Rimsky Korsakov: Song of the Viking Guest (from Sadko) (Oh fearful crags)

This release features Christoff in the great Russian bass roles with substantial ‘bonus

tracks’ and serves as an excellent introduction to this wonderful singer, caught between 1949 and 1954. Repertoire includes arias from Prince Igor, Eugene Onegin, Sadko and Boris Godunov. Super budget price.

Nicolai Ghiaurov’s unmistakable timbre brought him the title “Re dei bassi” – “King of Basses”. In live recordings from two Sunday Concerts by the Münchner Rundfunkorchester he can be heard in key roles from the bass repertoire as well as rarely performed arias by Bizet, Glinka and Rimsky Korsakov.

The program also contains arias from two roles in which Ghiaurov became world-famous: the title role in Boris Godunov and Mephistophèlès in Gounod’s Faust.

- Previously unreleased recordings by Nicolai Ghiaurov

- Documents of the beloved Sunday concerts with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester from the 1960’s under the direction of Georges Prêtre and Alfredo Antonini.

- The program contains key roles of the bass repertoire as well as rarely heard arias.

In the 30s through to the 50s of the last century, Russia’s greatest theatre could boast of a real constellation of superb opera singers. Each of them possessed a striking creative individuality, and when united in one acting ensemble, they created unique dramatic performances. This disc presents just five singers of that renowned company, and just a small bit of their repertoire.

In the search for suitable and evocative words to describe a particular vocal quality, usually, for the bass voice one would expect of course adjectives like deep, black, sonorous, cavernous, thundering, impressive or even noble. Rarely is the word beautiful used. However, in the case of Alexander Kipnis, it most certainly applies. Alexander Kipnis was born into a very poor family in Zhitomir, Ukraine on l February 1891. They were very proud of the extraordinary quality of his singing voice, which attracted the attention of a visiting cantor from Bessarabia, who heard him as a soloist in the local synagogue choir. So taken was he by the boy’s natural talent, that, with a promise of some payment, the cantor persuaded Alexander’s mother to let him leave home and become a chorister at his synagogue. Alexander was befriended by one of the older singers with whom he lodged and who taught him the rudiments of music and also some Lieder. Kipnis then won a scholarship to enter the Warsaw Conservatoire, initially to study conducting, but of course he continued to sing, his voice having broken and become a bass. He decided to move to Berlin, undertaking further vocal studies with the well-known teacher Ernst Grenzebach.

This compilation is a tribute to one of the greatest bass voices ever to have recorded.

Third of 13 CDs containing his complete recordings, in chronological order.

Booklets contain full original texts with facing English translations, along with rare and unpublished photos.