Jubilee Offer: Patriotic Classics for £2.50 |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Five-Star music, performance and recording, utterly ruined by cheap presentation by Decca
11 May 2010
Format:Audio CD
This bargain boxed set contains six of Prokofiev's operas, (War and Peace, The Love of Three Oranges, The Gambler, Betrothal in a Monastery, Semyon Kotko and The Fiery Angel)and having listened my way through the whole box over the past few weeks, I must say I cannot fault the singing, the playing or the recording. Were there more interest in Prokofiev as a composer these days, then surely Gergiev's project to record them would rank as one of the milestones in recording history. We should be immensely grateful that he has done so, as there is so much fine music in these works, even in the two lesser pieces, The Gambler and Betrothal in a Monastery.
This is a worthy project, and a boxed set that could easily have put Prokofiev much more firmly on the operatic map. It is debatable whether Prokofiev was a natural opera composer or whether he could produce operas for the international repertoire, and my feeling is that his reputation should rest on his ballets, his concertos and his symphonies primarily. But these works are undoubtedly strong enough to survive beyond their own time, and they ought to be better known.
Sadly, Decca have missed a golden opportunity here by providing little more than index points, cast lists and a paltry couple of paragraphs description of the genesis and plot of each opera. I myself knew three of these works before buying this set, and I suspect that would put me in a stronger position to appreciate these works than a lot of people. But with unfamiliar operas like all of these, how on Earth can the ordinary music lover, with little knowledge of the Russian language ever get the best out of the listening experience without a libretto (or at very worst detailed synopses)? Listening to The Gambler, Betrothal, and The Fiery Angel without knowing what the hell is going on has seriously detracted from my enjoyment of the music. I have asked Decca where one might get the librettos, and have had no reply, but it would not do them much harm to put them online, perhaps for a small fee; EMI do in their excellent opera series.
If you know these works, I would expect it might be through the original, more sumptuous releases of these recordings; if not, I would recommend buying those in preference to this all-corners-cut release. A bargain price it may be, but I feel short changed, and I feel that Prokofiev would too.
This is a worthy project, and a boxed set that could easily have put Prokofiev much more firmly on the operatic map. It is debatable whether Prokofiev was a natural opera composer or whether he could produce operas for the international repertoire, and my feeling is that his reputation should rest on his ballets, his concertos and his symphonies primarily. But these works are undoubtedly strong enough to survive beyond their own time, and they ought to be better known.
Sadly, Decca have missed a golden opportunity here by providing little more than index points, cast lists and a paltry couple of paragraphs description of the genesis and plot of each opera. I myself knew three of these works before buying this set, and I suspect that would put me in a stronger position to appreciate these works than a lot of people. But with unfamiliar operas like all of these, how on Earth can the ordinary music lover, with little knowledge of the Russian language ever get the best out of the listening experience without a libretto (or at very worst detailed synopses)? Listening to The Gambler, Betrothal, and The Fiery Angel without knowing what the hell is going on has seriously detracted from my enjoyment of the music. I have asked Decca where one might get the librettos, and have had no reply, but it would not do them much harm to put them online, perhaps for a small fee; EMI do in their excellent opera series.
If you know these works, I would expect it might be through the original, more sumptuous releases of these recordings; if not, I would recommend buying those in preference to this all-corners-cut release. A bargain price it may be, but I feel short changed, and I feel that Prokofiev would too.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Great value, with reservations...
18 Jun 2010
Format:Audio CD
OK, first the pros. The music is pretty fantastic -- at least, if you're a lover of Prokofiev, as I am. No complaints there! The recordings and interpretations by Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Opera & Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre is top-notch. Gergiev is one of my favorite interpreters of Prokofiev. And the value -- 14 CDs featuring six operas, with several of the recordings otherwise out of print -- is pretty extraordinary when you think about it.
Now the cons. You know how the package looks like a crate? Well, that's basically what it is. Only it's coated cardboard, and not particularly sturdy at that. Mine came with unavoidable-looking bends and wrinkles. Inside the box? 14 white paper sleeves to hold the discs, which are unceremoniously stacked together in a pile. Kind of disappointing. (Couldn't they have at least color coded them by opera?) There's a thin plastic "window" in the front of each sleeve so you can see which disc is which. There's also a booklet inside that includes a quick two paragraphs of liner notes on each opera, written by Andrew Huth, alongside the usual recording credits and track listings.
Notice anything missing? NO LIBRETTI! (Or librettos, if you prefer.) This is kind of a big deal for me. Not that I regret buying the set -- at the price I got it, it was absolutely worth it. But you know what would have been nice? A link in the package to a webpage on Decca's site where you could download PDFs (perhaps with a special download code contained in the package, if they were worried about security). Instead, I'm scrambling now to find alternative sources for the libretti in English, so that I can follow along as I listen. I guess that's the peril of buying a "specially priced" set.
In sum: outstanding music and performances, and good value for the money (IMO) ... but you also get what you pay for! Knowing what I know now, I'd have still bought this set -- but the barely-there packaging and lack of libretti would have definitely given me pause.
Now the cons. You know how the package looks like a crate? Well, that's basically what it is. Only it's coated cardboard, and not particularly sturdy at that. Mine came with unavoidable-looking bends and wrinkles. Inside the box? 14 white paper sleeves to hold the discs, which are unceremoniously stacked together in a pile. Kind of disappointing. (Couldn't they have at least color coded them by opera?) There's a thin plastic "window" in the front of each sleeve so you can see which disc is which. There's also a booklet inside that includes a quick two paragraphs of liner notes on each opera, written by Andrew Huth, alongside the usual recording credits and track listings.
Notice anything missing? NO LIBRETTI! (Or librettos, if you prefer.) This is kind of a big deal for me. Not that I regret buying the set -- at the price I got it, it was absolutely worth it. But you know what would have been nice? A link in the package to a webpage on Decca's site where you could download PDFs (perhaps with a special download code contained in the package, if they were worried about security). Instead, I'm scrambling now to find alternative sources for the libretti in English, so that I can follow along as I listen. I guess that's the peril of buying a "specially priced" set.
In sum: outstanding music and performances, and good value for the money (IMO) ... but you also get what you pay for! Knowing what I know now, I'd have still bought this set -- but the barely-there packaging and lack of libretti would have definitely given me pause.
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
![Collector's Edition [2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513cfxz1JHL._AA60_.jpg)
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
