- Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080i/60
- Audio Codec: PCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Discs: 1
- Studio: Opus Arte
- Blu-ray Release Date: August 30, 2011
- List Price: $39.99
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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Modest Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov towers over Russian operas like a mighty colossus. Based on Alexander Pushkin’s dramatic account of the famous tsar, Boris Godunov relates the rise and fall of a monarch who, like Macbeth, has murdered his way to the throne. Also like his Shakespearean counterpart, Boris is beset by guilty visions, and eventually succumbs to the overwhelming weight of his evil deeds.
Several performing versions of this work exist and the current production, from 2010 performances in Turin’s Teatro Regio, is mostly the original 1869 score. The mating of an Italian company with a Russian opera might seem odd but there is considerable precedence for this type of collaboration. The dramatic cause is aided by having Russian-speaking artists in principal roles, Orlin Anastassov (Boris), Vladimir Vaneev (Pimen), and Vladimir Matorin (Varlaam). The stark, dark sets contrast with the few brilliant regal costumes. The dramaturgy is handled by Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky whose perspective is more intimate than usual for this epic opera. Gianandrea Noseda, the principal conductor of the Teatro Regio forces, supports this vision with a somewhat restrained performance by his orchestral forces.
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
The lighting or lack thereof casts a consistently grim shadow over the singers and sets. The period costumes are mostly drab browns and greys with the exception of those worn by the principals. The sets are minimal consisting mostly of some furniture with a few props. The performers’ make up appears somewhat amateurish under the scrutiny of high definition videography. Moreover, the copious, highly detailed facial closeups reveal what might be a record-setting number of clearly fake warts and other blemishes. What I found most disappointing about this production’s visual aspect were the persistent motion artifacts which undermined its “high definition” picture.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Boris Godunov must have clarity of voices, including the massed chorus, to achieve its dramatic effects. The audio engineers obviously got the message right and give the singers a slight but noticeable upper hand over the orchestra. This balance reflects both microphone placement and maestro Noseda’s deliberate underplaying of the orchestral dynamics. The singing is quite good, if not at top of the vocal flag pole. Young bass Anastassov is a relative newcomer to this role usually reserved for more mature artists. He sings beautifully for the most part, but his Boris lacks the three-dimensional, tortured quality that more experience would have imparted. Noteworthy contributions in the other important roles include tenors Peter Bronder (Prince Shuisky), Ian Storey (Grigori), Evgeny Akhimov (the Holy Fool) and the two Russian basses,Vaneev and Matorin, who portray Pimen and Varlaam, respectively. The large chorus, a critical element in this opera, as the voice of the oppressed Russian people, makes an excellent contribution. The surround channels provide a modicum of ambience and add to the deeper soundstage when compared to the PCM 2.0-channel version.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
There is a gallery of cast photos and brief interviews with director Konchalovsky and conductor Noseda. These offer a rationale for the version shown although there is not deep probing of the production itself.
The Definitive Word
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
On standard DVD, the Bolshoi production, featuring Yevgeny Nesterenko may be the best sung Boris but its picture cannot compete with today’s high resolution discs. Opus Arte’s current version offers a superior picture, albeit undermined by the above-mentioned motion artifacts. The sparse sets diminish the expected grandeur of Boris Godunov, one of the grandest of all operas. On musical and dramatic grounds, this is a well-conceived and integrated performance, having all of the forces in sync with director Konchalovsky’s concepts. Excellent audio recording is also a major plus. One could debate the relative virtues of the various performing versions until the cows come home. In this case, I think that the decision to eliminate the Polish scenes is unfortunate. Mussorgsky added them to flesh out the character of the pretender Dmitri and unite him with Princess Marina, the only major female voice in the revised version. Granted, the story can be told without this act, as was the case in Mussorgsky’s original Boris. However, the added material offers an important subplot as well as much gorgeous music that contrasts effectively with a mostly dark and gloomy score. Bass Anastassov is a young singer to watch. His realization of Boris lacks some of the emotional dimensionality that will come eventually with a longer inhabitation of this complex role. In the end, if you must have a Blu-ray Boris Godunov this is your choice, even if it is a less than completely satisfying one.
Additional Screen Captures
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Purchase Boris Godunov on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
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