Prokofiev - War and Peace / Bertini, Gunn, Kit, Mamsirova, Gouriakova, Brubaker, Paris Opera [DVD]

Movie / Show Details

Sergei Prokofiev’s War and Peace is an operatic adaptation of Tolstoy’s epic novel, composed after the composer finished Betrothal in a Monastery. The work unfolds across thirteen scenes split into two parts: the first seven depict the refined world of Russian aristocracy and center on a love story involving Natasha that ends in deception, while the final six scenes follow the events of war itself, from the Battle of Borodino through the retreat of Napoleon’s army and Moscow’s liberation. Prokofiev originally envisioned the opera as two separate evenings of performance, but it was eventually condensed into a single evening. This 2000 Paris Opera production features singers Nathan Gunn, Mikhail Kit, Mamsirova, and others under the direction of Francesca Zambello and Fran Roussillon.

This DVD release contains two discs with a total runtime of four hours and forty-nine minutes. The production is presented by Naxos and includes a 79-minute making-of documentary. You can own this operatic performance on physical media at a used price.