RACHMANINOV: Opera Highlights

Todorov, Nayden;
Sofia National Opera Orchestra;
Beykov, Plamen;
Isakov, Niko;
Naydenov, Peter;
Nikolova, Andreana;
Sofia National Opera Chorus;
Tekeliev, Alexander;
Zvetanov, Boiko;
Zvetkova, Mariana

8.557817

Opera may not have been of central importance to Rachmaninov's long and diverse creative life but, relatively early in his career, he completed two one-act operas. The intense psychological study The Miserly Knight takes as its source of inspiration a tragic tale by Pushkin. Francesca da Rimini is based on an episode at the end of Canto V of Dante's Inferno. The earlier Aleko, based on a tale of love and jealousy in a gypsy camp, won the composer the gold medal for composition at the Moscow Conservatory in 1892. All three works demonstrate Rachmaninov's gift for yearning melodies, as well as his mastery of orchestral colour and drama.

CD

Muzyka klasyczna

Naxos

21-07-2008

747313281725

American Record Guide: 'Critic’s Choice' (2012)

Fanfare: 'Want List' (2012)