CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

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Boris Godunov - Mussorgsky [1992] (NTSC)

starring: Robert Lloyd, Olga Borodina, Alexei Steblianko, Sergei Leiferkus, Alexander Morosov
directed by: Humphrey Burton

Release Date August 05, 2002
Beautifully sung, very well-acted, superbly directed. You can't go wrong with this recording. Robert Lloyd sings brilliantly and the Tarkovsky direction is of a very high standard. If you love Russian opera, if you just love opera and pageantry, this is a marvellous performance and a very enjoyable entertainment.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

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Ruslan And Lyudmila - Valery Gergiev / KIROV OPERA. [1996] (NTSC)

starring: Vladimir Ognovenko, Anna Netrebko, Mikhail Kit, Larissa Diadkova, Gennady Bezzubenkov
directed by: Hans Hulscher

Release Date May 12, 2003
Beautifully sung, very well-acted, superbly directed. You can't go wrong with this recording. Robert Lloyd sings brilliantly and the Tarkovsky direction is of a very high standard. If you love Russian opera, if you just love opera and pageantry, this is a marvellous performance and a very enjoyable entertainment.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

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Rusalka [2002]

starring: Renée Fleming, Sergej Larin, Larissa Diadkova, Franz Hawlata, Eva Urbanová
directed by: François Roussillon

Release Date February 17, 2004
Beautifully sung, very well-acted, superbly directed. You can't go wrong with this recording. Robert Lloyd sings brilliantly and the Tarkovsky direction is of a very high standard. If you love Russian opera, if you just love opera and pageantry, this is a marvellous performance and a very enjoyable entertainment.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

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Dvorak: Rusalka -- Paris Opera/Conlon

starring: Renee Fleming, Eva Urbanova, Larissa Diadkova, Sergej Larin, Franz Hawlata
directed by: Robert Carsen

Release Date November 03, 2003
Musically this production is alright, but the production bears no relation to the opera of Dvorak. Anyone who wishes to see how it should be staged should watch either of the Czech productions, either the film which is a delight to the eye, or that staged in Prague opera house in 1998. The latter is excellent in every way, and has a very fine bass.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

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Prokofiev - Betrothal In A Monastery [1998]

starring: Marianna Tarasova, Sergei Aleksashkin, Larissa Diadkova, Nikolai Gassiev, Alexander Gergalov
directed by: Aarno Cronvall

Release Date September 19, 2005
Betrothal In A Monastery is a story in the line of Il Barbiere di Siviglia from Rossini and Le Nozze di Figaro from Mozart. The place of acting is also Seville in Spain. It is a funny love story with mistaken identity and a happy ending. The staging is well done. There are no showstopping aria's, but the music supports the play and the singing is well done. Prokofiev wrote this opera in the Soviet Union in the 1940's. Not really a happy time. From the actors only Anna Netrebko is known in the west, but all actors are looking there part. The four stars are because the music is in my opinion not of the same rating as a Mozart or a Verdi.