Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Boris Godunov, opera: Prologue. Skorbit dusha!
2. Boris Godunov, opera: Act 1. Yeshchó odnó poslyédneye skazánye
3. Boris Godunov, opera: Act 1. Nye syétuy, brat
4. Boris Godunov, opera: Act 1. Kak vo górode býlo vo Kazáne
5. Boris Godunov, opera: Act 2. Dostíg ya výshey vlásti
6. Boris Godunov, opera: Act 2. Clock Scene. Uf! Tyazheló!
7. Boris Godunov, opera: Act 4. Prosnúlsa ya...Oy; dúshno!
8. Boris Godunov, opera: Act 4. Death of Boris. Zvon! Pogrebál'ny zvon!
9. Prince Igor, opera (completed by Rimsky-Korsakov & Glazunov): Act 1. Nateshilsya il knyaz?
10. Prince Igor, opera (completed by Rimsky-Korsakov & Glazunov): Act 2. O net, net, drug
11. At Some Folks' Houses (U lyudey-to v domu), song for voice & orchestra
12. For the Shores of Thy Far Native Land (Dlya beregov otchiznï dal'noy), song for voice & piano
13. Sadko, opera in 3 (or 5) acts: Scene 4. Song of the Viking Guest
14. Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (Skazaniye o nevidimom grade Kitezhe), opera in 4 acts: Act 3. Prince Yuri's Aria
15. Eugene Onegin, opera, Op. 24: Act 3. Prince Gremin's Aria
16. Eh, Ukhnyem (Song of the Volga Boatmen), folk song
17. Mephistopheles' Song of the Flea, for voice & piano or orchestra, edited by Rimsky-Korsakov

Disc 2:

1. Faust, opera: Act 2. Le veau d'or est toujours deboot
2. Faust, opera: Act 4. Seigneur, daignez permertre
3. Faust, opera: Act 4. Serenade. Qu'attendez-vous encore? ... Vous qui faites l'endormie
4. Iphigénie en Aulide, opera in 3 acts, Wq. 40: Act 2. Decidesti il suo destin ... Con le mie guardie ... O tu la cosa mia più cara
5. Attila, opera: Act 1. Uldino! Non hai veduto? ... Mentre gonfiarsi l'anima
6. Don Carlo, opera: Act 3. Ella giammai m'amò!
7. Mefistofele, opera in prologue, 4 acts & epilogue: Act 1. Son lo spirito che nega
8. Cradle song, song for voice & piano, Op. 16/1
9. None but the lonely heart, song for voice & piano, Op. 6/6
10. Vdolj po Peterskoy (Along the Peterskaya Road), folk song
11. The Nursery (Detskaya; 7), song cycle for voice & piano, edited by Rimsky-Korsakov: 1. With Nanny
12. The Nursery (Detskaya; 7), song cycle for voice & piano, edited by Rimsky-Korsakov: In the Corner
13. The Nursery (Detskaya; 7), song cycle for voice & piano, edited by Rimsky-Korsakov: The Beetle
14. The Nursery (Detskaya; 7), song cycle for voice & piano, edited by Rimsky-Korsakov: With the Doll
15. The Nursery (Detskaya; 7), song cycle for voice & piano, edited by Rimsky-Korsakov: At Bedtime
16. Songs & Dances of Death (Pesni y plyaski smerti; 4), song cycle for voice & orchestra, orchestration by Glazunov & Rimsky-Korsakov: 1
17. Songs & Dances of Death (Pesni y plyaski smerti; 4), song cycle for voice & orchestra, orchestration by Glazunov & Rimsky-Korsakov: 2

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #185447 in Music
• Released on: 2005-04-26
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Customer Reviews

Christoff the Great
If you have always been a Christoff fan you should have this marvellous anthology.
If you never heard him before: meet one of the greatest singers ever. His sound is unique and his interpretations wonderfull. Nobody has ever sung the Kings Aria from Don Carlos so moving as he! ( you can see him do it on You tube) He has been the most sinister Mefisto ( Faust) ever. His Godunov is wonderfull and frightening. What a voice! It is very good that these CD's exist to keep it alive!
Gerard Kind Amsterdam

The Big Gun of Bassos
The great Boris Christoff was a post World War II reigning bass. Bulgarian by birth, Christoff was able to quickly become popular all over the world due to his beautiful robust voice and what can probably be called "method-acting" for the opera. While his voice was not as huge as his fellow-Bulgarian's Nicolai Ghiaurov's, it was still a "force of nature", sometimes causing Christoff to literately "eschew the scene". His skill at clear delivery, making sure that every word is distinguishable and meaningful, is a rare quality in bassos (some even sound like they have their mouths full of kashi), and it allowed him to take on very nuanced art-song repertoire, including Mussorgsky's "Songs and Dances of Death", alas not included in its entirety here (I kept wondering why was it necessary to cut The Lullaby and Serenade from this cycle, and still present "The Nursery", somewhat of an oddity where Christoff lightened his voice to sound entirely un-basso :)).
In addition to his celebrated Russian roles, such as Boris Godunov or Khan Konchak, Christoff was a superb interpreter of Italian and French repertoire. Heard here as Philip II and Mephistopheles, Christoff is at the height of his powers, injecting so much sorrow to the king's lament and such verve to the devil, these characters become very real and three-dimensional.
As to the CD set layout itself, it boasts a large selection from "Boris Godunov", including a spectacular Varlaam's song, several Italian, Russian, and French "greatest hits" (there's also a Chaliapin favorite "Mephistopheles' Song of a Flea", punctuated by chuckles and other "evil" noises; Christoff clearly had a grand time recording it), but it does leave one hungry for more.
Christoff's "Italian Opera Arias" CD is sadly out of print, and his DG recordings are available mostly in Europe (although "Russian Romances and Folksongs" album recently surfaced) and his marvelous Mélodies Russes (French EMI) 5-set CD is very hard to find. But as an excellent introduction to his art, this set is a must-have.

It's Christoff. 'Nuff said.
The best of the best. Christoff is tremendous. Great price too. Hear the greatest basso of the 20th century.