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PROKOFIEV: WAR AND PEACE (3 LPs; Heliodor). Tolstoy's epic is not the easiest assignment in operatic composing, but by concentrating on the love story of Prince Andrei and Natasha, and Kuturov's defeat of Napoleon, Prokofiev has done a surprisingly effective job. Instead of beginning with a big party scene, he shrewdly chooses a tender picture of longing and rebirth when Andrei hears Natasha and Sonya on their balcony. The composer has written the girls a soprano duet that recalls Strauss's lyricism. Here and elsewhere, the voices of Radmilla Vasovic Bokacevic and Biserka Cvejic are nicely matched. Among the male singers, Dusan Popovic as Andrei stands out as having a visceral knowledge not only of Prokofiev's music but of every shading of Tolstoy's complex character. Werner Janssen leads the Vienna Opera Orchestra in a well-integrated performance.
SHOSTAKOVICH: KATERINA ISMAILOVA (3 LPs; Melodiya-Angel). This opera cost its composer considerable grief: shortly after he wrote it he was denounced by the Soviets for bourgeois intentions and vulgar execution. It is a brash work; at times openly satirical, at others tragically serious. The plot, based on Nikolai Leskov's story, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District, tells of a frustrated wife who eventually destroys the men around her. All the characters are thoroughly unsympathetic. The recording, part of Capitol's new import of Russian phonography, is disappointing. As the wife, Niconora Andreyeva has spirited dramatic presence, but vocally she is insecure. Tenor Vyascheslav Radzievsky, as her husband, has a thin, weary voice, possibly because he forces it at top volume no matter what the circumstances. The many supporting roles are also sung unevenly, with the emphasis on dramatic display rather than well-placed singing.
CINEMA
THE DRIFTER. Inventive, impressionistic camera work and a memorable score tell a story as thin and fragile as a seashell about a vagabond hitchhiker.
THE WAR WAGON. This standard western has style and gusto, thanks to Old Pros John Wayne and Kirk Douglas and the taut direction of Burt Kennedy.
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. Playwright Neil Simon has adapted his boffo Broadway comedy to the screen with no loss of humor, largely owing to the retention of Original Cast Members Robert Redford and Mildred Natwick and the canny addition of Jane Fonda.
A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN. Walter Matthau is the man and Bobby Morse is his guide through the intricacies of adultery—with a fine collection of comics (among them: Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Joey Bishop) contributing cameo illustrations to the lecture.
THE HONEY POT. Rex Harrison plays a voluptuary who lives a vita that is incredibly dolce until Director Joseph Mankiewicz's sourly satirical plot takes over.
MADE IN ITALY. Anna Magnani, Alberto Sordi, Virna Lisi and Catherine Spaak are among the stars of this mosaic of modern Italy that blends humor, irony and pathos.
BOOKS
Best Reading
THE NEW FACE OF BUDDHA, by Jerrold Schecter. The first comprehensive, country-by-country analysis of modern Buddhism's entry into the political arena discusses the attempt of militant monks to cope with the conflict between tradition and transition in Asian life.