Classical new release - Harmonia Mundi UK Distribution

Label: Mariinsky
File Under: Classical/Opera &
Vocal
Catalogue No: MAR0540
Barcode: 822231854029
NORMAL Price
Format: 1 Blu-ray
Sergei Aleksashkin [The General]
Tatiana Pavlovskaya [Pauline]
Vladimir Galuzin [Alexei]
Larissa Dyadkova [Babulenka]
Nikolai Gassiev [Marquis]
Alexander Gergalov [Mr Astley]
Mlle Blanche Nadezhda Serdyuk
Andrei Popov [Prince Nilsky]
Oleg Sychev [Baron Wurmerhelm]
Andrei Spekhov [Potapych]
Laurent Gentot [Director]
PROKOFIEV: The Gambler
Vladimir Galuzin
Sergei Aleksashkin
Mariinsky Orchestra
Valery Gergiev
RELEASE DATE
3RD JUNE 2013
The Mariinsky label releases its second opera DVD & Blu-ray, Prokofiev’s 'The Gambler'. Filmed in the historic Mariinsky
Theatre in 2010, it stars celebrated Russian tenor Vladimir Galuzin and bass Sergei Aleksashkin, and is conducted by
Valery Gergiev. It is of fundamental significance that under Gergiev’s baton the Mariinsky Orchestra and opera company
have performed all of Prokofiev’s symphonies, concerti and operas on numerous occasions.
Georgian director Temur Chkheidze, who also presented the Mariinsky’s last production in 1996 and directed the opera
with critical success at the Metropolitan Opera in 2001, gives a fresh look to Prokofiev’s first opera.
Set in the fictional town of Roulettenburg in the mid-19th Century, 'The Gambler' is a four-act opera that displays the
dramatic highs and lows involved in the game of chance. At the centre of the story is Alexei, who is in love with The
General’s step-daughter, Pauline. All of the characters fall victim to the temptation of gambling, each one consumed by
the obsession and greed that drives them.
Vladimir Galuzin, who plays the role of Alexei, is indisputably one of the world’s leading dramatic tenors, known for his
unrivaled stentorious voice and extremely vivid characterisations of some of the most demanding roles. A Mariinsky
soloist since 1990, he is much in demand internationally, performing regularly during the last two decades as a guest of
most of the world’s most prominent opera houses, concert halls and festivals. The role of The General is played by
Russian bass Sergei Aleksashkin. Three-time recipient of the Golden Sofit, St Petersburg’s most prestigious theatre
prize, Sergei has been a Mariinsky Theatre soloist since 1989, singing title roles in Mussorgsky’s 'Boris Godunov' and
Glinka’s 'Ruslan and Lyudmila'.
DURATION 2 hours 35'
Recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre, June 2010
Performed in Italian: subtitles in Russian, English, Japanese, German and French