After more persistent searches I found the full Russian version of Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneus'. The mail.ru page there is bilingual, the download is a huge .zip file which includes four audio tracks from the original two vinyl album boxed set released by 'Melodia' in 1976, the full text of libretto by Yuri Dimitrin and a different version of the jacket in jpg format. Audio files are in .flac format and you may need to get additional software to run them, also available in free downloads. The Dido download links to the intoclassics.net web-site in Russian which seems to be an active hub of lovers of music. Purcell's 'King Arthur' is also there.
The person who uploaded the opera writes in the little review: 'I consider this version to be the best ever performed'.
Dido's Lament (Плач Дидоны) is of course towards the end of part 4.
Yuri Georgievich Dimitrin is still active in musical circles after decades of writing librettos for Russian musical productions. Here is an interview with him.
Finally, the Russian-American literary journal 'Storony Sveta' (Cardinal Points) in its latest edition (English version) has an extensive essay on John Dryden's translation of Virgil's Aeneid by Grigory Starikovsky.
Read Russian posts on Dido here.
No comments:
Post a Comment