Mikhail Glinka – Ruslan and Lyudmila – Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Alexander Vedernikov (2004) [nativeDSDmusic DSF DSD64/2.82MHz]

Mikhail Glinka – Ruslan and Lyudmila – Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Alexander Vedernikov (2004)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,8 MHz | Time – 03:23:10 minutes | 8,03 GB | Genre: Classical, Opera
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Front Cover | © Pentatone Music B.V.
Recorded live at the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, April 23rd -27th , 2003

This is the Ruslan and Lyudmila we’ve been waiting for. The music flows. The singers are all excellent. The chorus is clear, the Bolshoi orchestra is fantastic. Performance-wise, there is little if anything that I would complain about. In multichannel, the orchestra, the chorus and soloists are in perfect balance. Virtually every detail of the orchestration is crystal clear, the different vocal timbres of the choir nicely separated, the soloists in good perspective, all the while harmony and balance between the assembled forces is maintained. The violins are bright, but always nice and warm. There is good separation between the various string voices. The brass instruments are the most spectacular: recorded with a true three-dimensional sonority. They are never two-dimensional, squeeky or congested. Percussion has just the right amount of bang and reverb. In other words, this thing sounds like a concert. I’ll go even further and say that it actually sounds better than a concert. This new critical version goes back to the original Glinka scores and attempts to recreate the opera as it was meant to be heard, rather than the version which has been played in the past century. A very special Thank You to Pentatone for releasing this. I’ve waited a long time to hear Ruslan and Lyudmila given the proper treatment. The result is worth the wait.

Tracklist:
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1804-1857)
Ruslan and Lyudmila, Op. 5 (Fairy opera in 3 parts, 5 acts)
Original version
Libretto by Valerian Shirkov and Mikhail Glinka with the participation of K.A. Bakhturin,
N.V. Kukolnik, M.A. Gedeonov and N.A. Markevich after the poem by Alexander Pushkin
Critical Edition by Nadezhda Teterina and Evgeny Lavashev
Orchestrations for the stage orchestra: Yuri Poteyenko • Stage production directed by Viktor Kramer
1 Overture 5:16
2 Act I: No. 1. Introduction: Dela davno minuvsikh dnei (Bayan, Farlaf, Ratmir, Svetozar, Lyudmila, Ruslan, Chorus) 7:02
3 Act I: Est’ pustynnyi Kraj (Bayan, Chorus) 7:57
4 Act I: No. 2. Lyudmila’s Cavatina: Grustno mne, roditel’ dorogoi (Lyudmila, Chorus) 8:01
5 Act I: No. 3. Finale: Chada rodimye (Svetozar, Ruslan, Lyudmila, Ratmir, Farlaf, Chorus) 6:03
6 Act I: Chto sluchilos’? (Ruslan, Ratmir, Farlaf, Svetosar, Chorus) 8:40
7 Act II: No. 4. Entr’ acte 3:11
8 Act II: No. 5. Finn’s Ballad: Dobro pozhalovat’, moi syn (Finn, Ruslan) 8:30
9 Act II: No. 6. Duet of Finn and Ruslan: Blagodaryu tebya, moi divnyi pokrovitel (Ruslan, Finn) 2:05
10 Act II: No. 7. Scene and Farlaf’s Rondo: Ya ves’drozhu (Farlaf, Naina) 4:13
11 Act II: Rondo: Blizok uz chas torzhestva moego 3:48
12 Act II: No. 8. Rusian’s Aria: O pole, pole (Ruslan) 6:16
13 Act II: Dai, Perun, bulatnyi mech (Ruslan) 4:43
14 Act II: No. 9. Scene with the Head: Kto zdes’ bluzhdaet (Head, Chorus) 2:33
15 Act II: No. 10. Finale: The Tale of The Head: Nas bylo dvoe, brat moi i ya (Head, Ruslan) 3:31
16 Act III: No. 11. Entr’ acte 2:40
17 Act III: No. 12. Persian Chorus: Lozhitsya v pole mrak (Naina, Chorus of Maidens, Chorus) 4:40
18 Act III: No. 13. Gorislava’s Scene and Cavatina: Kakie sladostnye zvuki (Gorislava) 4:36
19 Act III: No. 14. Ratmir’s Aria: I zhar, i znoi smenila nochi ten’ (Ratmir) 11:49
20 Act III. No. 15. Dances 13:02
21 Act III: No. 16. Finale: O moi Ratmir! (Gorislava, Ratmir, Ruslan, Chorus) 6:23
22 Act III: Vityazi! Kovarnaya Naina (Finn, Gorislava, Ratmir, Ruslan) 4:20
23 Act IV: No. 17. Entr’acte 1:33
24 Act IV: No. 18. Lyudmila’s Scene and Aria: Vdali ot milogo (Lyudmila, Chorus) 5:03
25 Act IV: Akh ty dolya, dolushka (Lyudmila, Chorus) 10:17
26 Act IV: No. 19. March of Chernomor 4:54
27 Act IV: No. 20. Oriental Dance: I. Turkish Dance: Allegretto 2:15
28 Act IV: No. 20. Oriental Dances: II. Arabian Dance: Allegro con spirito 1:40
29 Act IV: No. 20. Oriental Dances: III. Lesginka: Caucasian Dance 3:13
30 Act IV: No. 21. Chorus: Pogibnet, nezhdannyi prishlets! (Chorus) 3:11
31 Act IV: No. 22. Finale: Pobeda, pobeda, Lyudmila (Ruslan, Gorislava, Ratmir,Chorus) 7:19
32 Act V: No. 23. Entr’acte 2:43
33 Act V: No. 24. Ratmir’s Romance: Ona mne zhizn’, ona mne radost (Ratmir) 6:38
34 Act V: No. 25. Recitative and Chorus: Vsyo tikho! (Ratmir, Chorus) 1:50
35 Act V: No. 26. Duet of Ratmir and Finn: Chto slyshu ya? Lyudmily net? (Ratmir, Finn) 6:18
36 Act V: No. 27. Finale: Akh ty svet, Luydmila (Svetozar, Farlaf, Chorus) 5:09
37 Act V: Kogo nam bogi shlyut? (Ruslan, Svetozar, Farlaf, Lyudmila, Gorislava, Chorus) 4:35
38 Act V: Slava velikim bogam (Ratmir, Gorislava, Chorus)

Personnel:
Ruslan – Taras Shtonda, Bass-baritone
Lyudmila – Ekaterina Morozova, Soprano
Svetosar – Vadim Lynkovsky, Bass
Ratmir – Aleksandra Durseneva, Contralto
Finn – Vitaly Panfilov, Tenor
Gorislava – Maria Gavrilova, Soprano
Farlaf – Valery Gilmanov, Bass
Bayan – Maksim Paster, Tenor
Naina – Irina Dolzhenko, Mezzo-soprano
Chorus and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
Valery Borisov – Chorus master
Alexander Vedernikov – Conductor

DSD64