Prince Igor - Performance Practice

Performance Practice

One of the main considerations when performing Prince Igor is the question of whether to include Act 3, much of which was composed by Glazunov. The practice of omitting it was mentioned as early as 1909 in Rimsky-Korsakov's memoirs. Many productions leave Act 3 out because it "fails to carry conviction both musically and dramatically." On the other hand, maintaining the act has certain benefits. It contains some fine pages (e.g., the "Polovtsian March"), provides an important link in the narrative (Igor's escape, Vladimir's fate), and is the origin of some of the memorable themes first heard in the overture (the trio, brass fanfares). Fortunately, the option of omitting the fine overture, also known to have been composed by Glazunov, is seldom if ever considered.

Recently, the question of the best sequence of scenes in which to perform the opera has gained some prominence. Borodin did not complete a libretto before composing the music to Prince Igor. The opera has traditionally been performed in the edition made by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. It will be obvious that the positions to which they assigned the Prologue, Act 3, and Act 4 cannot be changed if the story is to make sense. However, because the events of Act 1 and Act 2 overlap and are independent of one another, Act 2 may just as well precede Act 1 without any loss of coherence. Soviet musicologists Pavel Lamm and Arnold Sokhor reported the existence of a written plan (now in Glinka's Musical Culture Museum, Moscow), in Borodin's hand, that specified this sequence of scenes:

1. The omen from heaven (Prologue)
2. Imprisonment (Act 2)
3. Galitsky's court (Act 1, Scene 1)
4. Yaroslavna's palace (Act 1, Scene 2)
5. Escape (Act 3)
6. Return (Act 4)

Sokhor assessed the plan as not written later than 1883. The 1993 recording of Prince Igor by Valery Gergiev with the Kirov Opera features a new edition of the score with additions commissioned from composer Yuri Faliek for a production at the Mariinsky Theatre, adopting this hypothetical original sequence. The authors of the notes to the recording assert that this order better balances the musical structure of the score by alternating the acts in the Russian and Polovtsian settings with their distinctive musical atmospheres.

Despite this justification, there is good reason for maintaining the traditional sequence. Act 2 contains most of the numbers for which the work is known and beloved today, with Igor's brooding and impassioned aria ("Oh give me freedom") at the center, flanked by Vladimir's cavatina and Konchak's aria, not to mention the rousing conclusion provided by the Polovtsian Dances. Relocating its wealth of arias and dances from the center of the work to the beginning concentrates too much of the opera's rich melodic invention towards the front of the work.

The "Mariinsky edition" makes other important changes and additions to the score. Although much of the material composed or orchestrated by Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov is retained, there are additions culled from the unpublished vocal score by Pavel Lamm, orchestrated and linked by Faliek. The changes include:

• About 200 bars added to the scene in Yaroslavna's palace which make explicit Galitsky's rebellion
• Various additions and removals from Act 3, including the restoration of a monologue for Igor composed by Borodin in 1875. A review in Gramophone highlights how the newly added monologue "helps to give a weighty focus to Act 3, otherwise a phenomenal feat of reconstruction on Glazunov's part, but somehow insubstantial".
• A different final chorus for Act 4, "Glory to the multitude of stars", a repeat of material from the Prologue. This idea is historically justified, as Borodin had originally placed this chorus at the end of the opera in the form of an epilogue . This regrettably necessitates the elimination of Borodin's subsequent chorus, "God heard our prayers".

In the West, the opera has often been given in languages other than Russian. For example, the 1960 recording under Lovro von Matačić is sung in German, the 1964 recording under Armando La Rosa Parodi is in Italian and the 1982 David Lloyd-Jones recording is in English. On the other hand, the 1990 Bernard Haitink and the 1962 Oscar Danon recordings are Western performances sung in Russian.