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Title: Good singing - but awful tired production
Review: A star line up of some of the greatest russian singers in todays times. Musically the orchestra under maestro Gergiev flourished. The picture and sound quality of this DVD was again flawless. Where is the problem? We are told on the sleave that this was the Kirov's magnificent 1998 production, and being aware of what Kirov productions are like I was prepared for some semi-tradititonal staging. What I saw though was a production that resembled something that would be considered old fashioned in the nineteeth century. Tired painted backcloths and bulky clumsy costumes, in some cases ridiculous make up more fit for the circus than on the stage (The Khan for one example). I wonder if those at the cash strapped Kirov had got together and in an attempt at saving money had collected items and props from all their old productions mixed them together and called it a new production.
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