Great Singers of Russia, Vol 1 - Chaliapin, Pirogov, Koslovsky, Lemeshev, Mikhaliov, Shpiller, Lisitsian, Nelepp, Reizen (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is part one of a two-part series which features film clips of many of the most important Russian singers made back in 1999. Soprano Luba Kazarnovskaya is filmed in a variety of ornate settings,providing amiably chatty introductions to the footage and occasional anecdotes in English. Her hairstyles and makeup are a treat in themselves. For Shaliapin there is a snippet of "Boris Godunov" played over some photos of him and a clip of him in the 1933 film "Don Quixote" with music by Ibert. Bass Ivan Petrov interjects comments about singers with whom he performed, coming off as an endearingly garrulous sort; his remarks are in Russian with subtitles.
For the great tenor Ivan Kozlovsky there are six different chapters, including footage of him performing duets with veteran soprano Nadezhda Obukhova and American legend Paul Robeson, as well as a silent film screen test. There are films of tenor Sergei Lemeshev performing "Che gelida manina" in concert and a Russian folksong. Some of the most interesting footage comes from filmed versions of operas including "Boris Godunov" (Kozlovsky and Alexander Pirogov), "Aleko (bass Mark Reizen) and "Ivan Susanin" (bass Maxim Mikhailov). Mikhailov is also featured in a clip from Eisenstein's "Ivan the Terrible."
The fragmentary style of this documentary makes it a bit frustrating at times; some of the film clips seem somewhat random and are not always identified, and the clips from the opera films make you wish that more of the material could have been included.
The bottom line is, there is a lot of rare film footage of some very good singers here which makes for an enjoyable hour and a half of viewing, especially when sampled a bit at a time. Part 2, which features our hosts among singers from the 1940s to the present day, is also interesting.

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