BWW Reviews: A Fascinating PRINCE IGOR Finally Makes Back It to the Met

PRINCE IGOR was a glorious mess when Alexander Borodin died suddenly in 1887, leaving it to others to finish a work he'd toiled on for nearly 20 years but hadn't quite made whole. The "others" included Borodin's closest colleagues: Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov, along with the musicologist, Pavel Lamm who later collected and compiled all of Borodin's work, along with Rimsky-Korsakov's and Glazunov's additions.

Yet, despite all this notable talent involved, no definitive edition emerged -- only a number of contradicting versions. The Met, for example, turned to a new variation that jettisons the additions of Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov, but uses their orchestrations of Borodin's own music (additional work by Pavel Smelkov). In addition, Borodin did not leave a definitive order for the material, so the composer's famed "Polovtsian Dances," which are frequently positioned at the end of the opera, now conclude Act I. And his orchestral scene, "The River Don Floods," has been interpolated into Act III.

Ideas and panache

It takes a director with ideas and panache to take on PRINCE IGOR and make it work. The Met found him in Dmitri Tcherniakov, working in conjunction with conductor Gianandrea Noseda, though I don't think he came near enough to solving all its problems. I must admit I was more than a little skeptical about him, after seeing the hatchet job he did on LA TRAVIATA for La Scala's opening in December, but I'm happy that my fears were unfounded. His production was a fascinating evening.

After a prologue taking place in the public meeting room of Igor's city-state of Putivl (a scene that sets the stage for the doom to come), the first act was particularly brilliant. A barrage of innovative images and scenic design, beautiful vocal and dance performances fill the stage, as Igor (sung suavely by bass Ildar Abrazakov) and his troops lose their battle against the Polovtsians.

Elements of their defeat

In a haze, Igor replays elements of their defeat in his imagination, helped along by video footage of his fallen men (by S. Katy Tucker). There are also appearances by his wife Yaroslavna (the steely, large-voiced soprano Oksana Dyka), her brother, Prince Galitsky (bass Mikhail Petrenko), Konchakovna (the sensuous mezzo Anita Rashvelishvili) who is the love of Igor's son Vladimir (tenor Sergey Semishkov), Ovlur (tenor Mikhail Vekua) who urges Igor to flee and, finally Khan Konchak (the charismatic bass, Stefan Kocan, looking like Lenin).

The action moves--in his mind, at least--from the fields of war to fields of poppies, a wonderful concept of the director (who also designed the sets, with costumes by Elena Zaitseva and lighting by Gleb Filshtinsky). This is where "The Polovtsian Dances" is performed, in lively choreography by Israeli Itzik Galili, with the exceptional work of the Met chorus performing from the house's first two tiers.

Acts II and III are pretty grim, though, with the atrocities of Prince Galitsky against the people (particularly the women) of Putivl pretty hard to take, despite the ongoing beauty of the score. Even though the ending, as Igor makes his return a broken man but is cheered by his people into recovery, is uplifting, I'm not sure that it quite holds together

Performances that soar

Still, the performances help keep up the momentum of the well-over-four-hour work, with many performers from Russia and nearby regions in the cast. Abrazakov's Igor is more damaged than usual for the opera and the bass's skills as an actor are as welcome as his nuanced voice, particularly in the last act and his soliloquy.

While Igor is the nominal star of the piece, he disappears for a good deal of the opera, physically or mentally, leaving Yaroslavna and soprano Dyka to dominate. In her house debut, as I mentioned, Dyka had a voice that would be hard to ignore under any circumstances; while I admired the power and effortlessness of her performance, I kept wondering what other operas I'd like to hear her sing. Her bio in the program listed her repertoire, which covers a large number of Verdi operas, among others, but I can't say I could imagine her as Desdemona, Aida or Amelia, though I look forward to her return.

Mezzo Rashvelishvili--such an outstanding Carmen at the Met--made every minute of her role count, with an earthy sound that made me wish that she had more time onstage. As the power-crazy Prince Galitsky, bass Mikhail Petrenko was truly a despicable character in Act II; but while his voice sometimes soared in this marvelous section of the score, at other instances he fought to be heard over the orchestra.

Cheers for the Met's orchestra and chorus

In some operas, star performances overtake the music, while in others, great music elevates workaday performances. Here, more than the wonderful work of the principals, Borodin's great score and the Met Orchestra and Chorus, under Noseda, are the heroes. They make sure the music thrills us, excites us and inspires us.

It has been nearly 100 years since PRINCE IGOR was in the company's repertoire (but performed in Italian, back in 1917), though it was part of a brief visit from the Mariinsky Theatre in 1998. To a generation, the music was more familiar for orchestral versions of the Polovtsian Dances or as the basis of the Forrest-Wright score for the Broadway musical, KISMET, and its hit parade tune, "Stranger in Paradise." Hopefully, the current performances will make us strangers no more.

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PRINCE IGOR will be shown in the Met in HD series in the U.S. on March 1, 2014, 12 pm ET, with an Encore on March 5, 2014 at 6:30 pm local time; Canada Encores will be on April 12 at 12:00 pm ET and April 14at 6:30 pm local time.

Photo: Sergey Semishkur as Vladimir, Ildar Abdrazakov as Prince Igor, Oksana Dyka as Yaroslavna, and Anita Rachvelishvili as Konchakovna. (Thumbnail: Ildar Abdrazakov as Prince Igor, Oksana Dyka as Yaroslavna). Photo by Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera.

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