Giordano’s Siberia is less well known than some of his other works such as Andrea Chenier and Feodora but it has been getting something of a revival recently with a production at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 2021 (released on Blu-ray and DVD by Dynamic) and at the Bregenz Festival in 2022 which has also now been released on Blu-ray and DVD.

The basic plot of Siberia is so simple and straightforward that directors seem to be compelled to elaborate. In Florence there was some rather bizarre time shifting whereas in the Bregenz version there’s an elaborate framing device. So what happens in the basic opera? Stephana is a beautiful young courtesan in Tsarist St. Petersburg. She has been pimped out by one Greby to various lovers including Prince Alexis. She is also having an affair on her own time with a young officer Vassili. Alexis and Vassili, by ill chance, meet at Stephana’s. They fight. Vassili kills Alexis and is sent to a penal colony in Siberia. Stephana follows him. Greby shows up again looking to hook up again with Stephana. She’s having none of it and she and Vassili attempt an escape during which Stephana is shot and killed. That’s it basically.

The framing device introduced by director Vasily Barkhatov is a silent black and white film involving an old woman who, we learn, is Stephana’s daughter. She is taking the ashes of her brother from Rome to Russia (it’s 1992) to be scattered at the site of the penal colony. As well as the film sequences, which pop up at intervals, the Old Woman is introduced into the narrative in various ways. In Act 1 she is lurking in the background extracting letters etc from behind the wallpaper. In Act 2 the whole scene is shifted from Tsarist times to 1992 in the state archives somewhere in Siberia. The Old Woman actually sings the part normally given to a young girl. Vassili and Stephana’s reunion is presented as if it takes place in her imagination. Stephana’s children appear at the beginning of the third act in the camp. A little later we see the Old Woman scattering the ashes in what is now a scruffy playground surrounded by grim Soviet era apartments when the dying Stephana staggers in with Vassili. It’s sometimes a bit disorienting but in many ways it works rather well.

Musically Siberia is not unlike Giordano’s other operas. It’s quite heavily orchestrated and inhabits a typically verismo sound world. Also like his other operas it includes really rather challenging parts for the principals. Stephana, played here by Ambur Braid, is a full on dramatic role which she handles with aplomb. The voice is powerful and true and she makes the most of her big act 3 aria “Un giorno ebbe l’amor pieta di me”. Her acting is very good with a scattering of those Ambur Braid moments her fans will appreciate. Vassili, sung by tenor Alexander Mikhailov, is also a demanding role and is sung in properly Italianate fashion backed up by effective acting. Baritone Scott Hendricks makes a very fine Greby. He is seriously unpleasant with some stellar singing and quite creepy acting. Clarry Bartha, as the Old Woman, is good in the film and remarkably effective in the live action. The host of minor characters are all competently executed. The chorus (the Prague Philharmonic Choir) has a fair bit to do, especially in Act 3, and it’s excellent. The Wiener Symphoniker is in the pit and playing as well as one expects. Conductor Valentin Uryupin is sensitive to the drama and dynamics of the score while supporting his singers very well.

Video direction is by Tiziano Mancini and it’s very well done. The live stage action, which incorporates flashbacks and other tricky things to film, is captured in a way that makes sense and the film sequences and live action are effectively integrated. Audio and video quality are excellent and there’s enough information in the booklet to make sense of the rather complicated interweaving of main narrative and framing device.

All in all, I think this is to be preferred to the competing Florence recording. The production is more convincing and the performances are at least as good. That said I don’t think Siberia is going to replace Tosca in the standard repertory any time soon.

Catalogue number:  Unitel Blu-ray – 763004