230 years of Russian opera

There's an art to making a well-documented, accurate book a fascinating read, and the author of this guide uses it to great effect, never hesitating to take sides with sincerity. If Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Prokofiev are logically privileged (for example, more than 40 pages for Boris Godunov and its many versions and adaptations), we can also discover many little-known musicians in the West, such as the authors of 18th-century comic operas influenced by French aesthetics, early romantics like Verstovsky, the pre-Dadaist futurist Matiushin, the revolutionary Soviet Dechevov, the Zhdanovian Khrennikov or the representative of the Avant-garde Karetnikov, but also little-known or unfinished operas by major composers (Salammbô by Mussorgsky, Bogatyri by Borodin or Orango by Shostakovich). This wide selection of operas, composed exclusively by great Russians, to the exclusion of nationals of other nations that Russia had annexed, is divided into chronological or aesthetic periods - without the new generation, since the "youngest" composer presented was born in 1955.

A rich introduction looks at literary sources, librettos and their subjects (predominantly historical, legendary, fairy-tale, or based on the great Russian writers, especially Pushkin), performers and theaters. Each composer is presented more or less succinctly (short biography or full-fledged introduction, depending on importance), and André Lischke not only describes the works in question, but also situates them in their social, political or cultural context. In addition to a detailed synopsis, the more extensive opera entries include an introduction tracing the origins of the opera and its libretto, its place in the composer's output, a more or less detailed analytical commentary, a description of the vocal types used or the psychological profile of the characters, and a discography. Enough to give you an excellent knowledge of over 130 operatic works.

André Lischke: Guide to Russian Opera, 778 p., € 38.00, Fayard, Paris 2017, EAN 9782213704524