NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV> (1844-1908): The Tale of Tsar Saltan.

Description: There is no other recording available of this 1900 opera after a folk-tale made up by Pushkin. Rimsky uses children's songs, domestic lullabies, urban songs and carnival music to create an atmosphere possibly unconsciously recalled later by Stravinsky in Petrushka. A large orchestra is handled very transparently, never overweighting the folk-tale atmosphere. Pity that we can only hear the whole thing in this old mono version but you'll possibly have the Op. 57 suite popping up in your head as you make your way through (helped by a reasonably good English synopsis). 2 CDs. No libretto. Ivan Petrov (bass), Vladimir Ivanovsky (tenor), Evgenia Smolenskaya, Galina Oleinichenko (sopranos), Chorus and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre; Vasily Nebolsin (rec. 1958).