Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko

Sadko is a shimmering fairy tale of an opera, featuring Rimsky-Korsakov's gift for tone-painting and orchestral coloring at its most splendidly developed, with many lovely tunes to beguile the ear. This live recording suffers at times from thumpings occasioned by the staging, and from a few rough patches in the choral work, but it gains from the Kirov's legendary ensemble work. The huge and able cast is headed by Vladimir Galusin's heldentenorish Sadko, a troubadour who becomes the richest man in Novgorod; and by soprano Valentina Tsidipova's beguiling Volkhova, the Sea-King's daughter. This is opera as storytelling and escape, and very pleasant storytelling it is. --Sarah Bryan Miller