Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina

Kent Nagano superbly masters the challenges presented by this score, shapes the dynamics with subtle intensity, and casts the score in a mellow glow. As Marfa, the spurned lover of Ivan Khovansky‘s son Andrei, Doris Soffel unfolds such a rich palette of sonorities, from the pathos of the lower ranges to shaded discant heights, that “one is tempted to speak of a Russian mezzo”. The final chorus, which Mussorgsky did not compose, is played in the orchestrally transparent version of Igor Stravinsky – the third great Russian composer who contributed to making “Khovanshchina“ a timeless, gripping stage work. With his stripped-down sets and historicising costumes, director Dmitri Tcherniakov, one of the new voices of contemporary Russian theatre, builds a bridge to the political present. A lesson in history and music!

Cast

Paata Burchuladze Ivan Khovansky Klaus Florian Vogt Andrei Khovansky John Daszak Golitsin Valeri Alexejev Shaklovity Anatoli Kotscherga Dosifey Doris Soffel Marfa

Ilrich Reß Scrivener

Camilla Nylund Emma Kent Nagano Conductor

Metadata from the source database.