Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Written between 1930 and 1932, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was one of the most brilliant achievements of Shostakovich's long career. It was also the work that got him into trouble with Stalin. When the Soviet leader attended a performance in Moscow in 1936, almost two years after the opera's acclaimed Leningrad premiere, he personally ordered the publication of a scathing article in Pravda ("Muddle Instead of Music"), unleashing a ruthless campaign to reduce the arts in Soviet Russia to a state of dogmatic subservience to the regime. Lady Macbeth would disappear from the repertory for 30 years, and Shostakovich, despite his great gifts for opera, would focus his attention on symphonic and chamber music instead.

But what an opera this one was! Notwithstanding its title, it has nothing to do with Shakespeare's Macbeth and quite a lot to do with Dostoevsky (even though it's based on a story by another 19th-century writer, Nikolai Leskov). The plot has all the elements of a Russian epic--boredom, need, irresistible sexual longing, infidelity, murder, suicide--and the music is vintage Shostakovich, swinging between farce and tragedy with astonishing sureness, magnificently intense, deeply absorbing, yet approachable. The opera's climactic scenes are driven by music of incredible power, and there are pages of haunting lyric beauty as well, such as Katarina's aria in scene 3, or the extraordinary music that begins the love scene between Katarina and Sergey--mysterious, edgy, sensuous, and vast. It's all brought home on this recording, a labor of love from two of the composer's closest friends and greatest champions. Vishnevskaya, the great exponent of the role of Katarina, sings with untrammeled splendor, while Rostropovich, the supreme interpreter of the music of Shostakovich in our time, conducts a characterful, white-hot performance by the London Philharmonic. --Ted Libbey

Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Music, Dmitry Shostakovich, Mstislav Rostropovich, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Alan Byers, Alexander Malta, Birgit Finnila, Colin Appleton, David Beavan, Dimiter Petkov, Edgar Fleet, Galina Vishnievskaya, James Lewington, John Noble, Leonard Mroz, Leslie Fyson, Nicolai Gedda, Oliver Broome, Robert Tear, Steven Emmerson, Taru Valjakka, Werner Krenn, Classical, Classical Music, Opera, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio, Opera/Operetta, Russian 20th/21st Century Opera

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
Average customer rating:

Stunning

Still the top recording of this opera beyond all doubt!!!

Very Moving

A beautiful recording!!

Stalin Didn't Like It Much!

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
Shostakovich , Vishnevskaya , Gedda , and Rostropovich
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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Shostakovich: Piano Concertos; 3 Fantastic Dances; 5 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87

R. Strauss - Ariadne auf Naxos / Schwarzkopf · Seefried · Streich · Schock · Prey · PO · Karajan

Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

Mozart: Don Giovanni

ASIN: B000063UM3
Release Date: 2002-04-09

Tracks:

Act One, Scene One: Akh, Nye Spitsa Bol'she, Poprobuyu - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act One, Scene One: V Dyevkakh Luchshe Bylo - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act One, Scene One: Gribki Sevodnya Budut? - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act One, Scene One: Prigotov Otravu Dlya Krys - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act One, Scene One: Govori!... Plotinu-to Na - Leslie Fyson
Act One, Scene One: Proshchay, Katerina - WErner Krenn
Act One, Scene One: Chevo Vstal? Chevo Ostanovilsa? - Dimiter Petkov
Act One, Scene One: Interlude - London Philharmonic Orchestra
Act One, Scene Two: A! Ay! Ay! - John McCarthy
Act One, Scene Two: Barynya!... Ay!... Shto S Toboyu? - Robert Tear
Act One, Scene Two: A Nu-s, Pozvol'te Ruku-s - Robert Tear
Act One, Scene Two: Interlude - London Philharmonic Orchestra
Act One, Scene Three: Spat' Pora. Dyen Proshol - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act One, Scene Three: Zherebyonok K Kobylke Toropitsa - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act One, Scene Three: Kto Eto, Kto, Kto Stuchit? - Nicolai Gedda
Act One, Scene Three: Ya Poydu... Proshchay - Nicolai Gedda
Act Two, Scene Four: Shto Znachit Starost' - Dimiter Petkov
Act Two, Scene Four: Pod Oknami U Chzuhikh - Dimiter Petkov
Act Two, Scene Four: Proshchay, Katya, Proshchay! - John McCarthy
Act Two, Scene Four: Ustal... Prikazhete Mnye Postegat'? - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act Two, Scene Four: V Kladovuyu Sergeya Zaperli - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act Two, Scene Four: Vidno, Skoro Uzh Zarya - John McCarthy
Act Two, Scene Four: Batya, Ispovyedatsa - Dimiter Petkov
Act Two, Scene Four: Akh, Boris Timofeyevich - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act Two, Scene Four: Interlude - London Philharmonic Orchestra

Tracks:

Act Two, Scene Five: Sergey, Seryozha! - Nicolai Gedda
Act Two, Scene Five: Katya, Prikhodit Konyets Lyubvi Nashey - Nicolai Gedda
Act Two, Scene Five: Nye Pechal'sa, Sergey - Nicolai Gedda
Act Two, Scene Five: Opyat Usnul - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act Two, Scene Five: Nu? Chevo Tebye? - Nicolai Gedda
Act Two, Scene Five: Slushay, Sergey, Sergey! - Nicolai Gedda
Act Two, Scene Five: Katerina!... Kto Tam? - WErner Krenn
Act Two, Scene Five: Tepyer Shabash - Nicolai Gedda
Act Three, Scene Six: Shto Ty Tut Shoish? - Nicolai Gedda
Act Three, Scene Six: U Menya Byla Kuma - Robert Tear
Act Three, Scene Six: Interlude - London Philharmonic Orchestra
Act Three, Scene Six: Sozdan Politseysky Byl Vo Vremya Ono - Leslie Fyson
Act Three, Scene Six: U Izmaylovoy Seychas Pir Goroy - Martyn Hill
Act Three, Scene Six: Vashe Blagorodie!... Chevo Tebye? - Leslie Fyson
Act Three, Scene Six: Intelrude - London Philharmonic Orchestra
Act Three: Scene Eight: Slava Suprugam - John McCarthy
Act Three: Scene Eight: Shto Takoe?... Zamok Sorvan - John McCarthy
Act Three: Scene Eight: Shto Takoe? Pozdno! - Leslie Fyson
Act Four: Scene Nine: Vyorsty Odna Za Drugoy - John McCarthy
Act Four: Scene Nine: Stepanych! Propusti Menya - Nicolai Gedda
Act Four: Scene Nine: Nye Lekhko Posle Pochota Da Poklonov - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act Four: Scene Nine: Moyo Pochtyenye! - Birgit Finnila
Act Four: Scene Nine: Ladno Dostanu! - Nicolai Gedda
Act Four: Scene Nine: Na Chulki! Idyom, Tepyer Ty Moya! - John McCarthy
Act Four: Scene Nine: V Lesu, V Samoy Chashche Yest' Ozero - Galina Vishnevskaya
Act Four: Scene Nine: Znaesh Li, Sonyetka - Birgit Finnila
Act Four: Scene Nine: Vstavay! Po Mestam! Zhivo - Leslie Fyson
Act Four: Scene Nine: Akh!... Bozhe Moy! Shto Takoe? - Leslie Fyson

Amazon.com

Written between 1930 and 1932, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was one of the most brilliant achievements of Shostakovich's long career. It was also the work that got him into trouble with Stalin. When the Soviet leader attended a performance in Moscow in 1936, almost two years after the opera's acclaimed Leningrad premiere, he personally ordered the publication of a scathing article in Pravda ("Muddle Instead of Music"), unleashing a ruthless campaign to reduce the arts in Soviet Russia to a state of dogmatic subservience to the regime. Lady Macbeth would disappear from the repertory for 30 years, and Shostakovich, despite his great gifts for opera, would focus his attention on symphonic and chamber music instead.

Customer Reviews:

Stunning.......2006-02-25

Ensemble work is superb, score is brilliant, vocal performances truly "Russian" in style and quality. I'm no expert, but I truly loved this recording.

Still the top recording of this opera beyond all doubt!!!.......2005-06-04

Since other people have already described the opera's content quite reasonably well cumulatively, I'll simply re-affirm their recommendations especially relative to the other two recordings I've heard of this piece: Gjórgijev (on www.gmn.com with his Kiróv-Mariínskiy Opera Company - NB, this recording of a live performance at London's Barbican Hall is not for commercial sale and needs a good internet connection to be properly appreciated) and Chung (on Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft).

Those who don't like Vishñévskaja's voice, in my opinion, will still find her much more classy and appealing - as well as orthodox in treating her part - compared to Ewing on the Chung recording. Although both take a few liberties with the occasional note and/or rhythm, there's no question that Vishñévskaja is far more convincing, respectful of the composer's intentions and tasteful (that she studied the part with Shostakóvich himself {they were very close friends!} is so obvious as to defy any attempt at refutation). The same applies to Rostropóvich, even though brass-haters might gravitate to Chung on that basis (here the brass really let rip, though nobody is slighted all the same!): the seal of authenticity is impossible to shake from this recording even though DGG has a somewhat clearer sound allowing more detail to come across at times (and Chung has to also get credit no doubt too for that extra-transparent sound there). No question that I find Petkov much more sinister compared to Haugland with Chung as the evil, incestuously lecherous father-in-law Borís (quite aside from Chung encouraging all his singers to think more along the lines of "Sprechstimme" to the point of abuse!) - and here Haugland is more in his element as the Police Sergeant. All in all, although some details occasionally get muddied up (e.g., Borís's first entry in ghost-form obliterating the woodwinds on this recording), this reading is far more compelling in every way (and it shows just how every bit of Shostakóvich's vocal writing is eminently singable - contrasted to the complaints of his first singers before Stáljin banned the opera outright, as Vishñévskaja relates in her autobiography).

Don't hesitate, anybody who reads this and wants to explore this opera (especially for the first time!!!): THIS is the recording to get!!!! Afterwards you can also check out the other two or more that may be around; but even a seasoned Lady-Macbeth "lover" like me gravitates back to this recording each and every time without fail!

Very Moving.......2004-02-16

Unlike most of the reviewers, it took me a while to enjoy this opera, and not because of the music (which is truly wonderful, and very melodic, so don't be afraid of it if you are uncertain of modern opera, which is often never melodic at all). I found the sound of the Russian very annoying. That will sound strange, but it wasn't the language itself so much as how it was sung. I had heard Russian opera before, and though it is rather "twangy" compared to Italian, German, or French, I was never disturbed by it. There was just something in the singers' voices that took me a while to appreciate. The lead soprano is still not my favorite by any means, even in other recordings of her I have. Still, what came through loud and clear was the drama and the intensity of the work. It is so terrible that such a fine composer was so neglected all because of a very oppressive regime. The characterizations created in the music are frightfully real. I am sure that this opera created such a stir with ruling leaders because it was more than true to form when commenting on their own failings.

For me, and this is only my opinion, the music is wonderful and very easily appreciated, and the men sound far Freer and natural while singing. Personally, I have never found Russian sopranos very exciting. To my ear, most of them, especially the lighter ones, sound strained, pushed, "hooty", and whinny. This dramatic soprano (the conductor's real life wife) is less like all that, but still has all those qualities. I find the Slavic voice sounds better when in lower ranges. Russian Mezzos are thrilling, and most of them have fabulous high C's and even D's, and in this case, I think the opera would be better served having a high Mezzo sing the lead female role. That, however, is just me, as I don't like the Russian Soprano sound.

All in all, though, this is an extremely wonderful recording of a very vital work. I would recommend it to anyone. And for those who are not sure of Russian opera, or even modern opera (and this falls into both catagories), don't worry, you won't be scared off by it in any way.

A beautiful recording!!.......2003-12-15

You don't have to be an advanced opera fan, (or fanatic!) to enjoy this one, as I am an opera newbie. The music is wonderful. Don't reject this opera because it isn't in Italian or German! It is not difficult to follow the libretto in the booklet with the Russian written in transliteration rather than the Cyrillic alphabet, along with the English translation. So get ready for a wild ride! Shostakovich suffered greatly at the hands of the Soviet leadership for writing this opera, but you can enjoy it for a lifetime without fear of persecution, with your only risk being that you will become addicted to this one!

Stalin Didn't Like It Much!.......2003-04-12

Fewer works of opera have had such a troubled history and ruinous effect on a composer than Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Anyone familiar with the life of the composer knows the story. Shostakovitch was a brilliant young Leningrad based composer who was deeply involved with the radical intellectual movements of his time, particularly the theatrical work of Mayakovsky. He had scored an early brilliant success with his student project, the Symphony No. 1 and his raucous operatic treatment of Gogol's The Nose. The prospects looked bright and when Lady Macbeth premiered it was wildly successful....until Stalin say it! The next day an article appeared in Pravda entitled :Chaos Instead of Music" and Shostakovitch was officially in disgrace...a state that cause the composer to withdraw his dark and compelling 4th symphony and which didn't really ease until the war years and the success of his Lenigrad Symphony. (And of course was repeated again after the war.) The real shame of this is that Lady Macbeth is arguably one of the greatest modern works of the operatic stage, along with Wozzeck, Peter Grimes, and maybe a few other works by Britten and Janacek.

The plot is primarily what angered Stalin...Lady Macbeth is a rather dark and erotic melodrama, which probably offended the former seminarian's latent puritanical sensibilities. Katerina, the opera's main character, is caught in a dull and lifeless marriage to a petty merchant. When she falls in love with a young worker, she first kills her father in law and then her husband. When discovered by the police, both she and her lover are sent to Siberia, where he abandons Katerina for another woman. Driven mad with jealousy and despair, Katerina pushes the other woman into a river, jumps in after her and both are drowned. The bare bones of the plot do not do justice to the power of the work. No character in the opera is virtuous...the murdered father-in-law secretly lusts after Katerina, the husband is a whimpering whiner, the lover is shallow and a real brute, and Katerina herself is vicious in the extreme. However, Shostakovitch garners real sympathy for Katerina in the marvelous musical depiction of the utter despair and boredom of her life...the almost helplessness of her seduction, and the barbarity of both her father-in-law and her husband. The work can almost be read as a proto-feminist tragedy, except that Shostakovitch still clearly abhors all of this characters' behavior.

It is also not a long stretch to see in the trauma of Katerina a portrait of Stalinist society. Repressed, held back by convention and ultimately crushing boredom (a trait familiar from much Russian literature) Katerina is almost a symbol for the sickness that artists saw eating away Russian society at it's core.

The work moves dizzyingly from tragedy to satire to pathos. Scenes involving the peasants are broadly ribald...almost shockingly so. The scenes of the police station are really a thinly veiled satire on the state of Soviet justice and the petty nature of officialdom. Katerina's mad scene, when her dead father-in-law haunts her has the drama of Mussorgsky. And in the final scene, as the prisoners trudge to Siberia, you know that everyone in the audience must have felt the resonance with the political events of the time. This scene has a depth that goes beyond the story on the stage and is clearly projected in the music. It is as powerful as the end of Janacek's House of the Dead or the Forest Scene in Boris. All of the composer's talent is employed in this work...this is Shostakovitch at his highest and most impressive. It's a work that burns itself into your brain, much like the work of Dostoevsky or Bulgakov.

This performance can only be considered a classic. Recorded by Rostropovitch after the revival of the work in the 70s in it's original form (as opposed to the reworking the opera recieved in the 50s at the hands of the composer....a reworking that cut much of the political bite of the original) The opera stars Rostrapovitch's wife Galina Vishnevskaya as the heroine. Though I am not an unbridled fan of the singer...her slavic "hoot" sometimes gets on my nerves...she is marvelous in this role and a really talented vocal actress. She is by turns, pathetic, bathetic, sarcastic, cruel and finally tragic. Also impressive in the cast is Nicolai Gedda, who looses just a bit of his customary honeyed tone in his turn as the shallow Sergey. Rostropovitch is a conductor I generally don't care for. He is a marvelous cellist, but I've heard too many National Symphony Orchestra concerts where he had no control over balances and let the brass and percussion drowned out everything else. But in Shostakovitch and Prokofiev...(and Britten actually) he is superlative on the whole. This is a great example of that. Rostrapovitch has lived everything in this music and it shows.

Tracks:

I. Ophelia's Song
II. Gamayun, Bird Of Prophecy
III. We Are Together
IV. The City Sleeps
V. The Storm
VI. Secret Signs
VII. Music
I. To A Critic
II. The Awakening Of Spring
III. Descendants
IV. A Misunderstanding
V. Kreutzer Sonata
I. Lullaby
II. Serenade
III. Trepak
IV. The Field-Marshal
Spat Pora. Dyen Proshol
Zhereboyonok K Kobylke
Kto Eto, Kto, Kto Stuchit?
Ya Poydu...Proshcahay

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Voice.......2007-05-24

I bought this CD during the Shostakovich Centennial and it filled a gap in my collection for the Alexander Blok and Satires, works written with Galina Vishnevskaya in mind. The performances were made during the late 1970's and are also interesting for the collaboration of Vishnevskaya's husband Mstislav Rostropovich, who plays the cello and piano and is the conductor for the Lady Macbeth selections.

The booklet recalls the comment by Ms. Vishnevskaya that she is "a music hall singer with an operatic voice," something that Dmitri Shostakovich understood when composing these songs. It would be easy in some of the songs to loose control (particularly when the singer must half-shout, half-shriek) with the demands that the composer places on the singer but Vishnevskaya takes it all in stride. She is also superb in the Mussorgsky Songs and Dances of Death that Shostakovich orchestrated but Vishnevskaya really shines in the scene from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. The disc includes only Act 1 Scene 3 but the scene is a pivotal one where Sergei (sung by Nicolai Gedda) seduces Katarina. I am familiar with the recording of the opera with Maria Ewing and, for drama and singing, this recording is truly excellent leaving one wanting for more.

The recordings have been nicely re-mastered and are a must for anyone interested in Shostakovich's music. The booklet includes the texts and a nice biography of Galina Vishnevskaya.

Unforgettable!.......2007-04-09

I was introduced both to Schostakovich and the "Blok Romances" when the recording was issued as a vinyl on the Seraphim label. At the time, I was absolutely entranced. My vinyl records went the way of the dodo, however, and by the time I had acquired a CD collection, I had lost track of who had performed the piece. I bought various versions of Shostakovich's "Romances," which were lovely, but none could compare to my memories of my original recording.

I was therefore absolutely thrilled when I discovered this CD with Vishnevskaya and Rostropovich, and as I listened to the first rich notes of "Ophelia's Song," I realized that I had found, not the lost chord, but my lost recording. Vishnevskaya's interpretation is unparalleled, as is that of Rostropovich and the other members of accompanying piano trio. This performance definitely belongs under the rubric of "Great Artists of the Century."

Personally, though, playing it was like welcoming back a long-lost and beloved friend.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4; Suite from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Average customer rating:

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4; Suite from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Manufacturer: Hanssler Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Allegretto Poco Moderato-Presto
Moderato Con Moto
Largo-Allegro
Allegro Con Brio
Presto
Allegretto

Album Description

"The charismatic Russian maestro displayed such an intriguing blend of intellect and emotion that one couldn't help but wonder where his career would lead him." --Valerie Scher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2005

Tracks:

Concerto No.1 For Violin And Orchestra In A Minor, Op.77: 1. Nocturne. Moderato
Concerto No.1 For Violin And Orchestra In A Minor, Op.77: 2. Scherzo. Allegro
Concerto No.1 For Violin And Orchestra In A Minor, Op.77: 3. Passacaglia. Andante
Concerto No.1 For Violin And Orchestra In A Minor, Op.77: 4. Burlesque. Allegro Con Brio
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Suite For Orchestra: 1. In The Court Of The Ismailovs
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Suite For Orchestra: 2. Dangerous Tension
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Suite For Orchestra: 3. Katerina And Sergei I
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Suite For Orchestra: 4. Passacaglia
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Suite For Orchestra: 5. Katerina And Sergei II
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Suite For Orchestra: 6. The Drunkard
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Suite For Orchestra: 7. Arrival Of The Police
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Suite For Orchestra: 8. In Exile

Shostakovich: Songs; Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Average customer rating:

Well worth the price

Shostakovich: Songs; Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
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Shostakovich: Concertos; Orchestral Suites; Chamber Symphonies
Shostakovich: The Symphonies
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
Shostakovich: Complete Songs, Volume 1

ASIN: B000FG4KBY
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Tracks:

The Dragonfly And The Ant - Larissa Diadkova
The Ass And The Nightingale - Larissa Diadkova
Renaissance - Sergei Leiferkus
A Jealous Maiden, Sobbing Bitterly - Sergei Leiferkus
Premonition - Sergei Leiferkus
To His Sonne - Sergei Leiferkus
Oh Wert Thou In The Cauld Blast - Sergei Leiferkus
McPherson's Farewell - Sergei Leiferkus
Jenny - Sergei Leiferkus
Sonnet LXVI - Sergei Leiferkus
The King's Campaign - Sergei Leiferkus
Lament For A Dead Infant - Luba Orgonasova
Fussy Mummy And Auntie - Luba Orgonasova
Lullaby - Luba Orgonasova
Before A Long Separation - Luba Orgonasova
A Warning - Luba Orgonasova
The Deserted Father - Luba Orgonasova
A Song Of Poverty - Luba Orgonasova
Winter - Luba Orgonasova
The Good Life - Luba Orgonasova
A Girl's Song - Luba Orgonasova
Happiness - Luba Orgonasova

Tracks:

Love - Ilya Levinsky
Before Suicide - Ilya Levinsky
An Immodest Glance - Ilya Levinsky
The First And Last Time - Ilya Levinsky
Love Without Hope - Ilya Levinsky
Death - Ilya Levinsky
My Poems - Elena Zaremba
Where Does Such Tenderness Come From? - Elena Zaremba
Hamlet's Dialogue With Conscience - Elena Zaremba
The Poet And The Tsar - Elena Zaremba
No, The Drum Beat - Elena Zaremba
To Anna Akhmatova - Elena Zaremba
Truth - Sergei Leiferkus
Morning - Sergei Leiferkus
Love - Sergei Leiferkus
Separation - Sergei Leiferkus
Anger - Sergei Leiferkus
Dante - Sergei Leiferkus
To The Exile - Sergei Leiferkus
Creativity - Sergei Leiferkus
Night - Sergei Leiferkus
Death - Sergei Leiferkus
Immortality - Sergei Leiferkus

Tracks:

The Love Of Captain Lebyadkin - Vladimir Ashkenazy
The Cockroach - Vladimir Ashkenazy
The Ball For The Benefit Of Governesses - Vladimir Ashkenazy
A Radiant Personality - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Ophelia's Song - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Hamayun, The Prophetic Bird - Vladimir Ashkenazy
We Were Together - Vladimir Ashkenazy
The City Is Asleep - Vladimir Ashkenazy
The Storm - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Secret Signs - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Music - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Truth - John Shirley-Quirk
Morning - John Shirley-Quirk
Love - John Shirley-Quirk
Separation - John Shirley-Quirk
Anger - John Shirley-Quirk
Dante - John Shirley-Quirk
To The Exile - John Shirley-Quirk
Creativity - John Shirley-Quirk
Night - John Shirley-Quirk
Death - John Shirley-Quirk
Immortality - John Shirley-Quirk

Tracks:

Akh, Ne Spitsya Bol'se, Poprobuyu - Romuald Tesarowicz
Bribki Segodnya Budut? - Romuald Tesarowicz
Govori!/Zacem Ze Ti Uyezzayes, Khozyain/Vot, Papa, Posmotri/Proscay, Katerina/Katherina, Poklyanis' Na Svyatoy Ikone/Cego Vstal? - Romuald Tesarowicz
Antrakt/Interlude/Intermezzo/Zwischenspiel - Romuald Tesarowicz
Ay! Ay! Ay! Ay, Bessstiziy, Oy, Ne Scipil/Otpustite Babu - Romuald Tesarowicz
Mnogo Vi, Muziki, O Sebe Vozmectali/Cto Eto? - Romuald Tesarowicz
Antrakt/Interlude/Intermezzo/Zwischenspiel - Romuald Tesarowicz
Spat' Pora. Den' Prosol - Romuald Tesarowicz
Zerebyonok K Kobilke Toropitsya - Romuald Tesarowicz
Kto Eto, Kto, Kto Stucit?/Proscay/Uydi Ti, Radi Boga, Ya Muznyaya Zena - Romuald Tesarowicz
Cto Znacit Starost': Ne Spitsya - Romuald Tesarowicz
Proscay, Katya, Proscay!/Stoy! Gde Bil?/Smotri, Katerina, Zanyatnoye Zrelisce - Romuald Tesarowicz
Ustal - Prikazete Mne Postegat?/Progoldalsya Ya - Romuald Tesarowicz
Vidno, Skoro Uz Zarya. Ekh!/Gde Tut Umirayut?/Batya, Ispovedat'sya/Akh, Boris Timofeyevic, Zacem Ti Ot Nas Usol? - Romuald Tesarowicz
Antrakt/Interlude/Intermezzo/Zwischenspiel - Romuald Tesarowicz

Tracks:

Sergey, Seryozai! Vsyo Spit - Romuald Tesarowicz
Opyat' Usnul/Katerina L'vovna, Ubiyca!/Nu? Cego Tebe?/Andante - Romuald Tesarowicz
Slusay, Sergey, Sergey!/Katerina! - Kto Tam?/Teper' Sabas - Romuald Tesarowicz
Cto Ti Tut Stois?/U Menya Bila Kuma/Antrakt/Interlude/Intermezzo/Zwischenspiel - Romuald Tesarowicz
Sozdan Policeyskiy Bil Vo Vremya Ono/U Izmaylovoy Seycas Pir Goroy/Vase Blagorodiye!/Skoro, Skoro, Ctobi Ne Bilo Ukora - Romuald Tesarowicz
Antrakt/Interlude/Intermezzo/Zwischenspiel - Romuald Tesarowicz
Slava Suprugam, Katerine L'vovne I Sergeyu Filippicu, Slava!/Nikogo Net Krase Solnca V Nebe?/Cto Takoye? Pozdno! - Romuald Tesarowicz
Vyorsti Odna Za Drugoy Dlinnoy Polzut Verenicey - Romuald Tesarowicz
Stepanic! Propusti Menya - Romuald Tesarowicz
Ne Legko Posle Pocota Da Poklonov Pered Sudom Stoyat! - Romuald Tesarowicz
Moyo Pocten'ye!/Dostanu! Katya!/Is, Zver'!/Adagio - Romuald Tesarowicz
V Lesu, V Samoy Casce, Yest' Ozero/Znayes Li, Sonetka, Na Kogo S Toboy Mi Pokhozi? - Romuald Tesarowicz
Vstavay! Po Mestam! Zivo! - Romuald Tesarowicz

Customer Reviews:

Well worth the price.......2006-11-13

Decca has put together a great collection with this box set. Although I haven't heard any other recordings of Shostakovich's songs to compare with, all the performances seem top-notch to me. Jarvi in particular does a fantastic job conducting the "Suite on Verses of Michelangelo" and "From Jewish Folk Poetry". Personally, I prefer Rostropovich's reading of "Lady Macbeth" over Chung's, but Chung's version is certainly not without its merits. Finally, the liner notes are very detailed with complete texts and English translations of all the works performed. At ~$25, you really can't get a better deal on Shostakovich's music at Amazon.

Shostakovich - Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk / Vishnevskaya, Gedda, Petrov, LPO, Rostropovich

Average customer rating:

An unbelievable experience !
REMASTERED VERSION NOW AVAILABLE
What an opera! What power!!
A Magisterial Performance of a Masterpiece!
Right next to Pelleas and Wozzeck

Shostakovich - Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk / Vishnevskaya, Gedda, Petrov, LPO, Rostropovich
Dimitri Shostakovich , Mstislav Rostropovich , Galina Vishnevskaya , Nicolai Gedda , London Philharmonic Orchestra , Dimiter Petrov , Werner Krenn , Taru Valjakka , Birgit Finnilai , Alan Byers , Leslie Fyson , Edgar Fleet , and Steven Emmerson
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Vishnevskaya, Galina | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No1, Op107; Violin Concerto No1 (revised), Op99
Great Recordings Of The Century - Brahms: Violin Sonatas nos 1 - 3 / Perlman, Ashkenazy

ASIN: B000002RRI
Release Date: 1990-05-08

Tracks:

Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Akh, nye spitsa bol'she, poprobuyu (Act 1, Scene 1)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Gribki, sevodnya budut?
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Govori!...Plotinu-to na...
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Interlude (Orchestra)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Ay! Ay! Ay! Ay! Ay! Ay! Ay! (Act 1, Scene 2)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Mnogo vy, muzhiki
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Interlude (Orchestra)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Spat' pora, Dyen proshol (Act 1, Scene 3)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Zherebyonok k kob'lke toropitsa
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Kto eto, kto, kto stuchit?
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Shto znachit starost' (Act 2, Scene 4)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Proshchay, Katya, proshchay!
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Ustal...Prikazhete mnye postegat?
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Vidno, skoro uzh zarya
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Interlude (Orchestra)

Tracks:

Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Sergey, Seryozha! (Act 2, Scene 5)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Opyat usnul
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Slushay, Sergey, Sergey!
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Shto ty tut stoish? (Act 3, Scene 6)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Sozdan politseysky byl vo vremya ono (Act 3, Scene 7)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Interlude
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Slava suprugam (Act 3, Scene 8)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Vyorsty odna za drugoy (Act 4, Scene 9)
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Stepanych! Propusti menya
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Nye lekhko posle pochota da poklonov
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: Moyo pochtyenye!
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk: V lesu, v samoy chashche yest' ozero
Act 4, Scene 9: Vstavay! Po mestam! Zhivo!

Amazon.com essential recording

Written between 1930 and 1932, The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was one of the most brilliant achievements of Shostakovich's long career. It was also the work that got him into trouble with Stalin. When the Soviet leader attended a performance in Moscow in 1936, almost two years after the opera's acclaimed Leningrad premiere, he personally ordered the publication of a scathing article in Pravda ("Muddle Instead of Music"), unleashing a ruthless campaign to reduce the arts in Soviet Russia to a state of dogmatic subservience to the regime. Lady Macbeth would disappear from the repertory for 30 years, and Shostakovich, despite his great gifts for opera, would focus his attention on symphonic and chamber music instead. But what an opera this one was! Notwithstanding its title, it has nothing to do with Shakespeare's Macbeth and quite a lot to do with Dostoevsky (even though it's based on a story by another 19th-century writer, Nikolai Laskov). The plot has all the elements of a Russian epic--boredom, need, irresistible sexual longing, infidelity, murder, suicide--and the music is vintage Shostakovich, swinging between farce and tragedy with astonishing sureness, magnificently intense, deeply absorbing, yet approachable. The opera's climactic scenes are driven by music of incredible power, and there are pages of haunting lyric beauty as well, such as Katarina's aria in scene 3, or the extraordinary music that begins the love scene between Katarina and Sergey--mysterious, edgy, sensuous, and vast. It's all brought home on this recording, a labor of love from two of the composer's closest friends and greatest champions. Vishnevskaya, the great exponent of the role of Katarina, sings with untrammeled splendor, while Rostropovich, the supreme interpreter of the music of Shostakovich in our time, conducts a characterful, white-hot performance by the London Philharmonic. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

An unbelievable experience !.......2007-06-04

I would pick on all the superlatives thrown in by the other reviewers, all 6 of whom have given it a 5-star rating, and say it is also of my experience. I have sat with this CD every evening for the past 6 days (since getting it) still unable to absorb the rapturous beauty of the music of this great recording, one of the best of my more-than-100 operas on disk and tape.

My contribution to the newcomer to this music would be to see a DVD of the opera - there is indeed a disk with the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya as Katerina, the principal character, so that the story doesnt intrude too much into the appreciation of the overarching score. To my mind the music soars above the voices of Russia below. There are so many mind-blowing climaxes and the musical remains at all times lyrical. Buy it without a second thought!

REMASTERED VERSION NOW AVAILABLE.......2003-07-14

EMI has remastered this enduring classic on its "Great Recordings of the Century" line, and it is available. Here's the ID number for finding it on Amazon, or just do a search for Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk:

B000063UM3

What an opera! What power!!.......2001-03-26

As a relative newcomer to classical music I knew very little about Dmitri Shostakvich beyond his name, and even less about opera as such, when I learned about 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk' and determined that I had to have this recording of it, along with recordings of his Symphony No. 10 and his Symphony No. 5, at least. Of these I have von Karajan's and Jârvi's respectively. The former symphony was composed in the summer and fall of 1953, the year of Stalin's death, whose death on March 5, 1953, must have given Shostakovich much cause for celebration because symphony number 10 was and is said to contain a musical portrait of Stalin in the second movement. And, for all the world, this scherzo does appears to be that, really, especially since it is that violent and brutal, although the symphony concludes with considerable satisfaction and more happily because, in fact, Stalin, who had persecuted Shostakovich horribly, repeatedly, and prolongedly, for years, including as to this opera, was finally dead several months before Shostakovch began to compose this work. The latter, Symphony No. 5, was completed in 1937 and is a different matter entirely, in that it was called by a commentator "a Soviet artist's response to just criticism" (as to this opera) and concludes very differently. For anyone who still regards any of these works as "politically controversial", whatever that is supposed to mean, I personally have to add that, as I understand the foregoing remark AND Symphony No. 5, OF COURSE THE CRITICISM WASN'T JUST, COULD NOT POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN UNDERSTOOD TO BE JUST, NOR WAS IT REALLY ACCEPTED AS JUST BY THE COMPOSER (NOR SHOULD IT HAVE BEEN). By now, I have the Rostropovich recording of Symphony No. 8, too, which I also play regularly and often, on my CD player, which never fails me. All these recordings are available at this site and I recommend them along with this one of this opera. Others do better at dicussing it than I; I would just like to say that of course it's terrific. I am glad that this recording of this opera is available here, and that it has finally seen the light of day in this, its original form, so that we can all hear it. Highly recommended.

A Magisterial Performance of a Masterpiece!.......2000-08-27

Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest opera recordings of the twentieth century! The opera itself, here restored to its original form -after metamorphosing into 'Katerina Izmailova', the original libretto (and score) hidden from the world for thirty years- is one of the masterful achievments of Shostakovich's life. Rostropovich has assured himself a high place in the pantheon of artists who have rendered incontestable service to mankind by this recording. Katerina's aria which opens the opera is a remarkable piece of theatre in and of itself, not to mention a perfect preamble of what is to come, and is radiantly sung by Vishnevskaya in full command of her extraordinary gifts, every nuance intact, her intimacy with the role apparent from the outset. The blood of this score is so entirely Russian, and so clearly purchased with that particular life-sacrificing art peculiar to the Russian humanist aesthetic, that its musical language reveals itself straightaway as an organic part of the glorious continuum of Russian art, one of the reasons of course that Stalin chose it to forge his hammer against everything truly Russian. The political history of this work of art, fascinating though it is, yet remains an ignoble and indeed unimportant footnote beside the lasting triumph of this particular opera. Nicolai Gedda here demonstrates why he is a legendary tenor- Sergey's grief, and what remains of his inner life are wrought like gold at every turn; it is a performance of towering artistry and unparalleled beauty. The London Symphony is shocking in its perfection, heated by Rostropovich's mystical gifts and pouring itself out like a Russian lover. Others more learned and capable than I have written far more lucidly than I could hope to in praise of this eternal work of art, yet I wish to call out the majesty of this masterpiece, encourage others to purchase it, make it their own, and thereby give homage to a genuinely rare human experience bequeathed to the world by Shostakovich, here restored to its preeminent place by the irreplaceable artists and collaborators who have understood what this work means to humankind, especially in an age of unbelief.

Right next to Pelleas and Wozzeck.......2000-05-14

These three great operas form the pinnacle of acheivement on the musical stage in the 20th Century.

Customer Reviews:

An indispensable purchase for the Stokowski admirer .......2007-02-02

Let me join the two previous commentators and add on to their praise of this set, while also providing some additional information. It is an indispensable purchase for the Stokowski admirer. The two well-filled discs collect the contents of three and a half LPs recorded in 1958-9 and released by the apparently short-lived United Artists label: UAS 8001 had Respighi's Pines (surprisingly the Maestro's only studio recording of any Respighi, though a live Philadelphia concert of a year later had been available at one point on LP) and the transcriptions, UAS 8002 Khachaturian's sprawling second symphony, UAS 8004 the Shostakovitch compositions and UAS 8005 Bloch's Schelomo. Left out in the process are Paul Ben Haim's "From Israël" which served as a filler to Bloch and Beethoven's 7th symphony (Stokowski's second recording) which came on UAS 8003. The Symphony of the Air Orchestra is in fact the name assumed by Toscanini's reformed NBC Orchestra after it was disbanded by RCA, following the conductor's death.

As remastered, the sound is saturated in some of the louder passages, especially in Khachaturian's symphony and there is some tape hiss, but one can only agree with the note of warning contained in the booklet: "these analog recordings were chosen for re-release on Compact Disc because of their artistic and historical significance. Unfortunately, the original master tapes suffer from a degree of distortion and irregularity which could not be eliminated in the re-mastering process. However, the importance of making available these definitive recordings should outweigh any such technical shortcomings".

Khachaturian's 2nd symphony is a composition of vast and at times sprawling dimensions. Written in 1943, it is conceived as "a requiem of protest against war and violence" and has the bombast of Shostakovich's 7th and 8th symphonies, but also genuine dramatic sweep, in particular in its third movement, a funeral march starting with a melody of almost Spanish tinge - it could be music for Llorca's dirge for the fallen bull fighter - and soon mixed with the tune of the Dies Irae. I find it evocative of Shostakovich' 11th symphony. As mentioned, the sound is saturated in the louder passages and no match to the composer's own 1962 recording with the Vienna Philarmonic (Decca), but Stokowski, in his only recording of that piece (he also did the 3rd symphony and the "Masquerade"-Suite), conducts with plenty of color and panache. The same holds true of Shostakovich's brash first symphony, his second recording (the first was with Philadelphia in 1933, now on Pearl). His transcription of the composer's piano prelude Op. 34/14, here in the third of the Maestro's four studio recordings (there are also three live ones), makes it into a sombre, brooding and dramatic sister movement of the 11th symphony.

Stokowski had done the first recording ever of Bloch's Schelomo, in 1940, with Emanuel Feuermann (available on CD from various labels). A pupil of Feuerman and of the apparently exceptional pedagogue Demetrious Dounis, George Neikrug doesn't belong to the stellar names of the cello who have recorded the piece (which, besides Feuermann, include, in rough chronological order, Piatigorsky, Rose, Fournier, Starker, Rostropovich, Harrell, Ma), yet he is second to none. He performs with big tone and romantic fervor, and the orchestra under Stokowski plays with fire, a few uncertain entries and sometimes almost overbearing presence, some of the solo wind interventions sounding forte rather than the indicated piano. One can find on the web a fascinating interview of Neikrug, in which he remembers being with Feuermann in California, twenty years before, when the latter received the first pressings of his recording with Stokowski; he also hilariously recounts the circumstances of the 1959 rehearsals, how they began in chaos and how suddenly and unexpectedly everything coalesced into the genuine and unique "Stokowski sound".

The Stokowski transcriptions of pieces by four Italian Renaissance composers make them into full-blooded romantic pieces, evoking, especially in Cesti and Palestrina, Barber's adagio or even Albinoni's spurious adagio as it was customarily performed in the fifties and sixties. The effect is somewhat staid, but still deeply moving.

The 17 page (including photos) liner notes are an integral part of this set's value. They contain lengthy comments of each composition (including the transcriptions) by William C. Baxter (who seems to confuse this recording of Schelomo and Stokowski's earlier one with Feuermann) and a biography of Stokowski by Kay Baumgartner (with an account of the circumstances of the recordings at hand) whose value comes from the fact that it is not a mere one-sided panegyric.

Very Rare Stokowski.......2006-01-06

These recordings are truly rarities. The originals were made for the now defunct United Artists label. Some years ago the master tapes were purchased by Angel Records (USA) and languished in their vaults for many years. With pressure exerted by individuals and the Leopold Stokowski Society of America, this set was finally released. Many of these pieces were never recorded by the Maestro at any other time. In my opinion, the gem in the set is the Shostakovich Symphony # 1. At the time of its original release it was hailed as the best recorded performance ever of this piece. I have never found another I like better. It is superb. Stokowski also brings out the very best in all the other numbers as well. It is an outstanding testament to the man and to a great orchestra. These recordings may never be released again. Get this set now while you can.

A rare find, get this while you still can!.......2005-06-14

This generous 2 disc set(over 70min. each)is comprised of recordings made for the defunct United Artists Record Label from
1958-59. I presume these are some of the last recordings made by The Symphony of the Air(formerly Toscanini's NBC Symphony).
EMI has nicely remastered(only the bass lacking)the sound.
We are given a somewhat average "Pines" and a congested but cinematic Khachaturian Sym. #2 on disc 1. Stokowski's period piece orchestrations/transcriptions emphasis modern choirs of brass. On disc 2, He affectionately conducts Shostakovich's youthful Sym. #1. We are given a robust account of Bloch's "Schelomo" with the renowned George Neikrug as cello soloist.(I think overall sound quality is better on this second disc.) This set is a must for any collector of Stokowski interpretations and what a value for those wanting a varied orchestral program. The selections are excellently annotated and their are some rare photos along with a informative essay about the great meastro. At time of my review this may allready be out of print, so hurry!