Borodin: Prince Igor (complete opera recorded in 1951)

The leading rôles are taken by the cream of the Bolshoy's singers at this time. Yaroslavna, Prince Igor's wife, is sung by the soprano Evgeniya Smolenskaya (1919-1989). After making her début in 1945 at Stalingrad she joined the Bolshoy in 1947, singing many dramatic soprano rôles with distinction until her retirement in 1972. The other major female rôle, Konchakovna, is taken by Vera Borisenko, born in 1918. After gaining initial experience in the Red Army Entertainment Corps and the Kiev Opera she joined the Bolshoy in 1946 and stayed there for the rest of her career. She took first prize in the 1947 Prague International Singing Competition, and this part was her first major success in Moscow. The tenor Sergey Lemeshev (1902-1977), who sings Vladimir, Igor's son, was one of the biggest Soviet music stars of the period. He studied initially at the St Petersburg Military Academy and later at the Moscow Conservatory, also studying acting with Stanislavsky. During the 1920s he sang in the provinces before joining the Bolshoy in 1931, where he remained until 1961 as one of the house's triumvirate of great tenors, the others being Nelepp and Koslovzky. An enormously popular figure, he recorded extensively and appeared in several films.

The title rôle of Prince Igor is taken by the baritone, Andrey Ivanov (1900-1970). Following study at the Kiev Conservatory, he served as a member of the Kiev Opera from 1934 to 1950, when he became a member of the Bolshoy company, retiring in 1956. (He is not to be confused with Alexey Ivanov, 1904-1982, another Bolshoy baritone of note with a similar repertoire.) The two basses in this recording are jusitifiably legendary. Alexander Pirogov (1899-1964), who takes the part of Igor's rival Prince Galitsky, studied in Moscow and joined the Bolshoy in 1924, where he was both preceded and succeeded by other brothers. A singer of great character he recorded the title rôle in Boris Godunov with Golovanov conducting in 1948 and participated in the 1953 Bolshoy première and recording of Shaporin's The Decembrists, also conducted by Melik-Pashayev. Igor's adversary Khan Konchak is sung by Mark Reizen (1895-1992). A soldier in the First World War, he made his operatic début in 1921, before joining the Opera in Leningrad. He visited the West in 1930 when he recorded for EMI in London. He was a member of the Bolshoy company from 1930 until his retirement in 1955, after which he continued to appear as a guest, singing on stage there on his ninetieth birthday, and still exhibiting his formidable stage presence.