STANISLAW MONIUSZKO (1819-1872): Halka.

Description: This latest version of Moniuszko's seminal opera came out in Europe on DVD two years ago. Presumably, Dux is not going to produce any Region 0 (or 1) DVDs, so this sound-only version will be all you can expect (which, given the astounding unpopularity of DVD operas - I thought watching opera was the whole point of the genre - among our customers, shouldn't be a problem). No collector of Romantic opera will not know that Halka (final version 1858) has come to be Poland's national opera and was the first Polish "grand" opera, like Smetana's Dalibor and Glinka's A Life for the Tsar in importance, so we might just point out that European critics have fond Borodina to be far and away the finest Halka yet recorded. 2 CDs. Polish-English libretto. Tatiana Borodina, Aleksandra Buczek (sopranos), Oleh Lykhach (tenor), Mariusz Godlewski (baritone), Orchestra and Chorus of the Wroclaw Opera; Ewa Michnik.