Viascheslav Voynarovskiy
Andrey Breus
Lyubov Petrova
Alexandra Durseneva
Vsevolod Grivnov
Nino Surguladze,
Sergei Alexashkin
Alan Opie

London Philharmonic Orchestra
The Glyndebourne Chorus
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor

Recorded live at Glyndebourne on 12, 15 & 22 August 2006

A recording of a rarely performed work with consummate Russian conductor and cast.


Prokofiev composed his last complete opera, Betrothal in a Monastery, as the Nazis were invading Russia and the country descended into a period of political repression and terror.

However, the opera, a romantic comedy loosely based on Richard Sheridan’s 1775 play, The Duenna, was according to Shostakovich ‘one of Prokofiev’s most radiant and buoyant works’. Betrothal in a Monastery highlights the cultural divisions between the faded glamour of the impoverished aristocracy and the new wealth of the lower classes.

Ostensibly the plot concerns the trials of two pairs of lovers, Louisa and Antonio, and Clara and Ferdinand, but ultimately it is the fishmonger, Mendoza, who in the great tradition of the anti-hero, wins our empathy.


“While Gergiev famously is not one to less the grass grow under his feet, Jurowski is faster still, dashing through the score in a way which brings delightful sparkle to many episodes but a feeling of breathlessness and harmonic cramping to others.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2008

“As a record of an operatic ensemble taken to rare limits of perfection, and handsomely presented, it's a unique experience.”
BBC Music Magazine, July 2008 *****

“The music is always engaging, Vladimir Jurowski tackles it with real zest, and the top-notch, largely Russian cast makes every effort to exploit its definition of character and incident. But, as in so many comedies, the listener needs the visual element to help focus on the fast-moving libretto.”
The Telegraph, 26th July 2008