RUSLAN AND LYUDMILA
Glinka
Marinsky Theater, St Petersburg
Philips 075096-92
Almost every concertgoer has heard the overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila, the opera by the pioneering Russian composer Mikhail Glinka who died (of a cold) in 1857. Few, however, will have seen a performance. The work, despite attractive Harry Potter-like elements of sorcery and magic swords, is very long. It lasts five acts, one including an extended sequence of Oriental dances laid on to entertain a wizard's prisoner.
The DVD from St Petersburg's Kirov Opera was released in 2003, though the video, and the production itself, were older. It filled a gap - it was the only version there was - though the dancing was mediocre at best. Its main claim to fame today is the presence of the young Anna Netrebko as the abducted bride Lyudmila. With her light-voiced singing, rich in grace notes, she brings an Italian feeling to this Russian epic. Vladimir Ognovenko is strong as Ruslan, and the cast in general is forceful, with vigorous Russian women powerfully battling their bearded male counterparts.
DVORAK
The Bohemians Vol 3
Lindsay Quartet
CD DCA 788
Lastly, some unjustly neglected chamber music. When someone asked me recently what single CD I would opt to take away on holiday, I chose Dvorak's string quartets numbers 10 and 14, played by the Lindsay Quartet (from Academy Sound and Vision Ltd). I find it astonishing, therefore, that not a single customer review of it is featured on either the US or UK Amazon Web sites. Are Dvorak's beautiful string quartets so forgotten?
The performances are simultaneously delicate and heartbreaking. For some reason, music can evoke landscapes, and no music I know recalls a traditional temperate European landscape in summer like these quartets, especially the first, No 10. If you feel like a taste of sheer happiness, get this CD. And then, please, write a review of it on Amazon.
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