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Classical Court From Perotin to Prokofiev (and beyond), performed by Caruso to Khatia, it's all here. |
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Classical Court From Perotin to Prokofiev (and beyond), performed by Caruso to Khatia, it's all here. |
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I would never have believed it, but there are at least five video productions of this opera now available on either YouTube, DVD, or blu-ray. In chronological order, they are:
- Soviet Union, Bolshoi Theater, 1980, conducted by Yuri Simonov - Traditional Production, Russian only (on DVD and YouTube), no English subtitles on YouTube (although IIRC, the DVD did/does have English subtitles).
- Russian Federation, Kirov Opera, 1994, conducted by Valery Gergiev - Traditional Production, Russian (on DVD and YouTube) with English subtitles.
- Russian Federation, Helikon Opera, 2016, conducted by Vladimir Ponkin - Eurotrash Production, Russian only (on YouTube) with no English subtitles.
- Opera Vlaanderen, 2017, conducted by Dmitri Jurowski - extreme Eurotrash Production, Russian (on YouTube) with English subtitles.
- Russian Federation, Bolshoi Theater, 2020, conducted by Timur Zangiev - mildly Eurotrash Production, Russian (on DVD and blu-ray) with English subtitles.
The last of these productions is the one under consideration. It's got the best picture and the best sound quality - even though the sound is only 2Ch (grr!). The most lavish productions seem to be the oldest (1980 Bolshoi and the 1994 Kirov) - the more recent productions, aside from their Eurotrash influences, seem to be eager to cut costs, which is a shame. The new 2020 Bolshoi production is reasonably good in this respect however.
The opera consists of seven scenes, and I'll start with an overview of the action, scene-by-scene:
Scene 0: This "prologue" is found only in the new Bolshoi production, and consists of a spoken dialogue between the three main attendees of "The Sadko Amusement Park" and a park representative. These visitors later assume the roles of the main characters in Sadko The Opera (as we know it): Sadko himself, Princess Volkhova, and Lubava - Sadko's wife. The park representative wants to know what kind of "experience" each of them is looking for during their visit. The Sadko Amusement Park is similar to Disneyland, in that it consists of various "lands" (which in this case correspond to the actual scenes of the opera):
Scene 1 ("Merchants Guild Land"): The prosperous Merchants Guild members of the city of Novgorod enjoy the "good life" with feasting and general carousing. Sadko - not one of the guild members - disrespects them by singing a song about what he would do if he had all their money. They throw him out of the feasting hall. One of the main Eurotrash aspects of the 2020 Bolshoi production on blu-ray is that Sadko and his wife, Lubava, do not dress for their parts in the "story" and remain in their "civilian visitor clothes" throughout the opera.
Scene 2 ("Lake Ilmen Land"): Having been thrown out of the guild hall, Sadko is feeling down in the dumps and sings a song where he accompanies himself with his gusli (a plucked string instrument, kind of like a zither, which straps over the player's shoulders - Rimsky assigns the harp to convey its sound). Suddenly, about a dozen magical swans fly by. They are really Swan Maidens who assume their girlish forms at certain times (kind of like in Swan Lake - but this is by no means an evil spell in Rimsky's opera). Their leader is Princess Volkhova, daughter of the Sea King. Although she too is only a "civilian" in the park, Volkhova is dressed in flowing robes as befits her royal status. She has fallen for Sadko (because of his singing) and promises to help him catch golden fish, allowing him to become rich beyond his wildest dreams. For his part, Sadko is totally enchanted by Volkhova's beauty, and kind of forgets that he's already married. (Now, isn't that just like a guy?? I swear!)
Scene 3 ("Sadko Land"): Ms. Sadko has been waiting late into the night for Sadko to return home. When he tries to sneak in, the long-suffering Ms. Sadko springs upon him and asks, "Where have you been all night??". But Sadko pushes her away, telling her, "I'm going out to seek my fortune and glory - don't wait up for me!"
Scene 4 ("Novgorod Market Land"): It's the next day, and Sadko is at the market square in Novgorod. Some of the merchants are there too, and they're walking around heaping scorn on Sadko, calling him a good-for-nothing. Sadko can't take the abuse any longer, and says to them, "Oh yeah? I bet you're all too AFRAID to take up my wager!". "What's your wager?", they ask. "I'll bet my life against all your wares that I'll catch three golden fish right now!", Sadko replies. The merchants see their chance finally to be rid of Sadko forever, and gladly accept the terms of his bet. After all, who's going to catch magical golden fish out of Lake Ilmen? But Sadko casts his net and, just as Princess Volkhova had foretold, catches magical golden fish with golden coins streaming out of their mouths. The merchants are dumbfounded (and ruined!), but Sadko forgives them and asks them to help him in his mercantile plans to obtain exotic wares from all over the world. Three "guest" merchants from other parts of the world (the Viking lands, India - ever hear Rimsky's "Song of India"? This is where it comes from! - and Venice) try to entice Sadko to sail to their regions of the world and trade with them. Sadko then sails out of the harbor, leaving his wife behind to fret. (You can probably see that the role of Lubava is kind of ungrateful for the mezzo who sings it.)
Scene 5 ("Fleet Land"): Things aren't working out as Sadko anticipated. He's been out with his fleet of ships, trading with other countries - but now his ship is stuck in the doldrums. And BTW, he's been out on the seas for years now - whatever happened to Princess Volkhova? Wasn't she sweet on him? Finally, Sadko can't take it anymore and he orders his his men to draw lots - the loser will be cast overboard as an offering to the Sea King in order to get the ship moving again. And the loser is. . . Sadko himself. He orders his men to cast him overboard, and he sinks down. . . down. . . down.
Scene 6 ("Underwater Kingdom Land"): But wait! He can still breathe somehow - and he can hear a magical voice. He lands on the bottom of the sea - and who should be there but. . . Princess Volkhova! Hey - this is more like it! She still loves him and asks him to sing for her father. The Sea King is on Sadko's vibe too and tells Sadko, "You can marry my daughter - and the wedding will be right now!" Sadko (having forgotten about his existing wife yet again) is overjoyed, as is Princess Volkhova. The festivities start small, but continue to gather in force - so much so that gigantic waves are created from all the celebrating, wrecking the ships up on the sea's surface. Everything is getting wildly out of hand. "That's enough!", says the Old Pilgrim (who appears out of nowhere) - "No more fun for you, Sea King! You're never going to be a threat to pious Christian sailors ever again! And as for you, Volkhova, you're going to be turned into a river connecting Novgorod with the open sea! Now get outta here - and take Sadko with you!"
Scene 7 ("Outskirts of Novgorod Land"): Volkhova has whisked Sadko away back to the vicinity of Novgorod, and sings a lullaby to him (full of Rimsky's famous "magical" chord progressions). After all, Sadko has had a pretty big day - and was that all it was? Maybe he wasn't gone for years after all. At the end of the lullaby, Princess Volkhova disappears and becomes a river, just as the Old Pilgrim foretold. Finally, Sadko is awoken by Lubava's wailing. He tells her, "Hey - I really didn't mean any of this - take me back, honey!" And darned if she doesn't do just that! The rest of the town arrives and Sadko is once again proclaimed a citizen in good standing. With Sadko seen as somehow responsible for the new river route to the open sea (the better for trading!), there is general rejoicing by one and all.
[Part II to be posted later]
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Topic - Finally, as promised. . . an overview (only Part I) of the new, mildly Eurotrash Sadko blu-ray - Chris from Lafayette 01:27:07 12/20/21 (0)
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