Listen to a Sample:

For the most part I make these compilations as tributes to singers that I have loved for years.  In the case of this retrospective of Boris Christoff, I wanted the opportunity to sit down with an artist whom I have known peripherally but have never considered very carefully.  I found that I was slightly prejudiced going in by my conception of his larger than life persona.  Indeed when one thinks of Christoff one sees the image of a huge man with a pointy beard.  A grandiose stage persona is, of course, the prerequisite for playing tsars and kings.  However Christoff's artistry was more than just bombast and spectacle and what makes his portrayal of, say, Boris Godunov so interesting is how he shows the audience that these people are, in fact, men with all the frailties of everyone else.  I was also very surprised to hear that he had a lighter side to him which is evidenced in Rocco's aria from Fidelio and Kaspar's arias from Der Freischütz.  I am very proud to offer the most comprehensive glimpse of Christoff's artistry available today.  The sound ranges from fair to excellent.

Featuring arias and excerpts from Norma, Nabucco, Don Carlo, Fidelio, Der Freischütz, Parsifal, Le Coq d'or, Mazeppa, Ivan the Terrible and Boris Godunov

OD 10621-2