SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953): Betrothal in a Monastery, Op. 86.

Description: The least-known of Prokofiev's handful of operas (only one other recording - the Philips from 1998 which is wastefully spread onto three CDs) was based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan's "The Duenna". This offered a welcome opportunity to move 180 degrees away from the frustrations involving his first Soviet opera (Semyon Kotko) and he produced a fast-moving, funny, light-spirited, mildly sarcastic ("lyrico-comic" in Prokofiev's own description) entertainment which even keeps six of Sheridan's original songs. This comes in a CD-sized bound book of 258 pages with plenty of color photos of the performances from which this recording was assembled on Aug. 12, 15 and 22, 2006. 2 CDs. Russian-English libretto. Vyacheslav Voynarovskiy, Vsevolod Grivnov (tenors), Andrey Breus (baritone), Lyubov Petrova (soprano), Alexandra Durseneva (mezzo), Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra; Vladimir Jurowski.