2*DVD9 - NTSC - 16:9 - All Regions - Russian - Synopsis English - LPCM, DTS - 288min.
Subtitles: German, English, Italian, Spanish, French, Chinese
Philips 075096-9, released 2003
Actors: Vladimir Ognovenko, Anna Netrebko, Larissa Diadkova, Gennady Bezzubenkov, Galina Gorchakova
Directors: Valery Gergiev, Lotfi Mansouri
Glinka’s opera Ruslan and Lyudmila is regarded as the first truly Russian opera. It established the tradition of the great Russian grand operas that followed from Moussorgsky’s Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, and Borodin’s Prince Igor to the operas of Tchaikovsky. It was described by Tchaikovsky as the ‘Tsar of Operas’, and it has since occupied a special and beloved position in the hearts of opera lovers. This Kirov Opera staging (produced in association with the San Francisco Opera) is a meticulous recreation of the historic original, a spectacular piece of stagecraft from the height of Russia’s pre-Revolutionary artistic ‘golden age’.
Plus: "Introducing Ruslan" (18) presents maestro Valery Gergiev discussing this seminal Russian masterpiece
"Catching Up With Music" (59 mins) follows Gergiev's frenetic career as he combines international appearances with running one of the world's top opera companies, the Kirov in St. Petersburg --classical.net review
