The Tsar's Bride

Except in Russia, the operas of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov have never achieved the repertory status of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, or Borodin's Prince Igor. But this excellent 2013 Staatsoper Berlin production of Rimsky-Korsakov's 1899 opera proves to be well worth experiencing. Loosely based on an historical incident, the story serves up a complicated romantic roundelay that ends tragically. In need of a wife, Tsar Ivan the Terrible chooses the beautiful Marfa, although she loves the naïve Lykov. Lustful Gryaznoy, one of Ivan's henchmen, also desires Marfa for himself and secures a love potion to win her. But Lyubasha, Gryaznoy's mistress, poisons her rival, and Ivan then executes Lykov—whom the tsar blames for Marfa's fatal condition—after which Gryaznoy kills Lyubasha (like I said, complicated). Director Dmitri Tcherniakov has devised a rather strange vision for his modernized telling: the tsar is actually a fictional puppet of the true governors (including Gryaznoy), media masters who have created him via special effects for TV appearances and to conduct a public competition to determine his bride. While the concept sounds patently absurd, it actually works surprisingly well, especially given that the musical side here is superb. Daniel Barenboim leads the Staatskapelle Berlin and Staatsopernchor in a rich reading of the exquisitely orchestrated score, while the singing is powerfully idiomatic, with mezzo Anita Rachvelishvili standing out as the vengeful Lyubasha, although Olga Peretyatko (Marfa), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Gryaznoy), and Pavel Cernoch (Lykov) are not far behind. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, this is a fine introduction to a neglected Russian masterwork. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)