DESYATNIKOV

The Children of Rosenthal

Pyotr Migunov, Elena Manistina, Maxim Paster, Vsevolod Grivnov, Vassily Ladyuk, Alexander Teliga, Kristina Mkhitaryan, Irina Rubtsova; Bolshoi Theatre Chorus & Orchestra/alexander Vedernikov

Melodiya MEL CD 10 02432 131:57 mins (2 discs)

On the principle of there being no such thing as bad publicity, the denunciation of Leonid Desyatnikov’s The Children of Rosenthal just before its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in 2005 can have done no harm. When a member of the Russian Duma called the opera pornographic, he was jumping to an uninformed conclusion; one of the leading characters, Tanya, is a prostitute, but the opera is no more risqué than La traviata. Rosenthal himself turns out to be a German-jewish scientist given shelter by Stalin in order to create human doubles, who in his spare time clones composers. Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Musorgsky thus all feature, and by the time the action has freewheeled up to 1993 we have also heard every Kremlin leader from Stalin to Yeltsin.

Though this absurdist opera may sound intriguing enough to make one wish Melodiya had filmed it, reviews of the production suggest the decision to release an audioonly recording was probably wise. Desyatnikov is something of a cult composer, yet it is a pity that for its first new opera in a quarter of a century the Bolshoi played things so safe musically. In a score featuring surprisingly little pastiche, the soundworld is mostly Musorgsky Lite. The cast is committed, beginning with the bass Pyotr Migunov’s firm-voiced Rosenthal and Kristina Mkhitaryan’s glowingly sung Tanya.

Among the composers, Mozart makes his mark thanks to Vsevolod Grivnov’s keenly focused tenor, and Wagner stands out for being a trouser role (Elena Manistina). Alexander Vedernikov conducts as if he believes in the piece.