Search - Modest Mussorgsky, Emil Tchakarov, Sofia Festival Orchestra :: Borsi Godunov

Disappointing

Carsten Stampe Jorgensen | Copenhagen, Denmark | 06/12/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"After the monumental recording of Khovanshchina, I had great expectations to this Boris. Ghiaurov as Boris and Ghiuselev as Pimen looks promising, but where are Alexandrina Miltcheva, Kaludi Kaludov and Stoyan Popov? All three of them were tremendous in Khovanschina, and they would have been perfect to cast as Marina, the false Dmitri and Varlaam. Instead we are treated with Stefka Mineva, Josef Frank and Dimiter Petkow. Actually Kaludov does perform a small part in this recording, and therefore it's very understandable that we have to settle for Frank's unpersuasive timbre. Miltcheva has recorded the part of Marina for Harmonia Mundi in 1976, with Nicola Ghiuselev as Boris and Varlaam, and hearing this, convinces me that she would have been vastly superior to Mineva in this part. Dimiter Petkow is way past his prime and his voice has lost a great deal of that authority that it used to have. Unfortunately it is also very wobbly and unsteady. Stoyan Popov would certainly have been a better choice here. Assembling a perfect cast can be a difficult task, and perhaps Miltcheva and Popov were not available, but evidently Kaludov Was! As Tsar Boris Ghiaurov displays a great deal of authority, but being a great fan of his, I'm sorry to say that it is not one of his greatest achievements. The glow and involvement of his Ivan Khovansky (Khovanshchina) is only present occasionally. The great scene in the Moscow, Kremlin suffers a great deal from this, and his clock scene is nowhere near as effective as it should be. Despite these reservations it is still a noble rendering by the greatest Boris in recent times, only not as good as one would have expected.Nicola Ghiuselev has just the right voice for Pimen and sings excellent throughout, but unfortunately he is unable to make up for all the flaws in this recording.Emil Tchakarov doesn't seem nearly as inspired as he did in Khovanshchina. The music never really flows as it does with Abbado (also on Sony).Tchakarov's Khovanshchina is a must, but unfortunately I cannot recommend his Boris Godunov. My first recommendation would be Abbado, although I would have preferred Ghiaurov and Ghiuselev as Boris and Pimen, instead of Kotcherga and Ramey. But nevertheless - go for Abbado!"