PROKOFIEV

Betrothal in a Monastery

 

Viascheslav Voynarovskiy - Don Jerome

Andrey Breus - Ferdinand

Lyubov Petrova - Louisa

Alexandra Durseneva - The Duenna

Vsevolod Grivnov - Don Antonio

Nino Surguladze - Clara

Sergei Alexashkin - Mendoza

Alan Opie - Don Carlos

 

The Glyndebourne Chorus

London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vladimir Jurowski

 

Total playing time: 135:31

 

Prokofiev composed his last complete opera, Betrothal in a Monastery, as the Nazis were invading Russia and the country descended into a period of political repression and terror. However, the opera, a romantic comedy loosely based on Richard Sheridan’s 1775 play, The Duenna, was according to Shostakovich ‘one of Prokofiev’s most radiant and buoyant works’. Betrothal in a Monastery highlights the cultural divisions between the faded glamour of the impoverished aristocracy and the new wealth of the lower classes. Ostensibly the plot concerns the trials of two pairs of lovers, Louisa and Antonio, and Clara and Ferdinand, but ultimately it is the fishmonger, Mendoza, who in the great tradition of the anti-hero, wins our empathy.

 

The predominantly Russian cast is led by Viacheslav Voynarovskiy, with Sergei Alexashkin as Mendoza. Alexandra Durseneva sings The Duenna, with the two sets of lovers sung by Vsevolod Grivnov (Don Antonio), Lyubov Petrova (Louisa), Andrey Breus (Ferdinand), and Nino Surguladze (Clara) making her notable Glyndebourne debut. Established UK artists Alan Opie (Don Carlos) and Jonathan Veira (Father Augustine) make up the cast.

 

‘It’s a score that Vladimir Jurowski plainly loves, and he coaxes and cajoles a fabulous range of seductive and coquettish and downright bawdy colours from the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It can never have sounded better.’ The Independent, 2006

 

‘The performance is first-rate… A flawless cast.’ The Daily Telegraph, 2006

 

‘The singers all relish Prokofiev’s infectious melodies … but the outstanding performance is Nino Surguladze as Clara, who also has Prokofiev’s finest music to sing.’ The Guardian, 2006

 

‘Thanks to Jurowski’s rapport with the London Philharmonic, the music sounds not just mercurial but also good enough to listen to without stage pictures…’ Financial Times, 2006

 

Recorded live at Glyndebourne on 12, 15 & 22 August 2006. A recording of a rarely performed work with consummate Russian conductor and cast.

 

Luxury 256-page hard-bound book packaging contains essay by Harlow Robinson, synopsis in English, French and German, and full libretto in Cyrillic, English, French and German.

 

Glyndebourne 2cds GFOCD00206