Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d'Or
September 2004 Reviewed by: Wes Marshall Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Le Coq d’Or is a satirical morality play about war, futility, and illusion. The story takes the form of a fairy tale, with King Dodon in the midst of a war. His eunuch astrologer gives him a golden cockerel (coq d’or) that will crow when everything is peaceful, or, otherwise, point toward danger. The king is so pleased he offers the astrologer anything he wants. The astrologer wants to think about it.

When the cockerel points to danger, the king sends his two sons and an army to settle the situation, and all are killed. The king and his old general then decide that they won’t send any more young men to the slaughter, and that only older men should go to fight. They go to battle themselves, but when they arrive, they find only a beguiling woman who introduces herself as the Queen of Shemakha. She enchants the king, who offers his kingdom for her hand. They return to town and the astrologer appears, saying that he has decided what he wants -- the Queen of Shemakha. The king then kills the astrologer, and the enraged cockerel kills the king.

Rimsky-Korsakov was considered Russia’s greatest living composer when he finished Le Coq d’Or in 1907, and it was undoubtedly his greatest work. Still, censors at the time prevented it from being produced: the Tsar had lost a war with Japan, and not many of the Russian people had any confidence in his ability to stand up to the imperialistic Germans, so an opera about a losing king wasn’t going to be permitted. The composer died the following year, and his opera was finally premiered in 1909, with enough cuts to make sure the Tsar was not insulted.

The version released by TDK is based on a staging done in the 1980s by the famous Kabuki actor Ennosuke Ichikawa. His concept of the opera was to do it in a very stylized manner with Kabuki costumes, makeup, and movement. The TDK recording was made in Paris on December 19, 2002, less than a month after UN Resolution 1441 called for the disarmament of Iraq. Only a month later there would be worldwide protests, and France, Germany and Russia would be suggesting that they wouldn’t be partner to resolving the Iraq situation. Given all that was going on in the world, an opera about war -- especially where the protagonist decides that young men should no longer die and that the older men should do the fighting -- had to resonate with the audience and the French and Russian performers, not to mention the American conductor.

The singers and musicians offer a very high standard of performance most of the time, but they are often let down by the balance engineer. For instance, in the opening aria, King Dodon (bass Albert Schagidullin) is drowned out by the orchestra. Conductor Kent Nagano knows better, so the blame must fall at the feet of sound engineer Pierre Bornard. You can also tell that it wasn't the conductor because the orchestral sound doesn’t have that "in the pit" kind of feel, leading me to believe the mikes were set pretty close to the instruments. Conversely, the members of the cast sound like they have distant stage mikes. None of this will bother you unless you are a soundstage freak. If you are, consider yourself warned.

Olga Trifonova is eye-catching as the Queen of Shemakha, and she might be able to foment the type of testosterone needed to have a king give up half his kingdom, but she has a very hard time hitting B6 (chapter 11, 51:18), jerking her mouth back and emitting a glassy shrill sound. Otherwise, her singing is expressive and packs dramatic power while still being pretty. The only other problem comes in chapter 5 (Fier Dodon, salut à toi!), a short aria that introduces us to the male contralto, Barry Banks, who reminded me a little too much of It’s Pat! Nonetheless, he injects some true dramatic fervor into his role.

Le Coq d’Or has gorgeous costumes, pitted against a simple but effective stage design. Nagano is surely one of the best conductors alive, and he has this piece wholly in his grasp. The picture quality is razor sharp, with rich and vivid colors. The extras include some nice scenes from other operas available on TDK Mediactive, but nothing else.

Not without its nits, but likely to be the best version you’ll see for some years to come.

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