Mario del Monaco at the Bolshoi: Scenes from Carmen and Pagliacci
VAI DVD 4448, $29.95

When Del Monaco appeared with the Bolshoi in 1959, he became the first Italian opera singer to perform in Soviet Russia. Carmen scenes with Del Monaco, Arkhipova, and Lisitsian; Melik-Pashaev, cond. Pagliacci scenes with Del Monaco and Maslennicova; Tieskovini, cond. Black & White, 90 minutes, optional subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish, All regions.

I Pagliacci (scenes)
Opera in Two Acts
Music & Libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Sung in Russian, except Del Monaco in Italian

Act I
1. Eh! Son qua! (Chorus, Canio)
2. Un grande spettacolo (Canio, Chorus, Tonio, Beppe)
3. Un tal gioco (Canio, Nedda, Chorus)
4. Derisione e scherno! (Canio, Nedda, Beppe, Tonio)
5. Recitar!… Vesti la giubba (Canio)

Act II
6. Corraggio! (Canio, Nedda,Tonio)
7. No, Pagliaccio non son (Canio, Chorus, Silvio, Nedda, Beppe, Tonio)

Canio: Mario Del Monaco
Nedda: Leocadia Maslennicova
Tonio: Alex Ivanov
Beppe: Kaisar Fabrisanov
Silvio: Evgenyi Vespov

Orchestra & Chorus of the Bolshoi Theatre
Basiliev Tieskovini, conductor
Alexander Hazanov, Chorus Master
Live performance, June 1959
Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow

Carmen (scenes)
Music by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, after the novella by Prosper Mérimée
Sung in Russian, except Del Monaco in Italian and French

Act I
9. Avec la garde montante (Children’s Chorus, Moralès, Don José)
10. C’est bien là… Dans l’air nous suivons (Zuniga, Don José, Chorus)
11. La voilà la Carmencita!… Habanera: L’amour est un oiseau rebelle (Chorus, Carmen)
12. Où me conduirez-vous?… Séguedille: Près des remparts de Séville (Carmen, Don José)
13. Voici l’ordre (Zuniga, Carmen)

Act II
14. Enfin c’est toi!… Je vais danser en votre honneur (Carmen, Don José)
15. Au quartier! pour l’appel! (Carmen, Don José)
16. Flower Song: La fleur que tu m’avais jetée (Don José)
17. Non! tu ne m’aimes pas!… Là-bas dans la montagne! (Carmen, Don José)
18. Holà! Carmen!… Bel officier (Zuniga, Don José, Carmen, Remendado, Dancaïre, Chorus)

Act IV (Complete)
19. Entr’acte; A deux cuartos! (Chorus)
20. Ballet (music from Bizet’s l’Arlesienne): Farandole – Farucca – Gitane
21. Les voici! Voici la quadrille! (Chorus)
22. Si tu m’aimes, Carmen (Escamillo, Carmen, Chorus, Frasquita, Mercédès)
23. C’est toi! — C’est moi! (Carmen, Don José)
24. Tu ne m’aimes donc plus? (Don José, Carmen, Chorus)

Carmen: Irina Arkhipova
Don José: Mario Del Monaco
Escamillo: Pavel Lisitsian
Frasquita: Galina Belousova-Schevchenko
Mercédès: Nadezhda Lositzina
Dancaïre: Ivan Ionov
Remendado: Nikolai Zaharov
Moralès: Alexei Bolshakov
Zuniga: Philip Fokin

Orchestra & Chorus of the Bolshoi Theatre
Alexander Melik-Pashaev, conductor
Alexander Hazanov, Chorus Master
Live performance, June 1959
Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow