Prokofiev: Betrothal In A Monastery

Conductor: Jurowski, Vladimir
Performers: Viacheslav Voynarovskiy, Lyubov Petrova, Pavel Baransky, Nino Surguladze, Sergei Alexashkin, Vsevolod Grivnov, Peter Hoare, Maxim Mikhailov, Alan Opie, Jonathan Veira, Claire Ormshaw, Andrey Breus, Aleksandra Durseneva

'It's a score that Vladimir Jurowski plainly loves, and he coaxes and cajoles a fabulous range of seductive and coquettish and downright bawdy colours from the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It can never have sounded better.'
(The Independent)
'The performance is first-rate... A flawless cast.'
(The Daily Telegraph)
'The singers all relish Prokofiev's infectious melodies ... but the outstanding performance is Nino Surguladze as Clara, who also has Prokofiev's finest music to sing.'
(The Guardian)
'Thanks to Jurowski's rapport with the London Philharmonic, the music sounds not just mercurial but also good enough to listen to without stage pictures...'
(Financial Times)
Prokofiev composed his last complete opera, Betrothal in a Monastery, as the Nazis were invading Russia and the country descended into a period of political repression and terror. However, the opera, a romantic comedy loosely based on Richard Sheridan's 1775 play, The Duenna, was according to Shostakovich 'one of Prokofiev's most radiant and buoyant works'. Betrothal in a Monastery highlights the cultural divisions between the faded glamour of the impoverished aristocracy and the new wealth of the lower classes. Ostensibly the plot concerns the trials of two pairs of lovers, Louisa and Antonio, and Clara and Ferdinand, but ultimately it is the fishmonger, Mendoza, who in the great tradition of the anti-hero, wins our empathy. The predominantly Russian cast is led by Viacheslav Voynarovskiy, with Sergei Alexashkin as Mendoza. Alexandra Durseneva sings The Duenna, with the two sets of lovers sung by Vsevolod Grivnov (Don Antonio), Lyubov Petrova (Louisa), Andrey Breus (Ferdinand), and Nino Surguladze (Clara) making her notable Glyndebourne debut. Established UK artists Alan Opie (Don Carlos) and Jonathan Veira (Father Augustine) make up the cast.

Price: $42.98