Work: Francesca da Rimini

Gil Rose conducts all three of Rachmaninov's operas in Boston, with impressive performances making a convincing case for at least two of them. 

Iolanta and Francesca da Rimini work particularly well as a double bill because both works share the theme of lovers who find themselves at the mercy of possessive forces. Iolanta's domineering father ultimately yields in Tchaikovsky's opera, but in Rachmaninov's the deceitful Lanceotto is not so accommodating.