This 1955 recording originally was released on Melodiya, Russia’s tacky-sounding label. The sound remains boxy but is certainly listenable mono; the voices are unnaturally forward but everything is clear. If you don’t mind the preponderance of Slavic-colored voices (the edge and/or nasalness can be irritating to some ears), it is probably the first choice among recorded Onegins, due primarily to the Tatyana of Galina Vishnevskaya. In addition to being in young, fresh voice (far younger and fresher than in her stereo remake 14 years later), she grips us from the start. The character goes impressively from girlish and vulnerable to sexually aware in the Letter Scene to veritable regality in the final duet with Onegin.
Evgeny Belov’s Onegin also is just right. He’s annoyingly sure of himself when we first meet him and chilly a bit later; by the final scene we know his ego has been dealt a fatal blow. And he sings the role handsomely. (Freni may be a “lovelier” Tatyana and Hvorostovsky may have a more beautiful voice as Onegin, but they come in second in this comparison.) Tenor Sergei Lemeshev sings Lensky with attitude, and he sounds too old for the part, but he pulls himself together and turns in a gorgeous second-act aria. Ivan Petrov’s Gremin is rich and authoritative.
The whole performance is held together by Boris Khaikin’s leadership; he understands Tchaikovsky’s all-encompassing lyricism and never drives the music. The opera remains on an intimate scale–after all, Eugene Onegin is a story about individuals and their deepest feelings. The Bolshoi forces play with more discipline than on any other of their many recordings. Very highly recommended.
