Frankfurter Rundschazu

The heroine dies. Not of a deadly disease, not of a broken heart, not in ecstasy nor by her own hand. There is no final aria, no perpetual drawing-out of the last breath, no resounding lament, no congregation of mourners. Only briefly does the music echo bygone happiness.’* This might sum up Janácek’s enchanting opera, recorded live in the usual top quality at Frankfurt Opera in April/May 2016.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Christmas Eve, based on a short story by Gogol, centres on the love of the blacksmith Vakula for the rich farmer’s daughter Oksana, who mockingly requires him to obtain for her the Tsarina’s shoes in order to win her hand in marriage. However, evil spirits are on the rampage imperilling their love – a witch on her broomstick gathers the stars and the devil steals the moon. Rimsky-Korsakov blends Christian and pagan elements, Ukrainian folk songs and carols, and atmospheric orchestral interludes in this vivacious and fantastical village romance. This is the disc version of the audiovisual release on 2.110738 and NBD0154V: ‘Sebastian Weigle leads the excellent Frankfurt orchestra and chorus in a spellbinding account of Rimsky-Korsakov’s score’, wrote MusicWeb International. It also won the German Record Critics Award for Quarterly Critics Choice and was a Musicweb International ‘Recommended’ release.