Sunday Classics: What Prince Igor doesn't know is that what's happening to him is History

Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Igor's monologue from Act II of Prince Igor, which Borodin surely meant to be the dramatic centerpiece of his never-finished opera. (The performance is billed by the poster as from a 2006 Moscow concert that also featured Renée Fleming.)

PRINCE IGOR: No sleep, no rest for my tormented soul!
The night brings me no comfort or oblivion.
I relive the past alone, in the quiet of the night,
and the threat of the divine omen
and the celebrations for our military achievements,
my victory over the enemy,
and the pitiful end to military glory,
the defeat and the sounds and my capture,
and the death of all my soldiers,
killed in honest battle for their homeland.
All has been lost: my honor and my glory.
I have disgraced my native land!
Captivity, infamous captivity . . .
such is my destiny from now on,
and the thought that I alone am to blame!
Oh, give me, give me freedom . . .
I will succeed in atoning for my disgrace,
I will save my honor and my glory,
I will save the Rus from the enemy!
You alone, my dear love, you alone will not blame me.
with your tender heart
you will understand everything!
You will forgive me everything!
From your high tower you have worn your eyes out watching,
you await your beloved day and night,
and you shed bitter tears.
How could I spend day after day in fruitless captivity,
aware that the enemy is preying on the Rus?
The enemy is like a terrible beast
The Rus moan in the grip of its mighty claws
and lay the blame for this on me!
Oh give, give me freedom,
I will succeed in atoning for my disgrace.
I will save the Rus from the enemy!
No sleep, no rest for my tormented soul!
The night brings me no hope of escape.
I relive yet again the past alone in the quiet of the night . . .
And there is no way out for me!
Oh, I am so miserable, so miserable!
It is so hard to see my impotence!

by Ken

I hope we've had some fun working back and forth between the Polovtsian Dances and songs that recycle some of their tunes in Robert Wright and George Forrest's 1953 musical Kismet -- "Stranger in Paradise" Friday night and "Not Since Nineveh" and "He's in Love" last night. Now it's time to get serious.

Prince Igor starts off in a genre I think we recognize instinctively, even if we can't put our finger on where we recognize it from. It looks -- and sounds -- for all the world like a Heroic Epic, with the people of the Kievan Rus principality of Putivl hailing their brave, heroic leader, Prince Igor, as he sets off on his heroic journey to repel an invading bunch of godless Asiatic savages, the blood-thirsty Polovtsi, who have savagely rampaged their way from the steppes of central Asia to threaten god-fearing Rus civilization with their godless Asiatic savagery.

As far back as memory goes this it how it's been among the Rus. The thing is, memory has a way of conveniently going back way far when it can cause some juicy trouble to do so, and contrarily going back hardly far at all when it's inconvenient. And the fact is that the Rus haven't really been in these parts all that long. Go back not all that far and they were Swedish tribes engaged in southward, um, "visitation." (That's a polite word for "invasion.") But by now they've assimilated with the local population and feel as if they've been here forever, defending their sacred soil -- from, when necessary, invading godless heathens.

Only something goes wrong, very wrong. We'll hear it as soon as we click through, when we're going to hear the Overture, which we've already heard, and the opening scene of the Prologue. By the way, now that we've heard Dmitri Hvorostovsky sing Igor monologue from Act II, more of the Overture should sound familiar.


TO HEAR WHAT GOES WRONG AS PRINCE IGOR
PREPARES FOR RIGHTEOUS GLORY, CLICK HERE

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Sunday Classics preview: From Borodin to Broadway (2)

Valery Gergiev conducts the "Polovtsian Dances" with the original vocal parts. (It's the Mariinsky Theater Chorus and Orchestra, I assume.)

SLAVEWOMEN: Fly on the wings of the wind
to our native land, dear song of ours --
there, where we have sung you at liberty,
where we felt so free in singing you.
There under the hot sky
the air is full of bliss,
there to the sound of the sea
the mountains doze in the clouds.
There the sun shines so brightly,
bathing the native mountains in light.
Splendid roses blossom in the valleys,
and nightingales sing in the green forests,
and sweet grapes grow.
You are free there, song --
fly home!

POLOVTSI: Sing songs of praise to the Khan! Sing!
Praise the power and valor of the Khan!
Praise the glorious Khan!
He is glorious, our Khan!
In the brilliance of his glory,
the Khan is equal to the sun!
There is non equal to the Khan in glory!
None!
The Khan, female slaves praise the Khan,
their Khan!

[Translation from the Sony Prince Igor booklet]

by Ken

To recap: In last night's preview we began our approach to Borodin's mammoth compositional project, the never-finished opera Prince Igor, so that we can look tomorrow at the predicament the aforementioned Prince Igor finds himself in: a man who can't grasp that what's happening to him is . . . well, history.

By now you may well be wondering who they are, these dancing Polovtsi. Fair enough. Polovtsi (singular = Polovets, plural = Polovtsi, combining form thus = Polovts-, as in "Polovtsian") is what the locals in what we now think of as Russia and Ukraine called the first wave of Asiatic invaders, who called themselves Kipchaks, with of course many variants. From Wikipedia:

Kipchaks were a Turkic tribal confederation. Originating in the Kimek Khanate, they conquered large parts of the Eurasian steppe during the Turkic expansion of the 11th to 12th centuries together with the Cumans, and were in turn conquered by the Mongol invasions of the early 13th century.

Under Mongol rule, the Kipchak Khanate ruled much of Eastern Europe for another 150 years before disintegrating due to internal quarrels, its last remnants as the Tatar Crimean Khanate surviving into the 18th century before being absorbed into the Russian Empire.

The Kipchaks (known in Russian and Ukrainian as Polovtsy) were a tribal confederation which originally settled at the River Irtysh, possibly connected to the Kimäks. They were joined by Cumans, who had originated east of the Yellow River, and in the course of the Turkic expansion they migrated into western Siberia and further into the Trans-Volga region, enventually occupying a vast territory in the Eurasian steppe, stretching from north of the Aral Sea westward to the region north of the Black Sea, establishing a state known as Desht-i Qipchaq. The Cumans expanded further westward, by the 11th century reaching Moldavia, Wallachia, and part of Transylvania.

In the late 11th and early 12th centuries, the Cumans and Kipchaks became involved in various conflicts with the Byzantines, Kievan Rus, the Hungarians (Cuman involvement only), and the Pechenegs (Cuman involvement only), allying themselves with one or the other side at different times. In 1089, they were defeated by Ladislaus I of Hungary, again by Knyaz Vladimir Monomakh of the Rus in the 12th century. They sacked Kiev in 1203.

They were finally crushed by the Mongols in 1241. . . .

I've boldfaced the references to the Polovtsi's encounters with the Kievan Rus, because a Kievan Rus is exactly what our Prince (or Knyaz) Igor is. More about this tomorrow.

Before we proceed with tonight's preview business, last night I promised a performance of the Polovtsian Dances "by an even cannier orchestral wizard" than Sir Thomas Beecham, whose rousing performance we heard then. Here it is. Tell me that the sultriness of the opening doesn't waft right into the realm of the erotic.

BORODIN: Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances (with chorus)
[For sung texts, see above.]
Royal Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, cond. Decca, recorded June 1969


FOR MORE OF THE SHOWTUNE-IFICATION
OF THE POLOVTSIAN DANCES, CLICK HERE

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Sunday Classics preview: From Borodin to Broadway (1)

Alfie Boe, then about to appear in an English National Opera production of the Borodin-based Wright and Forrest musical Kismet, sings "Stranger in Paradise" on a June 2007 edition of ITV's Parkinson "chat show," hosted by Michael Parkinson.

by Ken

We're headed, let me say at the outset, for Borodin's one and only (and at that seriously unfinished) opera, Prince Igor, and I'm not sure that our previews have all that much to do with where we're going. But it still seems the obvious way to approach this unusual composer.

For their 1953 Broadway musical Kismet, the theatrical song-writing team of Robert Wright and George {"Chet") Forrest "liberated" all the tunes from Borodin. I assume everyone knows the source of the show's most famous tune. If not, or for that matter if so, here it is:

BORODIN: Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances

Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, cond. RCA/BMG, recorded June 20-21, 1957


TO TREAD MORE OF THE PATH FROM
BORODIN TO BROADWAY, CLICK HERE

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[9/11/2011] Sunday Classics: Prince Igor doesn't know that what's happening to him is History (continued)

BORODIN: Prince Igor: Prologue, Opening scene

A square in Putivl. The Prince's army is ready to start a campaign. People. Prince Igor and the other princes ceremonially walk out of the cathedral.

THE PEOPLE sing a chorus of praise to the sun and to their glorious princes -- and, while they're at it, most everyone else on the planet.

PRINCE IGOR: We go into battle against the enemies of the Rus.
THE PEOPLE: May God grant you victory over the enemies! Hoy!
PRINCE IGOR: We go against the Polovtsian khans.
THE PEOPLE: Wash away this outrage to Rus with enemy blood! Hoy!
BOYARS: Crush the enemy as you did at Oltava.
Crush them as you did at Varl.
Put them to flight as you did at Merl.
May the armies of the Polovtsian khans be annihilated!
PRINCE IGOR: We set out with faith in God to fight!
THE PEOPLE: God will help you!
The Lord God help you!
God will help you!
God will direct you in victory for Rus
and the enemy's destruction.
PRINCE IGOR: I want to break my spear
for the glory of Rus in distant Polovtsian steppes
and to die there in honor or conquer
the enemy and return with honor!
THE PEOPLE: God will grant you victory etc.
PRINCE IGOR: Princes, it is time for us to set off.
[It grows dark.]
PRINCE GALITSKY (Igor's brother-in-law):
What does this mean?
See, the sunlight grows dim.
THE PEOPLE: Oh, it is a sign from God, Prince!
VLADIMIR IGOREVICH (Igor's son): And like the moon, the sun
appears as a sickle in the sky!
THE PEOPLE: Oh, this sign bodes no good, Prince!
[It is now very dark.]
Stars are shining in broad daytime!
The earth is shrouded in awful darkness!
Night has fallen!
Oh, do not go on your campaign, Prince!
Oh, do not go! Oh, do not go!
[It gradually becomes lighter.]
PRINCE IGOR: This is a divine omen from our Lord,
whether for good or evil, we will see.
None may evade his destiny.
What have we to fear?
For a just cause we will fight:
for our faith, for our country, for Rus!
How can we turn back without fighting,
thus clearing the way for the enemy?
BOYARS: That is as may be, Prince, but nevertheless
it would be better not to go, better not to go.
PRINCE IGOR: Brothers, let us mount our proud steeds
and set off to see the blue sea.
[It is now quite light again.]
THE PEOPLE: Glory, glory, glory, glory!

Dushan Popovich (b), Prince Igor; Zharko Tzveych (bs), Prince Galitsky; Noni Zhunetz (t), Vladimir Igorevich; Belgrade National Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Oscar Danon, cond. Decca, recorded 1955

As the curtain rises [9:49] the Putivl crowd does its part, and [13:55] Prince Igor does his part, sounding appropriately brave, humble, and resolute. Then, just as Igor tells his commanders it's time to set off, the whole scene is suddenly shrouded in darkness. It's a solar eclipse, of course, but you know how superstitious those old-time people could be with those inexplicable natural phenomena.

Note that as the sun returns, and Igor puts a brave face on it, but I think everyone knows that something is wrong -- perhaps not just as a consequence of the eclipse, but in line with a feeling that something in the general culture has changed. And this might be a good time to note that while every English translation of the libretto I've seen routinely translates the invariable Russian "Rus" as "Russia" and "Russian," I'm sorry, it isn't, and this manages to miss a crucial point. This isn't Russia or Russians we're dealing with, but their nearest ancestors, the Rus of the principalities surrounding Kiev.

Last night, you may recall, in our Wikipedia reading on the Kipchaks, the most common version of what the people known in Russian and Ukrainian as Polovtsi called themselves, who "originated in the Kimek Khanate" and "conquered large parts of the Eurasian steppe during the Turkic expansion of the 11th to 12th centuries together with the Cumans," we read that among the Europeans they grappled with were the Kievan Rus, that they were defeated by Knyaz [Prince] Vladimir Monomakh of the Rus in the 12th century," and that "they sacked Kiev in 1203."

Our opera takes place in 1185, and what neither Igor nor the people of Putivl know is that their world has changed, and the clock is ticking for the Rus. Let's listen again to the Overture and the opening scene of the Prologue, from the best-conducted performance of the opera I've heard.

Prince Igor:
Overture
Prologue, Opening scene
Boris Martinovich (b), Prince Igor; Nikola Ghiuselev (bs), Prince Galitsky; Kaludi Kaludov (t), Vladimir Igorevich; Sofia National Opera Chorus, Sofia Festival Orchestra, Emil Tchakarov, cond. Sony, recorded July 14-20, 1987

WHETHER THE ECLIPSE WAS A SIGN FROM GOD
OR FROM HISTORY, IT DOES PROVE A BAD SIGN

Instead of fighting heroically and conquering, as Igor no doubt expected, he and his men were promptly routed by the ferocious Polovtsian khan, Gzak, whom we see briefly in the opera but never hear. Gzak is very much the scourging terror imagined by the Rus. But there are two khans leading this westward expedition, and other one, in whose captivity Igor falls, is nothing like the Rus imaginings. Khan Konchak is scarily forceful, yes, but he's also wise, gracious, respectful, and even -- horror! -- quite charming.

I think this would be a good time to hear Konchak, in nocturnal colloquy with Igor. His aria is understandably much beloved of Russian basses. (AFTERTHOUGHT: Probably I should have said something like "basses active in the Russian repertory." Except for Vladimir Ognovienko, one of our Galitskys, we're not hearing any actual Russian basses today. We've got a Yugoslav and a bunch of Bulgarians.)

Prince Igor: Act II, Konchak's aria

KHAN KONCHAK: Are you in good health, Prince?
Why are you in low spirits, my guest?
What is on your mind? Have the nets been torn?
Or aren't the hawks fierce enough to catch a bird in flight?
Take mine!
PRINCE IGOR: The net is whole,
and the hawks trustworthy,
but the falcon will not live in captivity.
KHAN KONCHAK: Have you always regarded yourself as a captive?
For you haven't been living as a captive, but as a guest of mine.
You were wounded in the battle of Kayala
and captured along with your army.
You were given to me as a hostage,
but you are my guest instead.
You are respected as a khan;
all I have is at your service;
Your son is with you, and so is your army.
You live as a khan here; you live as I do.
Admit it, do captives live like this? Like this?
Aria
Oh no, no, my friend, no, Prince --
you are not my captive, you are my dear guest!
Listen, m friend, believe me. I admire you, Prince,
for your bravery and fearlessness in battle.
I respect you, Prince.
You have always been dear to me; be assured of that.
No, I am not your enemy here. I am your host.
You are my dear guest.
So tell me what you dislike, tell me.
If you want to, take any horse of mine, take any tent.
Take my cherished sword, the sword of my forefathers!
I have shed much enemy blood with this sword.
Many a time in bloody battles
my sword has evoked mortal terror.
Yes, Prince, all here, all here are subordinate to the khan:
I have long been a terror to all. I am daring. I am brave.
I know no fear. All fear me. All here tremble.
But you were not afraid of me;
you did not beg for mercy, Prince.
Oh, not your enemy,
I would like to be your faithful ally,
Your trustworthy friend, your brother, believe me!
Do you want a captive from the distant sea,
a slave woman from beyond the Caspian Sea?
If you want one, just say the word.
I will give you one! I own countless beauties:
Their hair falls on their shoulders like snakes,
their misty black eyes,
looking tenderly and passionately
from under their dark brows.
Why are you silent?
If you want to, choose any one of them!

[Igor's reply omitted; jumps then to the aria] Boris Christoff (bs), Khan Konchak; SWF (Southwest German Radio) Symphony Orchestra (Baden-Baden), Ernest Bour, cond. Melodram, recorded live, 1951
Nicolai Ghiaurov (bs), Khan Konchak; London Symphony Orchestra, Edward Downes, cond. Decca, recorded 1965

But Konchak isn't the opera's only bass. Borodin has clearly set up a deliberate contrast between him and the bass we've heard earlier, Prince Vladimir Galitsky, Igor's brother-in-law, the brother of his young second wife, Yaroslavna. "Appalling" doesn't begin to describe Galitsky, who has, de facto, been left in charge of the principality in Igor's absence. (You'll notice that he's not along on the military campaign. Hmm.) Fortunately, Galitsky describes himself pretty well in his aria, sung in the scene following the departure of Igor and his war party.

Prince Igor: Act I, Galitsky's aria

THE PRINCE'S COURTIERS: Have you enjoyed yourself, Prince?
GALITSKY: I make no secret of it,
I hate boredom, and not a single day
would I live like Prince Igor.
I love to soothe my heart
with princely entertainment.
I love a merry life.
Oh, if I only were the prince of Putivl,
I would never grieve,
I would know how to live!
All day long I would govern
and solve any problem
while feating and drinking.
To all I would dispense justice,
while pouring them a drink!
Sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, carouse!

At night I would call upon the fairest maidens.
They would play and sing praises to me, their prince.
The prettiest blondes would stay with me.
All night I would love them, hey!
If only I had this chance,
I would freely drink, play and dance.
You would never see me bored.
I would know exactly what to do first:
organize the principality
and monopolize the state's treasury.
I would live as I please.
What else is power for? Hey!
If I were to become the prince,
all would get what they are due,
me as well as you.
And they would never forget us!
Hey, hey, hey, carouse!

Nicolai Ghiaurov (bs), Prince Galitsky; London Symphony Orchestra, Edward Downes, cond. Decca, recorded 1965
Vladimir Ognovienko (bs), Prince Galitsky; Kirov Theater Orchestra, Valery Gergiev, cond. Philips, recorded October 1993

It seems unlikely that Igor is unaware of his brother-in-law's character, though he may or may not sense a connection between it and the looming eclipse of the Kievan Rus culture. To return now to Igor's monologue, it should be noted that it actually precedes the scene with Konchak in Act II which we've already heard, but if anything this further illumination of his captor's character likely confuses Igor even more. Let's listen to the monologue again, and hear our prince struggling with demons that he really has no way of knowing are the March of History. It's for me such a powerful piece that I've yielded to the temptation to throw in a recording from an unexpected source.

Prince Igor: Act II, Igor's aria

No sleep, no rest for my tormented soul!
The night brings me no comfort or oblivion.
I relive the past alone, in the quiet of the night,
and the threat of the divine omen
and the celebrations for our military achievements,
my victory over the enemy,
and the pitiful end to military glory,
the defeat and the sounds and my capture,
and the death of all my soldiers,
killed in honest battle for their homeland.
All has been lost: my honor and my glory.
I have disgraced my native land!
Captivity, infamous captivity . . .
such is my destiny from now on,
and the thought that I alone am to blame!
Oh, give me, give me freedom . . .
I will succeed in atoning for my disgrace,
I will save my honor and my glory,
I will save the Rus from the enemy!
You alone, my dear love, you alone will not blame me.
with your tender heart
you will understand everything!
You will forgive me everything!
From your high tower you have worn your eyes out watching,
you await your beloved day and night,
and you shed bitter tears.
How could I spend day after day in fruitless captivity,
aware that the enemy is preying on the Rus?
The enemy is like a terrible beast
The Rus moan in the grip of its mighty claws
and lay the blame for this on me!
Oh give, give me freedom,
I will succeed in atoning for my disgrace.
I will save the Rus from the enemy!
No sleep, no rest for my tormented soul!
The night brings me no hope of escape.
I relive yet again the past alone in the quiet of the night . . .
And there is no way out for me!
Oh, I am so miserable, so miserable!
It is so hard to see my impotence!

Mikhail Kit (b), Prince Igor; Kirov Theater Orchestra, Valery Gergiev, cond. Philips, recorded October 1993
[in French] Michel Dens (b), Prince Igor; Paris Opera Orchestra, Pierre Dervaux, cond. Pathé, recorded in the early 1950s (?)

MEANWHILE, FAR TO THE NORTHEAST OF THE KIEVAN RUS
POWER CENTER, IN A PROVINCIAL BURG CALLED MOSCOW . . .

A new, hungry force is rising. In time, and in the power vacuum that follows the fall from glory of the Kievan Rus, this Muscovite principality will become a force to be reckoned with. The Rurik dynasty of Grand Princes of Russia will be established in 1283, and the first Ivan (1288-1340) will accede to the title in 1303. In time will come Ivan IV (1530-1584), known to history as Ivan Grozny, Ivan the Terrible, who will become Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533 on his way to being crowned the first Tsar of All the Russias.


RETURN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE POST

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[9/10/2011] Sunday Classics preview: From Borodin to Broadway (2) (continued)

The young George Forrest and Robert Wright

Tonight we're going to hear two more numbers fromKismet which are specifically Polovtsian Dances-derived. So first let's do a quick refresher, with the Overture and an orchestra-only performance of the dances.

BORODIN: Prince Igor:
Overture
Polovtsian Dances
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts Symphonique de Paris, René Leibowitz, cond. Reader's Digest/Chesky, recorded June 1960

Oh, and maybe one quick refresher of the Kismet Overture.

WRIGHT AND FORREST: Kismet: Overture
Mantovani Orchestra, Mantovani, cond. Decca, 1963 studio recording


NOW (FINALLY) FOR OUR KISMET SONGS . . .

(1) "Not Since Nineveh"

Without delving too deeply into the plot of Kismet, we can say that is an intended show-stopper sung by the favored wife of the comic villain Wazir, Lulame, in which she functions more or less as a de facto Baghdad Chamber of Commerce rep.

Let's start with a performance (from the Capitol LP of Kismet excerpts we sampled last night overfeaturing Gordon MacRae,as both the rascally impecunious poet Hajj and the dashing young Caliph who sings "Strangers in Paradise" with Hajj's daughter, Marsinah), spiffily sung but with no sense at all of time or place or atmosphere. The show's subtitle is "A Musical Arabian Night," which could no doubt be suggested musically in all sorts of ways. I don't hear any of them here. (Again, my apologies for the LP surface noise audible on all the Kismet excerpts.)

Bunny Bishop and Richard Levitt, vocals; Roger Wagner Chorale, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Van Alexander, cond. Capitol/EMI, 1964 studio recording

A performance like that might well stop a show, but it would be a show that's just about vocal pyrotechnics. Here's a big step up, from the 1965 Music Theater of Lincoln Center recording, for which Anne Jeffreys as Lulame got leading-lady billing rather than the more expected Marsinah. (Last night we heard the Marsinah, Lee Venora, and tenor Richard Banke as the Caliph give a quite gorgeous performance of "Strangers in Paradise.") Note that Henry Calvin, our Wazir, was -- like the star of the 1965 Music Theater of Lincoln Center production, Alfred Drake -- a veteran of the original 1953 production, from which we'll hear him again in a moment.

Anne Jeffreys and Henry Calvin, vocals; chorus and orchestra of the 1965 Music Theater of Lincoln Center production, Franz Allers, cond. RCA, recorded June 1965

There's more to be had here, though. Let's listen to the original Lulame, Joan Diener. I'm guessing she stopped the show pretty regularly with it.

Joan Diener and Henry Calvin, vocals; Original Broadway Cast recording, Louis Adrian, cond. Columba/Sony, recorded Dec. 6, 1953

The thing about Diener is that she had two essentially unrelated voices, from the two vocal registers that in Broadway terms have often been known as "belt" and "legit." And when Decca engaged Regina Resnik to sing Lulame in its all-star Phase-4 disc of Kismet excerpts with Mantovani and His Orchestra, it must have occurred to someone that Resnik was a recently converted dramatic mezzo-soprano with a solid decade of high-level professional singing as a soprano. (But what is that she's singing -- "Babbalin"?)

Regina Resnik and Ian Wallace, vocals; Mike Sammes Singers, Mantovani Orchestra, Mantovani, cond. Decca, 1963 studio recording

A bonus "Not Since Nineveh" (Sorry, I couldn't resist)

(2) "He's in Love"

Wright and Forrest were understandably touchy about their reputation resting so heavily on musicals that "borrowed" other composers' music, but insisted that it's actually harder than writing your own, because you have to understand the music you're reusing from the inside. I think the driving energy of "He's in Love" is an excellent example -- the energy serves a totally different purpose but I think remarkably retains the driving surge of the original.

Hal Hackett, vocal; Original Broadway Cast recording, Louis Adrian, cond. Columba/Sony, recorded Dec. 6, 1953
Ian Wallace, vocal; Mike Sammes Singers, Mantovani Orchestra, Mantovani, cond. Decca, 1963 studio recording
Albert Toigo, vocal; chorus and orchestra of the 1965 Music Theater of Lincoln Center production, Franz Allers, cond. RCA, recorded June 1965


IN TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS POST

In Prince Igor, Borodin attempted something highly unusual: not a "historical opera," really, but an opera about history, in which we see the gallant Igor struggle against what he doesn't understand is history happening to him.


RETURN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE POST

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[9/9/2011] Sunday Classics preview: From Borodin to Broadway (1) (continued)

Seiji Ozawa conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in the "Polovtsian Dances" from Borodin's Prince Igor.


We'll talk more about the strange history of Prince Igor -- over which Borodin (1833-1887), by profession a highly respected chemist, toiled for oodles of years in his spare time (when he did all his composing; he also wrote the libretto for Igor) without really coming close to finishing. The story goes that he had played the unwritten-down Overture often enough at gatherings of his friends that after his death his composer friend Alexander Glazunov was able to write it down from memory. By now it should begin to sound famliar.

BORODIN: Prince Igor: Overture

Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, cond. RCA/BMG, recorded June 20-21, 1957

And by now so too should the Overture to Kismet begin to sound familiar.

TECHNICAL NOTE RE. ALL THE KISMET RECORDINGS we're going to hear tonight and tomorrow night: They're all from my LPs, and while I toiled to remove as many pops and clicks as I could, you'll still hear LP surface noise. But I'm not crazy enough about Kismet to invest in CDs (even where available).

WRIGHT AND FORREST: Kismet: Overture

Although the Polovtsian Dances were only one of many Borodin sources tapped for the tunes of Kismet, with the dances under our belt, the show's overture should already sound familiar. Actually, we're going to hear two overtures. This first one, made up principally of Polovtsian material, was used for the 1965 Music Theater of Lincoln Center production.

1965 Music Theater of Lincoln Center recording, Franz Allers, cond. RCA, recorded June 1965

Whereas here is the original overture:

Orchestra, Van Alexander, cond. Capitol, 1964 studio recording

To return to what Wright and Forrest made of this particular Polovtsian Dance. It's easy enough to strip "Stranger in Paradise" down to a solo number, but properly speaking it's a duet. It's the first meeting, in a Baghdad of the imagination, of the lovely young daughter of the scheming poet Hajj -- another of the roles created by Broadway's great baritone Alfred Drake -- and a handsome young Caliph who's disguised as a gardener.

WRIGHT AND FORREST: Kismet: "Stranger in Paradise"

We start with two recordings of interest, though of quite different kinds of interest. I think most listeners will prefer this version from the Original Broadway Cast recording, especially for the work of the young Richard Kiley as the Caliph. Already we can hear that Kiley is really more a baritone than (like most later Caliphs) a tenor, and while we've got a couple of really terrific tenors coming up, fine as they are, there's a certain basic vocal impact they can't make. Doretta, the original Marsinah, isn't exactly chopped liver either.

Doretta Morrow and Richard Kiley, vocals; Original Broadway Cast recording, Louis Adrian, cond. Columbia/Sony, recorded Dec. 6, 1953

Our second "Stranger" is notable for some handsome straight-out singing. There's no doubt that Gordon MacRae was a baritone, and a very good one. In this not terribly flavorful (and not very full) Capitol representation of Kismet he sang Caliph in addition to Hajj. He's paired here with a clearly big-time soprano in Dorothy Kirsten, but she sounds kind of long in the tooth for the blossoming young maiden, and I can't say that on either part the performance soars.

Dorothy Kirsten and Gordon MacRae, vocals; orchestra, Van Alexander, cond. Capitol, 1964 studio recording

Now we've got two recordings of genuine "wow" caliber, I think. As noted above we have two really fine tenors, and they're paired with two genuinely outstanding but different sopranos, Decca's Adele Leigh is fuller-voiced and more vixenish, RCA's Lee Venora tenderer and more vulnerable. Put me down for "both. "(A word of warning about the "acoustic" of the Decca Phase-4 Kismet recording, with its swimmy (and presumably fake) echo. I tend to think of Phase-4 recordings as acoustically dry, which makes me even more suspicious about the echo. The recording was made in London's Kingsway Hall, and I don't recall ever hearing a recording made in Kingsway that's notable for any kind of echo, let alone this kind.)

Adele Leigh and Kenneth McKellar, vocals; Mantovani Orchestra, Mantovani, cond. Decca, 1963 studio recording
Lee Venora and Richard Banke, vocals; 1965 Music Theater of Lincoln Center production, Franz Allers, cond. RCA, recorded June 1965

Finally we're going to take one last pass at the Polovtsian Dances -- for tonight, at least, but this time with the original choral parts in the dances that have them. You'll note that the tune we know as "Stranger in Paradise" was in fact originally sung in the opera (a lot of the Borodin tunes pressed into service for the show weren't), though what was sung was rather different.

BORODIN: Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances (with chorus)

This is music tailor-made for the fertile re-creative imagination of Sir Thomas Beecham. (On CD it has been coupled quite happily with Sir Thomas's properly legendary recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.) But tomorrow night we're going to hear the dances played by an even cannier orchestral wizard.

SLAVEWOMEN: Fly on the wings of the wind
to our native land, dear song of ours --
there, where we have sung you at liberty,
where we felt so free in singing you.
There under the hot sky
the air is full of bliss,
there to the sound of the sea
the mountains doze in the clouds.
There the sun shines so brightly,
bathing the native mountains in light.
Splendid roses blossom in the valleys,
and nightingales sing in the green forests,
and sweet grapes grow.
You are free there, song --
fly home!

POLOVTSI: Sing songs of praise to the Khan! Sing!
Praise the power and valor of the Khan!
Praise the glorious Khan!
He is glorious, our Khan!
In the brilliance of his glory,
the Khan is equal to the sun!
There is non equal to the Khan in glory!
None!
The Khan, female slaves praise the Khan,
their Khan!

[Translation from the Sony Prince Igor booklet -- I can't find a translator credit.]

Beecham Choral Society, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham, cond. EMI, recorded Nov. 10, 1956


A BORODIN BONUS

The Fiedler-Boston Pops recordings of the Prince Igor Overture and the Polovtsian Dances come from an exceptionally pleasant RCA Living Stereo CD of charismatic Russian music rather unfortunately called Russian Caviar (the title of the principal LP from which the CD is drawn). I listened to the whole thing while I was extracting the Prince Igor music, and was struck by the remarkable beauty of Fiedler's performance of the little Borodin symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia, so I made an audio file of that, with no particular use in mind. As you may know, I don't like letting perfectly good audio files go to waste, so here it is.

BORODIN: In the Steppes of Central Asia

Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, cond. RCA/BMG, recorded June 20-21, 1957


IN TOMORROW NIGHT'S PREVIEW --

We're going to stick with the Borodin-to-Broadway connection a bit more, in particular the Polovtsian Dances, before we move on Sunday to Borodin's frustrating but fascinating masterpiece, the opera Prince Igor.


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