Tchaikovsky: Cherevichki Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		5.0

Tchaikovsky: Cherevichki Blu-ray Movie Review

Tchaikovsky plus Christmas doesn't necessarily have to mean 'The Nutcracker.'

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 29, 2010

Mention Tchaikovsky and Christmas in the same sentence and chances are the only thing that will come to virtually everyone’s mind is The Nutcracker. That staple of the ballet repertoire wasn’t even initially thought of as a seasonal piece, as odd as they may sound. What may sound even odder is that Tchaikovsky actually did write a Christmas themed piece, an opera, a comedy no less, that almost no one has heard of. Initially produced under the title Vakula the Smith in 1876, it, like The Nutcracker, was met with critical brickbats, but unlike The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky himself felt the piece could be improved by some judicious tinkering, and he returned to the project several times over the intervening years. The opera was restaged some time later as The Caprices of Oxana and then finally in 1887 as Cherevichki, a word that has been variously translated as The Fancy Slippers and now in this newer Royal Opera House production, The Tsarina’s Slippers. Have you heard of it? If so, you’re a better classical music aficionado than this reviewer, and I frankly consider myself fairly well schooled in classical music in general, and Russian composers in particular. For some reason Cherevichki has never really found an audience, either within the confines of Russia and the Bolshoi or especially in the western world. Tchaikovsky is often thought of as a maudlin melodramatist, someone with his heart beating rather profusely on his sleeve, architect of the big emotion and grand gesture, colorful but not exactly full of nuance. Could this preconception have kept audiences from even checking out one of his few attempts at comedy? Who knows? But the fact is Cherevichki is an incredibly charming piece, especially in the gorgeous production. Based on the short story Christmas Eve by Nikolai Gogol, Cherevichki is like an ancient Russian folktale come gloriously to life, and it is filled with some of Tchaikovsky’s most memorable music.

Vakula (Vsevolod Grivnov), the town smith, has “decorated” the local church with a large and blasphemous illustration of The Devil. Solokha (Larissa Diadkova), the town witch, has a reunion with The Devil (Maxim Mikhailov), who has arrived to take vengeance on Vakula for his insolence in depicting him inartfully. The Devil wreaks havoc on the town by causing a huge storm which hides the moon, depriving the townspeople of their only source of exterior light during the dark Russian winter night. The Devil is hoping that will keep Chub (Vladimir Matorin), father of Vakula’s love Oxana (Olga Guryakova), home, thereby making it impossible for Vakula to arrange an illicit dalliance. The Devil underestimates Chub’s desire to get to the local pub, and Oxana’s father does indeed venture out into the moonless night, quickly getting lost in the process. That sets up a farcical interlude with Vakula making to Oxana’s home, but throwing Chub out on his ear when the snow-covered patriarch returns from his wintry travels.

Act II ups the farcical ante considerably, concentrating on Solokha and a variety of suitors who show up sequentially at her home. These include The Devil himself, the Mayor (Alexander Vassiliev), the Schoolmaster (Viacheslav Voynarovskiy), and Chub, all of whom hide in sacks as the next prospective love maker appears. Vakula arrives, lamenting his unhappy love life and decides to leave the town. Thinking he’s taking coal and the tools of his trade, he walks off with the sacks in tow. As the villagers start to celebrate Christmas, Oxana takes the opportunity to berate Vakula in public, teasing that she will marry him if he can manage to obtain the Tsarina’s slippers. Vakula is so distraught, he escapes with only one of his four sacks.

The third act is a bit of a cat and mouse game between Vakula and The Devil, who has been stuck in the sack that Vakula has made off with. Suffice it to say that Vakula manages to make it to the Court in St. Petersburg, and does indeed manage to procure a pair of the Tsarina’s slippers. Act IV is an expected happy ending for Oxana and Vakula, as Christmas festivities swing into high gear.

Gogol, whose short story provided the basis for Yakov Polonsky’s libretto (later amended by Nikolay Chayev and Tchaikovsky himself), is often remembered for his satire and sardonic sense of humor. What is manifest here is more of the fantastic, as in fantasy-laden characters cut out of a rustic Russian past, mixed with just a touch of the supernatural in the roles of Solokha and The Devil. Cherevichki is like a lavishly illustrated fairy tale come to life in this sumptuously beautiful production that is highlighted by Mikhail Mokrov’s astoundingly effective set designs, matched completely by the inventive work of costume designer Tatiana Noginova. As should be fairly obvious to anyone paying attention to the names of the many cast members and crew members listed in this review, the Royal Opera House and director Francesca Zembello have imported a whole slew of native Russians to make this presentation as authentic as possible. That includes a quartet of real life Cossack dancers for one of the specialty numbers in Act III.

If you’ve seen The Nutcracker one too many times, or even a few too many times, don’t let the name Tchaikovsky keep you from exploring this really charming production. The vagaries of history are often hard to fathom, and why Cherevichki has not attained greater renown is really quite baffling. Especially as presented in this pitch perfect production, this is an opera which could easily supplant more tangentially “Christmasy” pieces like Hansel and Gretel (certainly one of the oddest choices ever for holiday family fare) in the repertoire of major opera houses worldwide. Kudos to the Royal Opera House, and its sibling the Royal Ballet, for offering this scintillating marriage of opera and ballet, certainly one of the best Christmas presents ever for classical music fans.

Tchaikovsky: Cherevichki Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It's a little difficult to know whether my enthusiasm about Cherevichki's AVC encoded 1080i 1.78:1 image is due to the transfer itself or simply the absolutely lovely, whimsical and delightful production design this opera presents. There are some very transitory artifact issues to report, mostly in busy costume patterns and the like, so let that be your main concern. Otherwise, what an incredible joy this is to watch. Colors dance around the screen in brilliantly robust saturation. We're treated to everything from very bold blues, reds and greens to more pastel laden tints in some of the fairyland sequences. And the St. Petersburg court is a riot of gold. The image here is nicely sharp, especially in midrange and close-up shots, where The Devil's furry legs and latexed pig nose reveal a host of fine detail. This is quite simply one of the most fun operas I've seen in many a moon (magically darkened or otherwise), and this Blu-ray makes the most out of a very, very imaginative series of images.

Tchaikovsky: Cherevichki Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Cherevichki benefits from a largely Russian cast, as well as a Russian conductor, Alexander Polianichko, and the two lossless tracks, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and an LPCM 2.0, are vigorous and sport brilliant fidelity. This is a typically colorful Tchaikovsky score, and the orchestral flash flies through the surrounds most appealingly. The singing here is full throated, not always full of incredible nuance, but unbelievably powerful, and the DTS track supports the wide range of frequencies easily. Balance between the singers and the orchestra is excellent and there are no anomalies of any kind to report. This is a structurally fairly conservative outing for Tchaikovsky (lots of quasi-32 bar song formats), and as such it may indeed be more instantly accessible to non-classically oriented listeners.

Tchaikovsky: Cherevichki Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from the expected Cast Gallery, the other supplements are obviously culled from the same interview segments:

• Introduction (1080i; 2:24) has some prefacing comments by Director Francesca Zambella.
• Cast and Characters (1080i; 3:06) offers Zambella and various cast members discussing the opera.
• Staging Gogol's World (1080i; 6:03) concentrates more on the incredible production design.
  
  

  Tchaikovsky: Cherevichki Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 
  

  

  What an unexpected early holiday gift Cherevichki is. Run, don't walk, to your nearest online emporium (the Amazon link above springs instantly to mind) and get this splendidly engaging production of a little known Tchaikovsky gem. Children of all ages are sure to be delighted by this magical and fanciful opera. Very highly recommended.