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Shostakovich - The Nose
This was a continuous broadcast on BBC Radio 3. I have split the recording into the opera (re-encoded from .m4a to 320kbps .mp3) and the commentary (encoded into 96kbps .mp3)
Andrew McGregor presents a rare production of Shostakovich's early surreal opera, The Nose, from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Based on Gogol's short story, the plot concerns Russian civil servant Kovalov, who loses his nose and desperately tries to retrieve it as it goes on the rampage around St Petersburg in the uniform of a higher-ranking official. On the way, Kovalov meets a cast of peculiar characters in a work which is a mixture of social satire, comedy and intimate reflection. Martin Winkler sings the hapless Kovalov and John Tomlinson takes on three characters, all of whom make life harder for him. Plus director Barry Kosky talks about his colourful new production and Ingo Metzmacher discusses Shostakovich's wildly inventive score.
Platon Kuzmitch Kovalov ..... Martin Winkler (bass-baritone)
Ivan Iakovlevitch / Clerk / Doctor ..... John Tomlinson (bass)
Ossipovna / Vendor ..... Rosie Aldridge (mezzo-soprano)
District Inspector ..... Alexander Kravets (tenor)
Angry man in the cathedral ..... Alexander Lewis (tenor)
Ivan ..... Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (bass)
Iaryshkin ..... Peter Bronder (tenor)
Old Countess ..... Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano)
Pelageya Podtotshina ..... Helene Schneiderman (mezzo-soprano)
Podtotshina's daughter ..... Ailish Tynan (soprano)
Ensemble: Daniel Auchincloss, Paul Carey Jones, Alasdair Elliott, Alan Ewing, Hubert Francis, Sion Goronwy, Njabulo Madlala, Charbel Mattar, Samuel Sakker, Michael J. Scott, Nicholas Sharratt, David Shipley, Jeremy White, Simon Wilding, Yuriy Yurchuk
Royal Opera House Chorus
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Ingo Metzmacher (conductor).
Sung in English
Synopsis
The action takes place in St Petersburg
Act I
The barber Ivan Iakovlevitch shaves Collegiate Assessor Platon Kuzmitch Kovalov, a pompous bureaucrat who complains that the barber’s hands stink. At home the next morning, Ivan Iakovlevitch wakes up with a headache, while his wife Praskovya Ossipovna is baking bread. To his horror Ivan Iakovlevitch discovers a nose embedded in the dough. His wife scolds him for drunkenness and many other crimes, and orders him out to get rid of the nose.
Ivan Iakovlevitch desperately looks for a place where he can throw the nose away, only to be confronted by the District Police Inspector, who demands to know what he is doing.
Kovalov wakes up with a hangover, next to his servant Ivan. He worries about a pimple that he felt on his nose the day before. He is shocked when he notices that his nose is missing. His disbelief turns to horror as he realizes that he is awake, not dreaming, and he quickly leaves to find the Chief of Police.
At a memorial service in Kazan Cathedral, Kovalov comes across his Nose; but all his attempts to convince the Nose that it belongs to him are unsuccessful. Ultimately Kovalov finds himself brutally laughed at by the whole funeral party.
Act II
Kovalov fails to find the Chief of Police and goes to the Newspaper Office. There, a Countess’s footman orders a bored Newspaper Office Clerk to place an advert offering a hundred rubles for the return of the Countess’s dog. Kovalov, constantly trying to cover his face, orders the Clerk to place an advertisement for the return of his nose, but no one takes him seriously and the Clerk suggests that he see a doctor. Kovalov reveals his missing nose, to the excitement of the Clerk, who realizes that this could be an interesting story for the paper. He offers a pinch of snuff to Kovalov, who loses his temper as the Clerks simultaneously declaim advertisements.
Back at Kovalov’s apartment, his servant Ivan sings a romantic folksong. Kovalov returns in a bad mood, and Ivan makes himself scarce. Kovalov collapses in self-pity.
Act III
A motley, boozy party has come together: the District Police Inspector attempts to muster and post his recalcitrant men. Friends Ivan Ivanovitch and Pyotr Fyodorovitch exchange pleasantries. Two children accompanied by their father say farewell to their mother, while an Old Countess predicts her own death, to the disquiet of her servants. A young lady arrives and distracts the policemen. When the Nose appears, the scene gets out of hand: the revellers catch the Nose and are about to lynch it when it is suddenly returned to its normal size.
The District Police Inspector returns the Nose to Kovalov at his apartment. He drops hints about reward money, which Kovalov reluctantly provides. Kovalov struggles unsuccessfully to stick his nose back on his face. He calls for the Doctor, who is equally unsuccessful. Kovalov decides that he must be the victim of the witchcraft of Madame Pelageya Grigoryevna Podtotshina, who wants him to marry her daughter. His friend Iaryshkin suggests that he write to her and settle the matter. When Kovalov’s letter arrives, Madame Podtotshina and her daughter immediately respond with their own letter.
As more and more people want to catch a peep at the Nose and the man who has lost it, the police only narrowly manage to prevent heavy riots. Suddenly Kovalov’s nose is back in place. He is full of joy. Ivan Iakovlevitch comes to shave him and the two exchange pleasantries – although the barber’s hands still stink.
Finally Kovalov can present himself jauntily again in public. He meets Madame Podtotshina and her daughter, who invite him to lunch, and he fantasizes about being able to flirt with women again. Then he decides to have a meal – but his adventures are not over yet…
Media info:-
General
Format : MPEG Audio
File size : 260 MiB
Duration : 1h 53mn
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 320 Kbps
Writing library : LAME3.98r
Audio
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 3
Mode : Joint stereo
Duration : 1h 53mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 320 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 260 MiB (100%)
Writing library : LAME3.98r
Encoding settings : -m j -V 4 -q 3 -lowpass 20.5
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