Modest Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina ~ Gergiev

Conductor Valery Gergiev's recordings can be counted on for the sort of fine ensemble work that comes from years of working together, idiomatic singing, high energy levels, and, when they're available, non-standard editions of scores of the Russian works that are his opera company's specialty. This time it's the Shostakovich version--instead of the standard Rimsky-Korsakov--in an opera that Mussorgsky, who died before it was completed, typically left rich in gorgeous tunes but with plenty of room for cleanup. Although the very Slavic vocal production of the cast will not appeal to all ears (especially in the tenor department), mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina stands out. This production is also available in a video version, which might help the non-Russian make a little more sense out of the most confusing and convoluted plot since Il Trovatore. --Sarah Bryan Miller