Search - Borodin, Tchakarov, Sofia National Opera :: Prince Igor

A glorious if episodic masterpiece

Yuri | 01/04/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Prince Igor is an epic opera,with its wonderful crowd scenes and intimate love music and although it can at times appear more a patchwork of scenes than a coherent work it does contain wonderful music which moves along with great vigour and excitement. This version with mainly Bulgarian singers is most enjoyable with Tchakarov bringing out the dramatic tension,vivid melody and colour with finesse and passion,the orchestra responding admirably to all the nuances in the score,the chorus too so important in this work give an outstanding performance in the Polovtsian music. The two magnificent basses Ghiaurov and Ghiuselev excel as Konchak and Galitsky compelling in their richness of voice each bringing out the colour of their character which in turn helps to give some focus to this huge episodic work. Stefka Evstatieva as Yaroslavna(Galitsky's sister) sings beautifully with slavic tone and characterises the role well,the mezzo Alexandrina Miltcheva as Konchakovna(Konchak's daughter)is not quite up to the standard of the aforementoned singers, curdling in places but she too has beautiful moments and does not disappoint and Boris Matinovich has a virile bass voice in the role of Seversky singing with intelligence. Prince Igor although at times a sprawling work contains many pleasures worth exploring and is one of the glories of Russian opera."

Out of stock? What a shame...

Eric S. Kim | Southern California | 05/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's a shame that this Sony recording of Alexander Borodin's groundbreaking opera is out of stock in almost every CD warehouse, for opera lovers would have been thunderstruck the first time they have listened to this ambitious classic. Conductor Emil Tchakarov brings us a pounding storm when he handles the Sofia Festival Orchestra & Sofia National Opera Chorus with power and enthusiasm. Sure, it may not be as vigorous as Valery Gergiev's version, but it's what Tchakarov has that Gergiev doesn't have: precise handling of tempo and technique. To me, the Sofia's "Polovtsian Dances" has clearer articulation and fluency than the Kirov's. Probably no other version of these dances comes close. The soloists, especially the baritones, are fine and don't make a single mistake. The percussive instruments stand out very well. The climax to the luscious finale may be a bit off, but it's a small flaw; this is (or was) an excellent recording of Prince Igor.



This is now being sold as a collectible item, so get it while you still can."