Composer: Shostakovich
Conductor: Valery Gergiev
Orchestra: The Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre
Format: 2SACD
Price: £17.49
Release Date: 24 May 2009

Dmitri Shostakovich's satirical opera The Nose was premiered in 1930 and is set in St Petersburg. Based on a short story by Nikolai Gogol, its absurd plot revolves around the exploits of a pompous government official and his nose. After a visit to the barber, the nose absconds from the man's face and takes on a life of its own; the pretentious bureaucrat is reduced to desperation, frantically searching the city for his lost appendage. Although primarily a comic opera, The Nose touches on the struggle between the individual and society (here portrayed by a cast of over 80 characters), and its spiky score is a 1920's modernist masterpiece from the prodigiously talented composer.



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Reviews

Washington Post (US)
21 December 2009

CDs of the Year

Chicago Tribune (US)
21 December 2009

CDs of the Year

Boston Globe (US)
21 December 2009

CDs of the Year

ClassicsToday.com
16 September 2009

Artistic Quality 10
Sound Quality 10

Sergei Semishkur sings the role of the Nose, and he manages well with the clownishly high tessitura. Ivan is correctly puzzling as sung by Alexei Tanovitski. Indeed, the whole cast is marvelous if you're looking for characterization and originality rather than lovely singing--this is theater at its most brazen.

Valery Gergiev, obviously in his element and with his own orchestra and  (spectacular) chorus, gives the work form and pathos while making certain that absurdity and satire reign supreme. This is, by the way, the first release on the Mariinsky label and it's quite an auspicious start. Fabulous fun!

Read the full review here

BBC Music Magazine

7 July 2009

' ... singers and orchestra negotiate the most complex ensembles in brilliantly idiomatic and conversational style ... the recorded sound is absolutely superb in its crystal clarity and depth. The ultimate winner in this excellent release, however, is Shostakovich. Now we can clearly see that he was never so obviously the youth genius'
Disc of the Month

Musical Criticism.com
6 July 2009

'The complete recording ofThe Nose is a special achievement ... The conductor achieves such vibrancy, detail and spontaneity that the opera sounds like the product of a mature composer who had worked for may years on the piece ... it's alarming how much sophistication is brought forth in the score, mixing folk melodies with harmonic extremity, and the avant-garde nature of the core and libretto comes through absolutely in Gergiev’s wonderful reading. With a complete, clear libretto, informative essay by Leonid Gakkel and excellent playing from the Mariinsky orchestra, there's much to enjoy here.'
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International Record Review

31 May 2009

'This recording was made under studio conditions only last year, which is all to the good as the demands made on singers and players in The Nose require a precision of execution that live performances - however much they capture the heat of the moment - are unlikely to secure ... This release reaffirms The Nose as a testament to Shostakovich’s creative ambition at a time when the artistic possibilities music have seemed limitless. In doing so, the Mariinsky labels could not have been more persuasively launched.'

The Times (UK)

30 May 2009

'Shostakovich’s prodigious, youthful satire - composed when he was only 21 - has been assiduously championed by Gergiev ... Recorded under studio conditions in the Mariinsky’s brand new concert hall, this version is notable for the brilliance of the orchestra’s playing and the idiomatic delivery of the Gogol-based text by a new generation of Mariinsky voices. Both Vladislav Sulimsky as the noseless collegiate assessor, Kovalev, and Sergei Semishkur as his errant appendage perform with panache.'
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Artists

Valery Gergiev,conductor
Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre
Andrei Petrenko,chorus master
Irina Soboleva,principal vocal coach

Vladislav SulimskyPlaton Kuzmich Kovalev, a collegiate assessor, baritone
Alexei TanovitskiIvan Yakovlevich, a barber, bass
Tatiana KravtsovaPraskovya Osipovna, wife of Ivan Yakovlevich, soprano
Andrei PopovA district constable, tenor
Sergei SemishkurThe Nose, tenor
Gennady BezzubenkovA doctor, bass
Vadim KravetsA clerk in a newspaper office, bass
Sergei SkorokhodovIvan, Kovalev's valet, tenor
Yevgeny StrashkoYaryzhkin, a friend of Kovalyov's, tenor
Elena VitmanAn elderly lady, mezzo-soprano
Zhanna DombrovskayaA market-woman, soprano
The Mariinsky theatre chorus

Recording Details

Recorded at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, St Petersburg, 15-26 July 2008 Producer: James Mallinson
Engineers: John Newton and Dirk Sobotka

Notes in Russian (Cyrillic), English, French and German. Libretto in Russian (Cyrillic) and English. 

Hybrid SACD. Compatible with all CD players Includes multi-channel 5.1 and stereo mixes