Khovanshchina : opera in five acts / [music] by Modest Mussorgsky ; after Vladimir Stassov ; orchestration, Dmitri Shostakovich ; final scene, Igor Stravinsky ; producer, Alfred Kirchner ; directed for television by Brian Large ; an ORF/ZDF/Monarda Arts co-production ; in association with the Vienna State Opera.

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany : Monarda Arts, 1989.

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Arguably Modest Mussorgsky's greatest work, Khovanshchina was incomplete at the time of his death and so this glorious production, from the Vienna State Opera, employs Shostakovich's scoring with the addition of the final chorus composed by Stravinsky in 1913. It is a work of immense power and humanity, set at the time when Peter the Great assumed power in Russia, a turning point in Russia's history when old forces came into conflict with new. Political intrigue, religious persecution, the tragedy of a nation, all form a backdrop against which individual dramas are acted out. The great Bulgarian bass, Nicolai Ghiaurov sings Prince Ivan Khovansky, the leader of the revolutionary Streltsys and Paata Burchuladze sings Dositheus, the leader of the Old Believers. Fellow Russians, including Ludmila Semtschuk as Marfa and Vladimir Atlantov as Khovansky's son, complete this formidable cast. This live recording of Alfred Kirchner's production of Khovanshchina is conducted by Claudio Abbado. Triumphantly hailed as "one of the great performances of our day, an unforgettable display of skill and sympathy combined", by the Financial Times, it is a recording to treasure.

ASP-AVON. OCLC KB.

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Russian

October 02, 2023

Nicolai Ghiaurov (Prince Ivan Khovansky) ; Vladimir Atlantov (Prince Andrey Khovanksy) ; Yury Maruzin (Prince Vassily Golitsyn) ; Anatoly Kocherga (Boyar Shaklovity) ; Paata Burchuladze (Dosifey) ; Ludmila Semtschuk (Marfa) ; Vienna State Opera Chorus ; Slovak Philharmonic Chorus from Bratislava ; chorus masters, Helmut Froschauer, Karl Kamper ; Vienna Boys' Choir ; Vienna State Opera Orchestra ; conducted by Claudio Abbado ; Austrian Federal Theatre Orchestra ; conducted by Ralf Hossfeld.