Update on Rimsky-Korsakov's Servilia Recording

[Collrec]

About a month ago I sent the following Email to John Allison, Editor of the UK 'Opera' magazine:

Dear John,

As a longtime USA subscriber I read, on pages 176 & 177 of the February 2018 issue of Opera, about the Boris Pokrovsky Moscow Chamber Theatre's staging of Rimsky-Korsakov's Servilia, Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducting.
   
The article also mentioned that a studio recording was made over a 10 day period preceeding the staged performance.
That took place in 2016 but as of today, almost two years later, no one seems to know, even in Russia, when the recording will be released.

I would specifically like to know who the USA distributor will be, on what CD label it will appear and the approximate date of the release. The Opera article was written by Alexandre Matoussevitch but I have no way of contacting him so you are my only source of information at the present time. Any help you can supply me with would be sincerely appreciated.

A few days later, I received the following reply from John after he heard from the Russian author mentioned above:

It was made by the Pokrovsky Chamber Opera on the Mosfilm Cinema studio in 2016. The theatre did not have any definite obligations with any sound recording company, the talks have been carrying out but without any result. So up to now there is no contract with any sound recording firm and it means that no firm is planning to release the recording.

All rights to the recording belong to Gennady Rozhdestvensky (not to the Chamber Opera) and now he stopped any talks concerning this case. It occurred after the decision by the Ministry of Culture in Russia to join Chamber Opera to the Bolshoi Theatre. Maybe you have heard about this scandalous situation. The Chamber Opera works and exists till the June of this year and after that it becomes a part of the Bolshoi. It's the end of this institution with unique repertory and it's very sad.

Perhaps it sounds ridiculous, but it seems to me that Rozhdestvensky has taken offense at the Ministry and at the Bolshoi Theatre. Still his position concerning accession of one theater to another isn't known. He just is silent and doesn't make any contact. That is the difficult situation in general and about Servilia's recording just nobody already remembers.

[Christopher]

Frustrating but not in the least bit surprising    I doubt this will ever see the light of day.

There is a good quality bootleg recording out there if you can be bothered to look.

[Christopher]

If bad news is always someone else's opportunity, and in the knowledge that several members here have good and strong relationships with recording companies.... This sorry episode might be unknown outside Moscow.  Might a record label over here be interested enough to make an approach to Mr Rozhdestvensky and see if he could be prevailed upon to sell his rights to the recording?  Would members here with the contacts be ready to raise this with the labels with which they have contacts?

From their point of view, Rimsky-Korsakov should be seen as a composer who "sells".

[scottevan]

>From their point of view, Rimsky-Korsakov should be seen as a composer who "sells".

Indeed; in fact this year's Bard Music Festival (upstate NY) is devoted to the music of Korsakov and others in the circle of the "Mighty Five."  The final day of the festival has usually been devoted to a single, large-scale unsung work by the featured composer. This would have been a golden opportunity to perform "Sevilia," or perhaps even "Tsar Saltan" (which still awaits a modern-day studio recording) or for that matter "May Night" or "Maid of Pskov."  Instead, they're doing "The Tsar's Bride" which is anything but unsung these days. Truly a missed opportunity.

[Master Jacques]

As a heads-up, the Rozhdestvensky performance of Servilia was broadcast (twice - afternoon and evening) on Maryinsky Radio on May 3rd:

https://www.mariinsky.ru/fm/

The quality was tremendous - much better than the other available complete performance we can hear on YouTube - and there must now be renewed hope that this performance, following the conductor's death, will be issued on commercial disc.

[Christopher]

Good to know!  Is it available on streaming or similar do you know?