Verdi Attila opera to a libretto by Temistocle Solera. Directed 2010 by Arturo Gama at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Stars Ildar Abdrazakov (Attila), Vladislav Sulimsky (Ezio), Anna Markarova (Odabella), Sergei Skorokhodov (Foresto), Mikhail Makarov (Uldino), and Timur Abdikeyev (Leone). Valery Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky Orchestra. Production designs by Frank Phillip Schlössmann; costumes by Frank Phillip Schlössmann and Hanne Loosen; lighting by Evgeny Ganzburg. Directed for TV by Matthias Leutzendorff. Sung in Italian. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
In August 2013, Simon Thompson wrote a glowing review of this Attila for musicweb-internation.com heaping praise on all the singers, the orchestra under Gergiev, and the chorus (which, apparently gets no mention by the label because it’s just considered a part of the orchestra). Thompson was impressed how well the cast, all Russians, did singing in Italian, and he also approved of the video and the sound recording. It appears this was the first opera video released by the Mariinsky label, so the Mariinsky management made sure all was in order and competitive with the better discs coming out in Western Europe.
Here’s an official trailer:
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