radost (Ratmir)

12. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act V: No. 25. Recitative and Chorus: Vsyo tikho! (Ratmir, Chorus)

13. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act V: No. 26. Duet of Ratmir and Finn: Chto slyshu ya? Lyudmily net? (Ratmir, Finn)

14. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act V: No. 27. Finale: Akh ty svet, Luydmila (Svetozar, Farlaf, Chorus)

15. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act V: Kogo nam bogi shlyut? (Ruslan, Svetozar, Farlaf, Lyudmila, Gorislava, Chorus)

16. Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5: Act V: Slava velikim bogam (Ratmir, Gorislava, Chorus)

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