The Invisible City of Kitezh, completed in 1905, is a remarkable opera that fuses folklore, mysticism and realism. Its subject is the story of the advancing Mongol army’s entry to Great Kitezh and the city’s subsequent miraculous survival. Rejecting archaisms and the more religiously inclined suggestions of his librettist, Rimsky-Korsakov sought to create an opera that “is contemporary and even fairly advanced”. It is therefore through-composed, hinting at times at Wagnerian procedure, and flooded with the composer’s rich, apt and brilliant orchestral palette, fully supportive of the powerful vocal writing.
Back by popular demand, The Toscanini Collection is a reissue of RCA's 1992 compendium that encompassed all of the recordings Toscanini made with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and NBC Symphony. A new addition to this amazing collection is his approved recordings with the BBC Symphony from the 1930s that were not included in the 1992 edition.
A unique 8-CD collection comprising nine hours of the best loved classical music!