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I have to admit that I do not like the trip to Tanglewood – sitting for hours at the damn turnpike exit is not my definition of fun. The few times I was in Tanglewood I never was able to get the sits where I appreciate sound a strange place for to listen music.

I scheduled the Saturday live recording from WCRB and Sunday broadcast from WGBH, I never was able to get WCRB from my location with the level of quality sufficient to record it but this time the Rohde & Schwarz broadcast relay did the magic.

It was not exactly the music that I know and my initial interest was about the recording but listening the BSO play I was more and more sucked into the work and ended up listening up to 4AM on Sunday- it was stunningly good!  You are right the Tanglewood Chorus was out of this word, the singers were phenomenal; the Levine is unquestionably the most able opera conductor alive and the Boston sounds like nothing else. The paste with which the orchestra was drifted across this Tanglewood opened spates was nothing short of brilliant. It was so harmonic and so mnatural that I would say I never heard BSO played like this in Tanglewood. It is imposable to get this lash sound from a Chorus in closed space. The voices do not mix in closed space properly; the notes pops up from Chorus and then we as the unfortunate result have the morons-electricians to “fix” it all via DSP during the stupid “mastering” stage. Here it was 5 light years away – it was LIVE and it was large chorus in semi-open air… BTW, the microphone balance was exceptionally good. It is so rare situation when audio element did not vaoleted but rather benefited the glory of the performance – and boy, what a performance!!! BTW, stop by another day - if you behave I would play to you this broadcast to show off how FM might be done.

Anyhow, in august Levin lead BSO and Tanglewood Chorus with Onegin. I should not mention that I adore the Pushkin opera and the interaction between cello section and chorus from beginning of the second act is one of the most stunning and difficult “to do right” pieces of music that I know on opera. So far only Khakin was able to do it right in 1955 – not one else even dear to do play like this. I would LOVE to see what Levin would do with BSO and Tanglewood Chorus. I have Levin’s Onegin on Tape from MET 1980s and it was not very good. Let see what happen now – after the Trojans I am VERY excited.

BTW, as the courtesy to French folks: if the French-speaking GoodSoundClubers would like to have a copy in 88/24 then let me know and I would be happy send you. This is not the Georges Bizet’s gay paradise musical entertainment – this is the truly great piece of French opera – your will be proud for your cousins…

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