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Boris Godunov (opera)

December 15, 2023

For other uses, see Boris Godunov (disambiguation).

Boris Godunov (Russian: Борис Годунов, tr. Borís Godunóv listenⓘ) is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece.[1][2] Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar (1598 to 1605) during the Time of Troubles, and his nemesis, the False Dmitriy (reigned 1605 to 1606). The Russian-language libretto was written by the composer, and is based on the 1825 drama Boris Godunov by Aleksandr Pushkin, and, in the Revised Version of 1872, on Nikolay Karamzin's History of the Russian State.

Boris Godunov
Opera by Modest Mussorgsky
The death of Boris in the Faceted Palace from the premiere production
Native title
Russian: Борис Годунов
LibrettistMussorgsky
LanguageRussian
Based onBoris Godunov by Alexander Pushkin and History of the Russian State by Nikolay Karamzin
Premiere
27 January 1874 (1874-01-27)
Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg

Among major operas, Boris Godunov shares with Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlos (1867) the distinction of having an extremely complex creative history, as well as a great wealth of alternative material.[3] The composer created two versions—the Original Version of 1869, which was rejected for production by the Imperial Theatres, and the Revised Version of 1872, which received its first performance in 1874 in Saint Petersburg.

Boris Godunov has often been subjected to cuts, recomposition, re-orchestration, transposition of scenes, or conflation of the original and revised versions.

Several composers, chief among them Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and Dmitri Shostakovich, have created new editions of the opera to "correct" perceived technical weaknesses in the composer's original scores. Although these versions held the stage for decades, Mussorgsky's individual harmonic style and orchestration are now valued for their originality, and revisions by other hands have fallen out of fashion.

In the 1980s, Boris Godunov was closer to the status of a repertory piece than any other Russian opera, even Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin,[4] and is the most recorded Russian opera.[5]

History edit

Composition history edit

Note: Dates provided in this article for events taking place in Russia before 1918 are Old Style.

By the close of 1868, Mussorgsky had already started and abandoned two important opera projects—the antique, exotic, romantic tragedy Salammbô, written under the influence of Aleksandr Serov's Judith, and the contemporary, Russian, anti-romantic farce Marriage, influenced by Aleksandr Dargomïzhsky's The Stone Guest. Mussorgsky's next project would be a very original and successful synthesis of the opposing styles of these two experiments—the romantic-lyrical style of Salammbô, and the realistic style of Marriage.[6]

In the autumn of 1868, Vladimir Nikolsky, a professor of Russian history and language, and an authority on Pushkin, suggested to Mussorgsky the idea of composing an opera on the subject of Pushkin's "dramatic chronicle" Boris Godunov.[7] Boris the play, modelled on Shakespeare's histories,[8] was written in 1825 and published in 1831, but was not approved for performance by the state censors until 1866, almost 30 years after the author's death. Production was permitted on condition that certain scenes were cut.[9][10] Although enthusiasm for the work was high, Mussorgsky faced a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to his plans in that an Imperial ukaz of 1837 forbade the portrayal in opera of Russian Tsars (amended in 1872 to include only Romanov Tsars).[11]

 
Mussorgsky in 1870

Original Version

When Lyudmila Shestakova, the sister of Mikhail Glinka, learned of Mussorgsky's plans, she presented him with a volume of Pushkin's dramatic works, interleaved with blank pages and bound, and using this, Mussorgsky began work in October 1868 preparing his own libretto.[12] Pushkin's drama consists of 25 scenes, written predominantly in blank verse. Mussorgsky adapted the most theatrically effective scenes, mainly those featuring the title character, along with a few other key scenes (Novodevichy, Cell, Inn), often preserving Pushkin's verses.[13]

Mussorgsky worked rapidly, composing first the vocal score in about nine months (finished 18 July 1869), and completed the full score five months later (15 December 1869), at the same time working as a civil servant.[12][14] In 1870, he submitted the libretto to the state censor for examination, and the score to the literary and music committees of the Imperial Theatres.[15] However, the opera was rejected (10 February 1871) by a vote of 6 to 1, ostensibly for its lack of an important female role.[16] Lyudmila Shestakova recalled the reply made by conductor Eduard Nápravník and stage manager Gennadiy Kondratyev of the Mariinsky Theatre in response to her question of whether Boris had been accepted for production:[17]

"'No,' they answered me, 'it's impossible. How can there be an opera without the feminine element?! Mussorgsky has great talent beyond doubt. Let him add one more scene. Then Boris will be produced!'"[17]

— Lyudmila Shestakova, in My Evenings, her recollections of Mussorgsky and The Mighty Handful, 1889

Other questionable accounts, such as Rimsky-Korsakov's, allege that there were additional reasons for rejection, such as the work's novelty:[17]

"...Mussorgsky submitted his completed Boris Godunov to the Board of Directors of the Imperial Theatres ... The freshness and originality of the music nonplussed the honorable members of the committee, who reproved the composer, among other things, for the absence of a reasonably important female role."[18]

— Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Chronicle of My Musical Life, 1909

"All his closest friends, including myself, although moved to enthusiasm by the superb dramatic power and genuinely national character of the work, had constantly been pointing out to him that it lacked many essentials; and that despite the beauties with which it teemed, it might be found unsatisfactory in certain respects. For a long time he stood up (as every genuine artist is wont to do) for his creation, the fruit of his inspiration and meditations. He yielded only after Boris had been rejected, the management finding that it contained too many choruses and ensembles, whereas individual characters had too little to do. This rejection proved very beneficial to Boris."[19]

— Vladimir Stasov

Meanwhile, Pushkin's drama (18 of the published 24 scenes, condensed into 16) finally received its first performance in 1870 at the Mariinsky Theatre, three years in advance of the premiere of the opera in the same venue, using the same scene designs by Matvey Shishkov that would be recycled in the opera.[9][10]

 
Eduard Nápravník conducted the premiere of Boris Godunov (1874).[20] The Czech Nápravník would spend more than 40 years in the service of Russian music as chief conductor of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre.[21] In Rimsky-Korsakov's memoirs, Chronicle of My Musical Life, the composer praises his keen ear, his ability to detect errors, and his overall technique, but faults him for his rapid tempi, his interpretational inflexibility and insensitivity, and, most of all, for his habit of making sweeping cuts.[22]

Revised Version

In 1871, Mussorgsky began recasting and expanding the opera with enthusiasm, ultimately going beyond the requirements of the directorate of the Imperial Theatres, which called simply for the addition of a female role and a scene to contain it.[16] He added three scenes (the two Sandomierz scenes and the Kromï Scene), cut one (The Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed), and recomposed another (the Terem Scene). The modifications resulted in the addition of an important prima donna role (Marina Mniszech), the expansion of existing female roles (additional songs for the Hostess, Fyodor, and the Nurse), and the expansion of the first tenor role (the Pretender). Mussorgsky augmented his adaptation of Pushkin's drama with his own lyrics, assisted by a study of the monumental History of the Russian State by Karamzin, to whom Pushkin's drama is dedicated. The Revised Version was finished in 1872 (vocal score, 14 December 1871; full score 23 June 1872),[14] and submitted to the Imperial Theatres in the autumn.

Most Mussorgsky biographers claim that the directorate of the Imperial Theatres also rejected the revised version of Boris Godunov, even providing a date: 6 May 1872 (Calvocoressi),[23] or 29 October 1872 (Lloyd-Jones).[24] Recent researchers point out that there is insufficient evidence to support this claim, emphasizing that in his revision Mussorgsky had rectified the only objection the directorate is known to have made.[25]

In any case, Mussorgsky's friends took matters into their own hands, arranging the performance of three scenes (the Inn and both Sandomierz scenes) at the Mariinsky Theatre on 5 February 1873, as a benefit for stage manager Gennadiy Kondratyev.[14] César Cui's review noted the audience's enthusiasm:

"The success was enormous and complete; never, within my memory, had such ovations been given to a composer at the Mariinsky."[26]

— César Cui, Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti, 1873

The success of this performance led V. Bessel and Co. to announce the publication of the piano vocal score of Mussorgsky's opera, issued in January 1874.[14]

Premiere

The triumphant 1873 performance of three scenes paved the way for the first performance of the opera, which was accepted for production on 22 October 1873.[27] The premiere took place on 27 January 1874, as a benefit for prima donna Yuliya Platonova.[14] The performance was a great success with the public. The Mariinsky Theatre was sold out; Mussorgsky had to take some 20 curtain calls; students sang choruses from the opera in the street. This time, however, the critical reaction was exceedingly hostile[28] [see Critical Reception in this article for details].

Initial performances of Boris Godunov featured significant cuts. The entire Cell Scene was cut from the first performance, not, as is often supposed, due to censorship, but because Nápravník wished to avoid a lengthy performance, and frequently cut episodes he felt were ineffective.[29] Later performances tended to be even more heavily cut, including the additional removal of the Kromï scene, likely for political reasons (starting 20 October 1876, the 13th performance).[30] After protracted difficulties in obtaining the production of his opera, Mussorgsky was compliant with Nápravník's demands, and even defended these mutilations to his own supporters.

"Presently cuts were made in the opera, the splendid scene 'Near Kromï' was omitted. Some two years later, the Lord knows why, productions of the opera ceased altogether, although it had enjoyed uninterrupted success, and the performances under Petrov and, after his death, by F. I. Stravinsky, Platonova, and Komissarzhevsky had been excellent. There were rumors afloat that the opera had displeased the Imperial family; there was gossip that its subject was unpleasant to the censors; the result was that the opera was stricken from the repertory."[31]

— Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Chronicle of My Musical Life

Boris Godunov was performed 21 times during the composer's lifetime, and 5 times after his death (in 1881) before being withdrawn from the repertory on 8 November 1882. When Mussorgsky's subsequent opera Khovanshchina was rejected for production in 1883, the Imperial Opera Committee reputedly said: "One radical opera by Mussorgsky is enough."[32] Boris Godunov did not return to the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre until 9 November 1904, when the Rimsky-Korsakov edition was presented under conductor Feliks Blumenfeld with bass Feodor Chaliapin in the title role.

Boris Godunov and the Imperial Family edit

The reports of the antipathy of the Imperial family to Mussorgsky's opera are supported by the following accounts by Platonova and Stasov:

"During the [premiere], after the scene by the fountain, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, a devoted friend of mine, but by the calumny of the Conservatory members, the sworn enemy of Musorgsky, approached me during the intermission with the following words: 'And you like this music so much that you chose this opera for a benefit performance?' 'I like it, Your Highness,' I answered. 'Then I am going to tell you that this is a shame to all Russia, and not an opera!' he screamed, almost foaming at the mouth, and then turning his back, he stomped away from me."[33]

— Yuliya Platonova, letter to Vladimir Stasov

"In the entire audience, I think only Konstantin Nikolayevich was unhappy (he does not like our school, in general) ... it was not so much the fault of the music as that of the libretto, where the 'folk scenes,' the riot, the scene where the police officer beats the people with his stick so that they cry out begging Boris to accept the throne, and so forth, were jarring to some people and infuriated them. There was no end to applause and curtain calls."[34]

— Vladimir Stasov, letter to his daughter, 1874

"When the list of operas for the winter was presented to His Majesty the Emperor, he, with his own hand, was pleased to strike out Boris with a wavy line in blue pencil."[35]

— Vladimir Stasov, letter to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 1888

Performance history edit

Note: This section lists performance data for the Saint Petersburg and Moscow premieres of each important version, the first performance of each version abroad, and premieres in English-speaking countries. Dates provided for events taking place in Russia before 1918 are Old Style.

Original interpreters

  •  
    Petrov and Dyuzhikov
    as Varlaam and Misail
  •  
    Ivan Melnikov
    as Tsar Boris
  •  
    Paleček and Platonova
    as Rangoni and Marina
  •  
    Fyodor Komissarzhevsky
    as the Pretender

1872, Saint Petersburg – Excerpts

The Coronation Scene was performed on 5 February 1872 by the Russian Music Society, conducted by Eduard Nápravník. The Polonaise from Act 3 was performed (without chorus) on 3 April 1872 by the Free School of Music, conducted by Miliy Balakirev.[36]

1873, Saint Petersburg – Three scenes

Three scenes from the opera—the Inn Scene, the Scene in Marina's Boudoir, and the Fountain Scene—were performed on 5 February 1873 at the Mariinsky Theatre. Eduard Nápravník conducted.[26] The cast included Darya Leonova (Innkeeper), Fyodor Komissarzhevsky (Pretender), Osip Petrov (Varlaam), Vasiliy Vasilyev (or 'Vasilyev II') (Misail), Mikhail Sariotti (Police Officer), Yuliya Platonova (Marina), Josef Paleček (Rangoni), and Feliks Krzesiński (Old Polish Noble).[37]

 
'The House of Boris', design by Matvey Shishkov (1870)

1874, Saint Petersburg – World premiere

The Revised Version of 1872 received its world premiere on 27 January 1874 at the Mariinsky Theatre. The Cell Scene was omitted. The Novodevichiy and Coronation scenes were combined into one continuous scene: 'The Call of Boris to the Tsardom'. Matvey Shishkov's design for the last scene of Pushkin's drama, 'The House of Boris' (see illustration, right), was substituted for this hybrid of the Novodevichiy and Coronation scenes.[38] The scenes were grouped in five acts as follows:[39]

Act 1: 'The Call of Boris to the Tsardom' and 'Inn'
Act 2: 'With Tsar Boris'
Act 3: 'Marina's Boudoir' and 'At the Fountain'
Act 4: 'The Death of Boris'
Act 5: 'The Pretender near Kromï'

Production personnel included Gennadiy Kondratyev (stage director), Ivan Pomazansky (chorus master), Matvey Shishkov, Mikhail Bocharov, and Ivan Andreyev (scene designers), and Vasiliy Prokhorov (costume designer). Eduard Nápravník conducted. The cast included Ivan Melnikov (Boris), Aleksandra Krutikova (Fyodor), Wilhelmina Raab (Kseniya), Olga Shryoder (nurse), Vasiliy Vasilyev, 'Vasilyev II' (Shuysky), Vladimir Sobolev (Shchelkalov), Vladimir Vasilyev, 'Vasilyev I' (Pimen, Lawicki), Fyodor Komissarzhevsky (Pretender), Yuliya Platonova (Marina), Josef Paleček (Rangoni), Osip Petrov (Varlaam), Pavel Dyuzhikov (Misail), Antonina Abarinova (Innkeeper), Pavel Bulakhov (Yuródivïy), Mikhail Sariotti (Nikitich), Lyadov (Mityukha), Sobolev (Boyar-in-Attendance), Matveyev (Khrushchov), and Sobolev (Czernikowski). The production ran for 26 performances over 9 years.[40]

The premiere established traditions that have influenced subsequent Russian productions (and many abroad as well): 1) Cuts made to shorten what is perceived as an overlong work; 2) Declamatory and histrionic singing by the title character, often degenerating in climactic moments into shouting (initiated by Ivan Melnikov, and later reinforced by Fyodor Shalyapin); and 3) Realistic and historically accurate sets and costumes, employing very little stylization.[41]

1879, Saint Petersburg – Cell Scene

The Cell Scene (Revised Version) was first performed on 16 January 1879 in Kononov Hall, at a concert of the Free School of Music, in the presence of Mussorgsky.[42] Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov conducted. The cast included Vladimir Vasilyev, "Vasilyev I" (Pimen), and Vasiliy Vasilyev, 'Vasilyev II' (Pretender).[43][44]

1888, Moscow – Bolshoy Theatre premiere

The Revised Version of 1872 received its Moscow premiere on 16 December 1888 at the Bolshoy Theatre. The Cell and Kromï scenes were omitted. Production personnel included Anton Bartsal (stage director), and Karl Valts (scene designer). Ippolit Altani conducted. The cast included Bogomir Korsov (Boris), Nadezhda Salina (Fyodor), Aleksandra Karatayeva (Kseniya), O. Pavlova (Nurse), Anton Bartsal (Shuysky), Pyotr Figurov (Shchelkalov), Ivan Butenko (Pimen), Lavrentiy Donskoy (Pretender), Mariya Klimentova (Marina), Pavel Borisov (Rangoni), Vladimir Streletsky (Varlaam), Mikhail Mikhaylov (Misail), Vera Gnucheva (Innkeeper), and Aleksandr Dodonov (Boyar-in-attendance). The production ran for 10 performances.[40][45]

1896, Saint Petersburg – Premiere of the Rimsky-Korsakov edition

The Rimsky-Korsakov edition premiered on 28 November 1896 in the Great Hall of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov conducted. The cast included Mikhail Lunacharsky (Boris), Gavriil Morskoy (Pretender), Nikolay Kedrov (Rangoni), and Fyodor Stravinsky (Varlaam). The production ran for 4 performances.[40]

 
Shalyapin as Boris (1898)

1898, Moscow – Fyodor Shalyapin as Boris

Bass Fyodor Shalyapin first appeared as Boris on 7 December 1898 at the Solodovnikov Theatre in a Private Russian Opera production. The Rimsky-Korsakov edition of 1896 was performed. Production personnel included Savva Mamontov (producer), and Mikhail Lentovsky (stage director). Giuseppe Truffi conducted. The cast also included Anton Sekar-Rozhansky (Pretender), Serafima Selyuk-Roznatovskaya (Marina), Varvara Strakhova (Fyodor), and Vasiliy Shkafer (Shuysky). The production ran for 14 performances.[40]

1908, Paris – First performance outside Russia

The Rimsky-Korsakov edition of 1908 premiered on 19 May 1908 at the Paris Opéra. The Cell Scene preceded the Coronation Scene, the Inn Scene and the Scene in Marina's Boudoir were omitted, the Fountain Scene preceded the Terem Scene, and the Kromï Scene preceded the Death Scene. Production personnel included Sergey Dyagilev (producer), Aleksandr Sanin (stage director), Aleksandr Golovin, Konstantin Yuon, Aleksandr Benua, and Yevgeniy Lansere (scene designers), Ulrikh Avranek (chorusmaster), and Ivan Bilibin (costume designer). Feliks Blumenfeld conducted. The cast included Fyodor Shalyapin (Boris), Klavdiya Tugarinova (Fyodor), Dagmara Renina (Kseniya), Yelizaveta Petrenko (Nurse), Ivan Alchevsky (Shuysky), Nikolay Kedrov (Shchelkalov), Vladimir Kastorsky (Pimen), Dmitri Smirnov (Pretender), Nataliya Yermolenko-Yuzhina (Marina), Vasiliy Sharonov (Varlaam), Vasiliy Doverin-Kravchenko (Misail), Mitrofan Chuprïnnikov (Yuródivïy), and Khristofor Tolkachev (Nikitich).[40] The production ran for 7 performances.[46]

 
Didur as Boris (1913)

1913, New York – United States premiere

 
Cast of a performance of Boris Godunoff (sung in Italian) at the Metropolitan Opera, 7 December 1922

The United States premiere of the 1908 Rimsky-Korsakov edition took place on 19 March 1913 at the Metropolitan Opera, and was based on Sergey Dyagilev's Paris production. The opera was presented in three acts. The Cell Scene preceded the Coronation Scene, the scene in Marina's Boudoir was omitted, and the Kromï Scene preceded the Death Scene. However, the Inn Scene, which was omitted in Paris, was included. Scenery and costume designs were the same as used in Paris in 1908—made in Russia by Golovin, Benua, and Bilibin, and shipped from Paris. Arturo Toscanini conducted. The cast included Adamo Didur (Boris), Anna Case (Fyodor), Leonora Sparkes (Kseniya), Maria Duchêne (Nurse), Angelo Badà (Shuysky), Vincenzo Reschiglian (Shchelkalov, Lawicki), Jeanne Maubourg (Innkeeper), Léon Rothier (Pimen), Paul Althouse (Pretender), Louise Homer (Marina), Andrés de Segurola (Varlaam), Pietro Audisio (Misail), Albert Reiss (Yuródivïy), Giulio Rossi (Nikitich), Leopoldo Mariani (Boyar-in-Attendance), and Louis Kreidler (Czernikowski).[47] This performance was sung in Italian.

 
Shalyapin as Boris (1913)

1913, London – United Kingdom premiere

The United Kingdom premiere of the 1908 Rimsky-Korsakov edition took place on 24 June 1913 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. Production personnel included Sergey Dyagilev (producer) and Aleksandr Sanin (stage director). Emil Cooper conducted. The cast included Fyodor Shalyapin (Boris), Mariya Davïdova (Fyodor), Mariya Brian (Kseniya), Yelizaveta Petrenko (Nurse, Innkeeper), Nikolay Andreyev (Shuysky), A. Dogonadze (Shchelkalov), Pavel Andreyev (Pimen), Vasiliy Damayev (Pretender), Yelena Nikolayeva (Marina), Aleksandr Belyanin (Varlaam), Nikolay Bolshakov (Misail), Aleksandr Aleksandrovich (Yuródivïy), and Kapiton Zaporozhets (Nikitich).[40]

1927, Moscow – St. Basil's Scene

The newly published St. Basil's Scene was performed on 18 January 1927 at the Bolshoy Theatre in the 1926 revision by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, commissioned in 1925 to accompany the Rimsky-Korsakov edition. Production personnel included Vladimir Lossky (stage director) and Fyodor Fedorovsky (scene designer). Ariy Pazovsky conducted. The cast included Ivan Kozlovsky (Yuródivïy), and Leonid Savransky (Boris).[48] The production ran for 144 performances.[40]

 
Novodevichiy Scene. Design by Vladimir Dmitriev (1928)

1928, Leningrad – World premiere of the 1869 Original Version

The Original Version of 1869 premiered on 16 February 1928 at the State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Production personnel included Sergey Radlov (stage director), and Vladimir Dmitriyev (scene designer). Vladimir Dranishnikov conducted. The cast included Mark Reyzen (Boris), Aleksandr Kabanov (Shuysky), Ivan Pleshakov (Pimen), Nikolay Pechkovsky (Pretender), Pavel Zhuravlenko (Varlaam), Yekaterina Sabinina (Innkeeper), and V. Tikhiy (Yuródivïy).[40]

1935, London – First performance of the 1869 Original Version outside Russia

The first performance of the 1869 Original Version abroad took place on 30 September 1935 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. The opera was sung in English. Lawrance Collingwood conducted. The cast included Ronald Stear (Boris).[49]

1959, Leningrad – First performance of the Shostakovich orchestration

The premiere of the Shostakovich orchestration of 1940 of Pavel Lamm's vocal score took place on 4 November 1959 at the Kirov Theatre. Sergey Yeltsin conducted. The cast included Boris Shtokolov (Boris).

1974, New York – First Russian Language Performance in the United States

On 16 December 1974, an adapted version of the original Mussorgsky orchestration was used for this New production, with Martti Talvela performing the title role by the Metropolitan Opera, which was also the first performance of Boris Godunov in the new Lincoln Center building since its opening in 1966.

Publication history edit

Year Score Editor Publisher Notes
1874 Piano vocal score Modest Mussorgsky V. Bessel and Co., Saint Petersburg Revised Version
1896 Full score Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov V. Bessel and Co., Saint Petersburg A drastically edited, re-orchestrated, and cut form of the 1874 vocal score
1908 Full score Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov V. Bessel and Co., Saint Petersburg A drastically edited and re-orchestrated form of the 1874 vocal score
1928 Piano vocal score Pavel Lamm Muzsektor, Moscow; Oxford University Press, London A restoration of the composer's scores; a conflation of the Original and Revised Versions, but with notes identifying the sources
Full score Pavel Lamm and Boris Asafyev Muzsektor, Moscow; Oxford University Press, London A restoration of the composer's scores; a conflation of the Original and Revised Versions; limited edition of 200 copies
1963 Full score Dmitriy Shostakovich Muzgiz, Moscow A new orchestration of Lamm's vocal score; a conflation of the Original and Revised Versions
1975 Full score David Lloyd-Jones Oxford University Press, London A restoration of the composer's scores; a conflation of the Original and Revised Versions, but with notes identifying the sources

Versions edit

 
Title page of the 1874 Piano Vocal Score. The text reads: "Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue, a composition by M. P. Mussorgsky; complete arrangement (including scenes not offered for production on the stage) for piano and voice; Saint Petersburg, by V. Bessel and Co."

Note: Musicologists are often not in agreement on the terms used to refer to the two authorial versions of Boris Godunov. Editors Pavel Lamm and Boris Asafyev used "preliminary redaction" and "principal redaction" for the 1st and 2nd versions, respectively,[50] and David Lloyd-Jones designated them "initial" and "definitive."[51] This article, aiming for utmost objectivity, uses "original" and "revised."

The differences in approach between the two authorial versions are sufficient as to constitute two distinct ideological conceptions, not two variations of a single plan.[52][53]

1869 Original Version

The Original Version of 1869 is rarely heard. It is distinguished by its greater fidelity to Pushkin's drama and its almost entirely male cast of soloists. It also conforms to the recitative opera style (opéra dialogué) of The Stone Guest and Marriage, and to the ideals of kuchkist realism, which include fidelity to text, formlessness, and emphasis on the values of spoken theatre, especially through naturalistic declamation.[53][54] The unique features of this version include:

  • Pimen's narrative of the scene of the murder of Dmitriy Ivanovich (Part 2, Scene 1)
  • The original Terem Scene (Part 3), which follows Pushkin's text more closely than does the revised version.
  • The scene 'The Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed' (the 'St. Basil's Scene'—Part 4, Scene 1)

The terse Terem Scene of the 1869 version and the unrelieved tension of the two subsequent and final scenes make this version more dramatically effective to some critics (e.g., Boris Asafyev).[55]

1872 Revised Version

The Revised Version of 1872 represents a retreat from the ideals of Kuchkist realism, which had come to be associated with comedy, toward a more exalted, tragic tone, and a conventionally operatic style—a trend that would be continued in the composer's next opera, Khovanshchina.[56] This version is longer, is richer in musical and theatrical variety,[57] and balances naturalistic declamation with more lyrical vocal lines. The unique features of this version include:

  • Two new offstage choruses of monks in the otherwise abbreviated Cell Scene (Act 1, Scene 1)
  • The innkeeper's 'Song of the Drake' (Act 1, Scene 2)
  • The revised Terem Scene (Act 2), which presents the title character in a more tragic and melodramatic light, and includes new songs and new musical themes borrowed from Salammbô[58]
  • The conventionally operatic 'Polish' act (Act 3)
  • The novel final scene of anarchy (the Kromï Scene—Act 4, Scene 2)

Mussorgsky rewrote the Terem Scene for the 1872 version, modifying the text, adding new songs and plot devices (the parrot and the clock), modifying the psychology of the title character, and virtually recomposing the music of the entire scene.

This version has made a strong comeback in recent years, and has become the dominant version.

1874 Piano Vocal Score

The Piano Vocal Score of 1874 was the first published form of the opera, and is essentially the 1872 version with some minor musical variants and small cuts. The 1874 vocal score does not constitute a 'third version', but rather a refinement of the 1872 Revised Version.[14]

Scene structure edit

The distribution of scenes in the authorial versions is as follows:

Scene Short name Original Version 1869 Revised Version 1872
The Courtyard of the Novodevichiy Monastery Novodevichy Scene Part 1, Scene 1 Prologue, Scene 1
A Square in the Moscow Kremlin Coronation Scene Part 1, Scene 2 Prologue, Scene 2
A Cell in the Chudov Monastery Cell Scene Part 2, Scene 1 Act 1, Scene 1
An Inn on the Lithuanian Border Inn Scene Part 2, Scene 2 Act 1, Scene 2
The Tsar's Terem in the Moscow Kremlin Kremlin Scene Part 3 Act 2
Marina's Boudoir in Sandomierz
–
–
 Act 3, Scene 1
The Garden of Mniszech's Castle in Sandomierz Fountain Scene
–
 Act 3, Scene 2
The Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed St. Basil's Scene Part 4, Scene 1
–
The Faceted Palace in the Moscow Kremlin Death Scene Part 4, Scene 2 Act 4, Scene 1
A Forest Glade near Kromï Revolution Scene
–
 Act 4, Scene 2

Upon revising the opera, Mussorgsky initially replaced the St. Basil's Scene with the Kromï Scene. However, on the suggestion of Vladimir Nikolsky, he transposed the order of the last two scenes, concluding the opera with the Kromï Scene rather than the Faceted Palace Scene. This gives the overall structure of the 1872 Revised Version the following symmetrical form:[59]

Act Scene Character Focus
Prologue Novodevichy People
Cathedral Square Boris
Act 1 Cell Pretender
Inn
Act 2 Terem Boris
Act 3 Marina's Boudoir Pretender
Fountain
Act 4 Faceted Palace Boris
Near Kromï People

Editions by other hands

The Rimsky-Korsakov Version of 1908 has been the most traditional version over the last century, but has recently been almost entirely eclipsed by Mussorgsky's Revised Version (1872). It resembles the Vocal Score of 1874, but the order of the last two scenes is reversed [see Versions by Other Hands in this article for more details].

Roles edit

Role Voice type Premiere cast[60]
Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg
27 January 1874
Conductor: Eduard Nápravník
Boris Godunov bass-baritone Ivan Melnikov
Fyodor (or Feodor), his son mezzo-soprano Aleksandra Krutikova
Kseniya (or Xenia), Boris's daughter soprano Wilhelmina Raab
Kseniya's nurse contralto Olga Shryoder (Schröder)
Prince Vasiliy Ivanovich Shuysky tenor Vasiliy Vasilyev, 'Vasilyev II'
Andrey Shchelkalov, Clerk of the Duma bass-baritone Vladimir Sobolev
Pimen, chronicler-hermit bass Vladimir Vasilyev, 'Vasilyev I'
The Pretender under the name Grigoriy (in training with Pimen) tenor Fyodor Komissarzhevsky
Marina Mniszech*, the daughter of the Sandomierz Voyevoda mezzo-soprano or soprano Yuliya Platonova
Rangoni,* a covert Jesuit bass Josef Paleček
Varlaam, a vagabond bass Osip Petrov
Misail, a vagabond tenor Pavel Dyuzhikov
The Innkeeper mezzo-soprano Antonina Abarinova
The yuródivïy tenor Pavel Bulakhov
Nikitich, a police officer bass Mikhail Sariotti
Mityukha, a peasant bass Lyadov
The Boyar-in-Attendance tenor Sobolev
The Boyar Khrushchov* tenor Matvey Matveyev
Lawicki* (or Lavitsky), Jesuit bass Vladimir Vasilyev, 'Vasilyev I'
Czernikowski* (or Chernikovsky), Jesuit bass Sobolev
Chorus, silent roles: Boyars, the Boyars' children, streltsï, bodyguards, policemen, Polish nobles*, Sandomierz maidens*, wandering minstrels, people of Moscow

Note: Roles designated with an asterisk (*) do not appear in the 1869 Original Version. 'Yuródivïy' is often translated as 'Simpleton' or 'Idiot'. However, 'Holy Fool' is a more accurate English equivalent.[61][a] In other roles lists created by Mussorgsky, Pimen is designated a monk (инок), Grigoriy a novice (послушник), Rangoni a Cardinal (кардинал), Varlaam and Misail vagrant-monks (бродяги-чернецы), the Innkeeper a hostess (хозяйка), and Khrushchov a Voyevoda (воевода).[65] Pimen, Grigoriy, Varlaam, and Misail were likely given non-clerical designations to satisfy the censor.

Instrumentation edit

Mussorgsky orchestration

Strings: violins I & II, violas, cellos, double basses
Woodwinds: 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling english horn), 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons
Brass: 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba
Percussion: timpani, bass drum, snare drum, tambourine, cymbals
Other: piano, harp
On/Offstage instruments: 1 trumpet, bells, tam-tam

Rimsky-Korsakov orchestration

Strings: violins I & II, violas, cellos, double basses
Woodwinds: 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling english horn), 3 clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons
Brass: 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba
Percussion: timpani, bass drum, snare drum, tambourine, cymbals
Other: piano, harp
On/Offstage instruments: 1 trumpet, bells, tam-tam

Shostakovich orchestration

Strings: violins I & II, violas, cellos, double basses
Woodwinds: 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, english horn, 3 clarinets (3rd doubling E-flat clarinet), bass clarinet, 3 bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon)
Brass: 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba
Percussion: timpani, bass drum, snare drum, tambourine, cymbals, tam-tam, triangle, bells, glockenspiel, xylophone
Other: piano, harp, celesta
On/Offstage instruments: 4 trumpets, 2 cornets, 2 horns, 2 baritone horns, 2 euphoniums, 2 tubas, balalaika and domra ad libitum

Historical basis of the plot edit

An understanding of the drama of Boris Godunov may be facilitated by a basic knowledge of the historical events surrounding the Time of Troubles, the interregnum of relative anarchy following the end of the Ryurik Dynasty (1598) and preceding the Romanov Dynasty (1613). Key events are as follows:

  • 1584 – Ivan IV "The Terrible", the first Grand Prince of Muscovy to officially adopt the title Tsar (Caesar), dies. Ivan's successor is his feeble son, Fyodor I, who cares only for spiritual matters and leaves the affairs of state to his capable brother-in-law, boyar Boris Godunov.
  • 1591 – Ivan's other son, the eight-year-old Tsarevich Dmitriy Ivanovich, dies under mysterious circumstances in Uglich. An investigation, ordered by Godunov and carried out by Prince Vasiliy Shuysky, determines that the Tsarevich, while playing with a knife, suffered an epileptic seizure, fell, and died from a self-inflicted wound to the throat. Dmitriy's mother, Maria Nagaya, banished with him to Uglich by Godunov, claims he was assassinated. Rumors linking Boris to the death are circulated by his enemies.
  • 1598 – Tsar Fyodor I dies. He is the last of the Ryurik Dynasty, who have ruled Russia for seven centuries. Patriarch Job of Moscow nominates Boris to succeed as Tsar, despite the rumors that Boris ordered the murder of Dmitriy. Boris agrees to accept the throne only if elected by the Zemsky Sobor. This the assembly does unanimously, and Boris is crowned the same year.
  • 1601 – The Russian famine of 1601–1603 undermines Boris Godunov's popularity and the stability of his administration.
 
Polish magnates
  • 1604 – A pretender to the throne appears in Poland, claiming to be Tsarevich Dmitriy, but believed to be in reality one Grigoriy Otrepyev. He gains the support of the Szlachta, magnates, and, upon conversion to Roman Catholicism, the Apostolic Nuncio Claudio Rangoni. Obtaining a force of soldiers, he marches on Moscow. The False Dmitriy's retinue includes the Jesuits Lawicki and Czernikowski, and the monks Varlaam and Misail of the Chudov Monastery. Crossing into Russia, Dmitriy's invasion force is joined by disaffected Cossacks. However, after a few victories, the campaign falters. Polish mercenaries mutiny and desert.
  • 1605 – Boris dies of unknown causes. He is succeeded by his son, Fyodor II. The death of Boris gives new life to the campaign of the False Dmitriy. Boyars who have gone over to the Pretender murder Fyodor II and his mother. The False Dmitriy enters Moscow and is soon crowned. Prince Shuysky begins plotting against him.
  • 1606 – The Russian boyars oppose Dmitriy's Polish and Catholic alliances. He is murdered shortly after wedding Marina Mniszech, and is succeeded by Vasiliy Shuysky, now Vasiliy IV.
  • 1610 – Battle of Klushino and Polish seizure and occupation of Moscow. Vasiliy IV is deposed, and dies two years later in a Polish prison. Another pretender claiming to be Dmitriy Ivanovich, False Dmitriy II, is murdered.
  • 1611 – Yet a third pretender, False Dmitriy III, appears. He is captured and executed in 1612.
  • 1613 – The Time of Troubles comes to a close with the accession of Mikhail Romanov, son of Fyodor Romanov, who had been persecuted under Boris Godunov's reign.

Note: The culpability of Boris in the matter of Dmitriy's death can neither be proved nor disproved. Karamzin accepted his responsibility as fact, and Pushkin and Mussorgsky after him assumed his guilt to be true, at least for the purpose of creating a tragedy in the mold of Shakespeare. Modern historians, however, tend to acquit Boris.

Synopsis edit

Note: Shishkov and Bocharev designed the sets (samples below), some of which were used in the first complete performance in 1874.

( ) = Arias and numbers

[ ] = Passages cut from or added to the 1872 Revised Version [see Versions in this article for details]

Setting

Time: The years 1598 to 1605
Place: Moscow; the Lithuanian frontier; a castle in Sandomierz; Kromï

Part 1 / Prologue edit

 
Shishkov's design for the Novodevichiy Monastery Scene (1870)

Scene 1: The Courtyard of the Novodevichiy Monastery near Moscow (1598)

There is a brief introduction foreshadowing the 'Dmitriy Motif'. The curtain opens on a crowd in the courtyard of the monastery, where the weary regent Boris Godunov has temporarily retired. Nikitich the police officer orders the assembled people to kneel. He goads them to clamor for Boris to accept the throne. They sing a chorus of supplication ("To whom dost thou abandon us, our father?"). The people are bewildered about their purpose and soon fall to bickering with each other, resuming their entreaties only when the policeman threatens them with his club. Their chorus reaches a feverish climax. Andrey Shchelkalov, the Secretary of the Duma, appears from inside the convent, informs the people that Boris still refuses the throne of Russia ("Orthodox folk! The boyar is implacable!"), and requests that they pray that he will relent. An approaching procession of pilgrims sings a hymn ("Glory to Thee, Creator on high"), exhorting the people to crush the spirit of anarchy in the land, take up holy icons, and go to meet the Tsar. They disappear into the monastery.

[Original 1869 Version only: The people discuss the statements of the pilgrims. Many remain bewildered about the identity of this Tsar. The police officer interrupts their discussion, ordering them to appear the next day at the Moscow Kremlin. The people move on, stoically exclaiming "if we are to wail, we might as well wail at the Kremlin".]
 
Bocharov's design for the Cathedral Square Scene (1874)

Scene 2: [Cathedral] Square in the Moscow Kremlin (1598).

The orchestral introduction is based on bell motifs. From the porch of the Cathedral of the Dormition, Prince Shuysky exhorts the people to glorify Tsar Boris. As the people sing a great chorus of praise ("Like the beautiful sun in the sky, glory"), a solemn procession of boyars exits the cathedral. The people kneel. Boris appears on the porch of the cathedral. The shouts of "Glory!" reach a climax and subside. Boris delivers a brief monologue ("My soul grieves") betraying a feeling of ominous foreboding. He prays for God's blessing, and hopes to be a good and just ruler. He invites the people to a great feast, and then proceeds to the Cathedral of the Archangel to kneel at the tombs of Russia's past rulers. The people wish Boris a long life ("Glory! Glory! Glory!"). A crowd breaks toward the cathedral. The police officers struggle to maintain order. The people resume their shouts of "Glory!"

In this scene, Mussorgsky has been hailed as ahead of his time musically. His use of the whole tone scale, which uses only whole steps, made the Coronation scene stand out. This technique was replicated by impressionistic composers about 20 years later who noted his success. Mussorgsky also combined different two-beat and three-beat meters to create a unique sound for his composition called polymeters. These techniques were uncommon during this era and were believed to be almost too overwhelming for the public. This led to his rejection on two different occasions by the Imperial Opera before they decided to perform.[66]

Part 2 / Act 1 edit

 
Ivan Bilibin's design for the Cell Scene (1900s)

Scene 1: Night. A Cell in the Chudov Monastery [within the Moscow Kremlin] (1603)

Pimen, a venerable monk, writes a chronicle ("Yet one last tale") of Russian history. The young novice Grigoriy awakes from a horrible (and prophetic) dream, which he relates to Pimen, in which he climbed a high tower, was mocked by the people of Moscow, and fell. Pimen advises him to fast and pray. Grigoriy regrets that he retired so soon from worldly affairs to become a monk. He envies Pimen's early life of adventure. Pimen speaks approvingly of Ivan the Terrible and his son Fyodor, who both exhibited great spiritual devotion, and draws a contrast with Boris, a regicide.

[Original 1869 Version only: At Grigoriy's request, Pimen tells the vivid details of the scene of the murder of Dmitriy Ivanovich, which he witnessed in Uglich.]

Upon discovering the similarity in age between himself and the murdered Tsarevich, Grigoriy conceives the idea of posing as the Pretender. As Pimen departs for Matins, Grigoriy declares that Boris shall escape neither the judgment of the people, nor that of God.

 
Shishkov's design for the Inn Scene (1870)

Scene 2: An Inn on the Lithuanian Border (1603)

There is a brief orchestral introduction based on three prominent themes from this scene.

[Revised 1872 Version only: The Hostess enters and sings the 'Song of the Drake' ("I have caught a gray drake"). It is interrupted towards the end by approaching voices].

The vagrants Varlaam and Misail, who are dressed as monks and are begging for alms, and their companion Grigoriy, who is in secular garb, arrive and enter. After exchanging greetings, Varlaam requests some wine. When the Hostess returns with a bottle, he drinks and launches into a ferocious song ("So it was in the city of Kazan") of Ivan the Terrible's siege of Kazan. The two monks quickly become tipsy, and soon begin to doze. Grigoriy quietly asks the Hostess for directions to the Lithuanian border. The Hostess mentions that the police are watching the ordinary roads, but they are wasting their time, because there is an alternative, less well-known way to get to the border. Policemen appear in search of a fugitive heretic monk (Grigoriy) who has run off from the Chudov Monastery declaring that he will become Tsar in Moscow. Noticing Varlaam's suspicious appearance and behavior, the lead policeman thinks he has found his man. He cannot read the ukaz (edict) he is carrying, however, so Grigoriy volunteers to read it. He does so, but, eyeing Varlaam carefully, he substitutes Varlaam's description for his own. The policemen quickly seize Varlaam, who protests his innocence and asks to read the ukaz. Varlaam is only barely literate, but he manages to haltingly read the description of the suspect, which of course matches Grigoriy. Grigoriy brandishes a dagger, and leaps out of the window. The men set off in pursuit.

Part 3 / Act 2 edit

 
Shishkov's design for the Terem Scene (1870)

The Interior of the Tsar's Terem in the Moscow Kremlin (1605)

Kseniya (or Xenia), clutching a portrait of "Prince Ivan", her betrothed who has died, sings a brief mournful aria ("Where are you, my bridegroom?"). Fyodor studies a great map of the Tsardom of Russia.

[Revised 1872 Version only: Fyodor tries to console Kseniya and shows her the magic of the clock, once it starts chiming].

Kseniya's nurse assures her that she will soon forget about "Prince Ivan".

[1872: The nurse and Fyodor attempt to cheer Kseniya up with some songs ("A gnat was chopping wood" and "A little tale of this and that").]

Boris abruptly enters, briefly consoles Kseniya, and then sends her and her nurse to their own quarters. Fyodor shows Boris the map of Russia. After encouraging his son to resume his studies, Boris delivers a long and fine soliloquy ("I have attained supreme power").

 
"I have attained supreme power"
(Rimsky-Korsakov Version)
performed by Feodor Chaliapin
Problems playing this file? See media help.
[1872: At the end of this arioso he reveals that he has been disturbed by a vision of a bloody child begging for mercy. A commotion breaks out in his children's quarters. Boris sends Fyodor to investigate.]

The boyar-in-attendance brings word of the arrival of Prince Shuysky, and reports a denunciation against him for his intrigues.

[1872: Fyodor returns to relate a whimsical tale ("Our little parrot was sitting") involving a pet parrot. Boris takes comfort in his son's imagination and advises Fyodor, when he becomes Tsar, to beware of evil and cunning advisors such as Shuysky.]

Prince Shuysky now enters. Boris insults him, accusing him of conspiring with Pushkin, an ancestor of the poet. However, the prince brings grave tidings. A Pretender has appeared in Lithuania. Boris angrily demands to know his identity. Shuysky fears the Pretender might attract a following bearing the name of Tsarevich Dmitriy. Shaken by this revelation, Boris dismisses Fyodor. He orders Shuysky to seal the border with Lithuania, and, clearly on the edge of madness, asks Shuysky whether he has ever heard of dead children rising from their graves to question Tsars. Boris seeks assurance that the dead child the prince had seen in Uglich was really Dmitriy. He threatens Shuysky, if he dissembles, with a gruesome execution. The Prince describes the ghastly scene of Dmitriy's murder in a brief and beautiful aria ("In Uglich, in the cathedral"). But he gives hints that a miracle (incorruptibility) has occurred. Boris begins choking with guilt and remorse, and gives a sign for Shuysky to depart.

[1872: The chiming clock again begins working.]

Boris hallucinates (Hallucination or 'Clock' Scene). The spectre of the dead Dmitriy reaches out to him. Addressing the apparition, he denies his responsibility for the crime: "Begone, begone child! I am not thy murderer... the will of the people!" He collapses, praying that God will have mercy on his guilty soul.

Act 3 (The 'Polish' Act) (1872 Version only) edit

 
Shishkov's design for the scene in Marina's Boudoir (1870)

Scene 1: The Boudoir of Marina Mniszech in Sandomierz [Poland] (1604)

Maidens sing a delicate, sentimental song ("On the blue Vistula") to entertain Marina as her chambermaid dresses her hair. Marina declares her preference for heroic songs of chivalry. She dismisses everyone. Alone, she sings of her boredom ("How tediously and sluggishly"), of Dmitriy, and of her thirst for adventure, power, and glory. The Jesuit Rangoni enters, bemoans the wretched state of the church, attempts to obtain Marina's promise that when she becomes Tsaritsa she will convert the heretics of Moscow (Russian Orthodox Church) to the true faith (Roman Catholicism), and encourages her to bewitch the Pretender. When Marina wonders why she should do this, Rangoni angrily insists that she stop short of nothing, including sacrificing her honor, to obey the dictates of the church. Marina expresses contempt of his hypocritical insinuations and demands he leave. As Rangoni ominously tells her she is in the thrall of infernal forces, Marina collapses in dread. Rangoni demands her obedience.

 
Shishkov's design for the scene in the Garden of Mniszech's Castle (1870)

Scene 2: Mniszech's Castle in Sandomierz. A Garden. A Fountain. A Moonlit Night (1604)

Woodwind and harp accompany a pensive version of the 'Dmitriy Motif'. The Pretender dreams of an assignation with Marina in the garden of her father's castle. However, to his annoyance, Rangoni finds him. He brings news that Marina longs for him and wishes to speak with him. The Pretender resolves to throw himself at Marina's feet, begging her to be his wife and Tsaritsa. He entreats Rangoni to lead him to Marina. Rangoni, however, first begs the Pretender to consider him a father, allowing him to follow his every step and thought. Despite his mistrust of Rangoni, the Pretender agrees not to part from him if he will only let him see Marina. Rangoni convinces the Pretender to hide as the Polish nobles emerge from the castle dancing a polonaise (Polonaise). Marina flirts, dancing with an older man. The Poles sing of taking the Muscovite throne, defeating the army of Boris, and capturing him. They return to the castle. The Pretender comes out of hiding, cursing Rangoni. He resolves to abandon wooing Marina and begin his march on Moscow. But then Marina appears and calls to him. He is lovesick. She, however, only wants to know when he will be Tsar, and declares she can only be seduced by a throne and a crown. The Pretender kneels at her feet. She rejects his advances, and, attempting to spur him to action, dismisses him, calling him a lackey. Having reached his limit, he tells her he will depart the next day to lead his army to Moscow and to his father's throne. Furthermore, as Tsar he will take pleasure in watching her come crawling back looking for her own lost throne, and will command everyone to laugh at her. She quickly reverses course, tells him she adores him, and they sing a duet ("O Tsarevich, I implore you"). Rangoni observes the amorous couple from afar, and, joining them in a brief trio, cynically rejoices in his victory.

Part 4 / Act 4 edit

 
The Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed. Bolshoy Theatre (1927)

Scene 1 [1869 Version only]: The Square before the Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed in Moscow (1605)

A crowd mills about before the Cathedral of the Intercession (the Temple of Vasiliy the Blessed) in Red Square. Many are beggars, and policemen occasionally appear. A group of men enters, discussing the anathema the deacon had declared on Grishka (Grigoriy) Otrepyev in the mass. They identify Grishka as the Tsarevich. With growing excitement they sing of the advance of his forces to Kromï, of his intent to retake his father's throne, and of the defeat he will deal to the Godunovs. A yuródivïy enters, pursued by urchins. He sings a nonsensical song ("The moon is flying, the kitten is crying"). The urchins greet him and rap on his metal hat. The yuródivïy has a kopek, which the urchins promptly steal. He whines pathetically. Boris and his retinue exit the cathedral. The boyars distribute alms. In a powerful chorus ("Benefactor father... Give us bread!"), the hungry people beg for bread. As the chorus subsides, the yuródivïy's cries are heard. Boris asks why he cries. The yuródivïy reports the theft of his kopek and asks Boris to order the boys' slaughter, just as he did in the case of the Tsarevich. Shuysky wants the yuródivïy seized, but Boris instead asks for the holy man's prayers. As Boris exits, the yuródivïy declares that the Mother of God will not allow him to pray for Tsar Herod (see Massacre of the Innocents). The yuródivïy then sings his lament ("Flow, flow, bitter tears!") about the fate of Russia.

 
Shishkov's design for the Faceted Palace Scene (1870)

Scene 2 [1869 Version] / Scene 1 [1872 version]: The Faceted Palace in the Moscow Kremlin (1605)

A session of the Duma is in progress.

[Original 1869 Version only: The assembled boyars listen as Shchelkalov, reading the Tsar's ukaz (edict), informs them of the Pretender's claim to the throne of Russia, and requests they pass judgment on him.]

After some arguments, the boyars agree ("Well, let's put it to a vote, boyars"), in a powerful chorus, that the Pretender and his sympathizers should be executed. Shuysky, whom they distrust, arrives with an interesting story. Upon leaving the Tsar's presence, he observed Boris attempting to drive away the ghost of the dead Tsarevich, exclaiming: "Begone, begone child!" The boyars accuse Shuysky of spreading lies. However, a dishevelled Boris now enters, echoing Shuysky: "Begone child!" The boyars are horrified. After Boris comes to his senses, Shuysky informs him that a humble old man craves an audience. Pimen enters and tells the story ("One day, at the evening hour") of a blind man who heard the voice of the Tsarevich in a dream. Dmitry instructed him to go to Uglich and pray at his grave, for he has become a miracle worker in heaven. The man did as instructed and regained his sight. This story is the final blow for Boris. He calls for his son, declares he is dying ("Farewell, my son, I am dying"), gives Fyodor final counsel, and prays for God's blessing on his children. In a very dramatic scene ("The bell! The funeral bell!"), he dies.

Scene 2 [1872 Version only]: A Forest Glade near Kromï (1605)

Tempestuous music accompanies the entry of a crowd of vagabonds who have captured the boyar Khrushchov. The crowd taunts him, then bows in mock homage ("Not a falcon flying in the heavens"). The yuródivïy enters, pursued by urchins. He sings a nonsensical song ("The moon is flying, the kitten is crying"). The urchins greet him and rap on his metal hat. The yuródivïy has a kopek, which the urchins promptly steal. He whines pathetically. Varlaam and Misail are heard in the distance singing of the crimes of Boris and his henchmen ("The sun and moon have gone dark"). They enter. The crowd gets worked up to a frenzy ("Our bold daring has broken free, gone on a rampage") denouncing Boris. Two Jesuits are heard in the distance chanting in Latin ("Domine, Domine, salvum fac"), praying that God will save Dmitriy. They enter. At the instigation of Varlaam and Misail, the vagabonds prepare to hang the Jesuits, who appeal to the Holy Virgin for aid. Processional music heralds the arrival of Dmitriy and his forces. Varlaam and Misail glorify him ("Glory to thee, Tsarevich!") along with the crowd. The Pretender calls those persecuted by Godunov to his side. He frees Khrushchov, and calls on all to march on Moscow. All exeunt except the yuródivïy, who sings a plaintive song ("Flow, flow, bitter tears!") of the arrival of the enemy and of woe to Russia.

 
From Mussorgsky's letter of 13 July 1872 to Vladimir Stasov: A citation from the closing bars of the opera (1872 version). The upper part depicts desolation; the lower, weeping. The inscription is a line from the yuródivïy's lament:
«Скоро врагъ придётъ и настанетъ тьма»
"Soon the enemy will arrive and darkness will come"

Principal arias and numbers edit

  • Chorus: "To whom dost thou abandon us, our father?" «На кого ты нас покидаешь, отец наш?» (People)
  • Aria: "Orthodox folk! The boyar is implacable!" «Православные! Неумолим боярин!» (Shchelkalov)
  • Chorus: "Like the beautiful sun in the sky, glory" «Уж как на небе солнцу красному слава» (People)
  • Monologue: "My soul grieves" «Скорбит душа» (Boris)
  • Chorus: "Glory! Glory! Glory!" «Слава! Слава! Слава!» (People)
  • Aria: "Yet one last tale" «Еще одно, последнее сказанье» (Pimen)
  • Song: "So it was in the city of Kazan" «Как во городе было во Казани» (Varlaam)
  • Monologue: "I have attained supreme power" «Достиг я высшей власти» (Boris)
  • Scene: "Hallucination" or "Clock Scene" «Сцена с курантами» (Boris)
  • Aria: "How tediously and sluggishly" «Как томительно и вяло» (Marina)
  • Dance: "Polonaise" «Полонез» (Marina, Polish nobles)
  • Duet: "O Tsarevich, I implore you" «О царевич, умоляю» (Marina, Pretender)
  • Chorus: "Well? Let's put it to a vote, boyars" «Что ж? Пойдём на голоса, бояре» (Boyars)
  • Aria: "One day, at the evening hour" «Однажды, в вечерний час» (Pimen)
  • Aria: "Farewell, my son, I am dying" «Прощай, мой сын, умираю...» (Boris)
  • Scene: "The bell! The funeral bell!" «Звон! Погребальный звон!» (Boris, Fyodor, Chorus)
  • Song: "Flow, flow, bitter tears!" «Лейтесь, лейтесь, слёзы горькие!» (Yuródivïy)

Critical reception edit

Russian opera of the early 1870s was dominated by Western European works—mainly Italian. The domestic product was regarded with skepticism and sometimes hostility. The playwright Tikhonov wrote in 1898:

"In those days, splendid performances of Russian operas were given, but the attendance was generally poor. ...to attend the Russian opera was not fashionable. At the first performance of The Maid of Pskov [in 1873] there was a good deal of protest. An energetic campaign was being waged against the 'music of the future'–that is, that of the 'mighty handful'."[67]

As the most daring and innovative member of the Mighty Handful, Mussorgsky frequently became the target of conservative critics and rival composers, and was often derided for his supposedly clumsy and crude musical idiom. After the premiere of Boris Godunov, influential critic Herman Laroche wrote:

"The general decorativeness and crudity of Mr. Mussorgsky's style, his passion for the brass and percussion instruments, may be considered to have been borrowed from Serov. But never did the crudest works of the model reach the naive coarseness we note in his imitator."[68]

Reviews of the premiere performance of Boris Godunov were for the most part hostile.[29] Some critics dismissed the work as "chaotic" and "a cacophony". Even his friends Mily Balakirev and César Cui, leading members of the Mighty Handful, minimized his accomplishment.[69] Unable to overlook Mussorgsky's "trespasses against the conventional musical grammar of the time", they failed to recognize the giant step forward in musical and dramatic expression that Boris Godunov represented. Cui betrayed Mussorgsky in a notoriously scathing review of the premiere performance:

"Mr. Mussorgsky is endowed with great and original talent, but Boris is an immature work, superb in parts, feeble in others. Its main defects are in the disjointed recitatives and the disarray of the musical ideas.... These defects are not due to a lack of creative power.... The real trouble is his immaturity, his incapacity for severe self-criticism, his self-satisfaction, and his hasty methods of composition..."[70]

Although he found much to admire, particularly the Inn Scene and the Song of the Parrot, he reproved the composer for a poorly constructed libretto, finding the opera to exhibit a lack of cohesion between scenes. He claimed that Mussorgsky was so deficient in the ability to write instrumental music that he dispensed with composing a prelude, and that he had "borrowed the cheap method of characterization by leitmotives from Wagner."[71]

Other composers were even more censorious. Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote in a letter to his brother Modest:

"I have studied Boris Godunov and The Demon thoroughly. Mussorgsky's music I send to the devil; it is the most vulgar and vile parody on music..."[72]

Of the critics who evaluated the new opera, only the 19-year-old critic Vladimir Baskin defended Mussorgsky's skill as a composer.[73] Writing under the pen name "Foma Pizzicato", Baskin wrote,

"Dramatization in vocal music could go no farther. Mussorgsky has proved himself to be a philosopher-musician, capable of expressing with rare truth the mind and soul of his characters. He also has a thorough understanding of musical resources. He is a master of the orchestra; his working-out is fluent, his vocal and chorus parts are beautifully written."[74]

 
Ivan Bilibin's program design for Sergey Dyagilev's 1908 Paris Opera production of Boris Godunov, which launched the opera in Western Europe using the Rimsky-Korsakov edition.

Although Boris Godunov is usually praised for its originality, dramatic choruses, sharply delineated characters, and for the powerful psychological portrayal of Tsar Boris, it has received an inordinate amount of criticism for technical shortcomings: weak or faulty harmony, part-writing, and orchestration. Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov said:

"I both adore and abhor Boris Godunov. I adore it for its originality, power, boldness, distinctiveness, and beauty; I abhor it for its lack of polish, the roughness of its harmonies, and, in some places, the sheer awkwardness of the music."[75]

The perception that Boris needed correction due to Mussorgsky's poverty of technique prompted Rimsky-Korsakov to revise it after his death. His edition supplanted the composer's Revised Version of 1872 in Russia, and launched the work abroad, remaining the preferred edition for some 75 years[21] (see Versions by Other Hands in this article for more details). For decades, critics and scholars pressing for the performance of Mussorgsky's own versions fought an often losing battle against the conservatism of conductors and singers, who, raised on the plush Rimsky-Korsakov edition, found it impossible to adapt to Mussorgsky's comparatively unrefined and bleak original scores.[76]

Recently, however, a new appreciation for the rugged individuality of Mussorgsky's style has resulted in increasing performances and recording of his original versions. Musicologist Gerald Abraham wrote:

"...in the perspective of a hundred years we can see that Musorgsky's score did not really need 'correction' and reorchestration, that in fact the untouched Boris is finer than the revised Boris."[77]

Analysis edit

Models and influences

Performance practice edit

 
The Mariinsky Theatre opened in 1860. Boris Godunov received its premiere there in 1874.

A conflation of the 1869 and 1872 versions is often made when staging or recording Boris Godunov. This typically involves choosing the 1872 version and augmenting it with the St. Basil's Scene from the 1869 version. This practice is popular because it conserves a maximum amount of music, it gives the title character another appearance on stage, and because in the St. Basil's Scene Boris is challenged by the Yurodivïy, the embodiment of his conscience.[78]

However, because the composer transferred the episode of the Yurodivïy and the urchins from the St. Basil's Scene to the Kromï Scene when revising the opera, restoring the St. Basil's Scene to its former location creates a problem of duplicate episodes, which can be partially solved by cuts. Most performances that follow this practice cut the robbery of the Yurodivïy in the Kromï Scene, but duplicate his lament that ends each scene.

The Rimsky-Korsakov Version is often augmented with the Ippolitov-Ivanov reorchestration of the St. Basil's Scene (commissioned by the Bolshoy Theatre in 1925, composed in 1926, and first performed in 1927).

Conductors may elect to restore the cuts the composer himself made in writing the 1872 version [see Versions in this article for more details]. The 1997 Mariinsky Theatre recording under Valery Gergiev is the first and only to present the 1869 Original Version side by side with the 1872 Revised Version, and, it would seem, attempts to set a new standard for musicological authenticity. However, although it possesses many virtues, the production fails to scrupulously separate the two versions, admitting elements of the 1872 version into the 1869 recording, and failing to observe cuts the composer made in the 1872 version.[79]

Critics argue that the practice of restoring the St. Basil's scene and all the cuts that Mussorgsky made when revising the opera—that is, creating a "supersaturated" version—can have negative consequences, believing that it destroys the symmetrical scene structure of the Revised Version,[59] it undermines the composer's carefully devised and subtle system of leitmotiv deployment, and results in the overexposure of the Dmitriy motive.[80]

Versions by other hands edit

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1896) edit

 
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov edited Mussorgsky's works (often drastically) to enable them to enter the repertoire. Portrait by Valentin Serov (1898).

After Mussorgsky's death in 1881, his friend Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov undertook to put his scores in order, completing and editing Khovanshchina for publication (1883),[81] reconstructing Night on Bald Mountain (1886), and "correcting" some songs. Next, he turned to Boris.[82]

"Although I know I shall be cursed for so doing, I will revise Boris. There are countless absurdities in its harmonies, and at times in its melodies."[83]

— Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, 15 April 1893

He experimented first with the Polonaise, temporarily scoring it for a Wagner-sized orchestra in 1889. In 1892 he revised the Coronation Scene, and, working from the 1874 Vocal Score, completed the remainder of the opera, although with significant cuts, by 1896.

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1908) edit

In the spring of 1906, Rimsky-Korsakov revised and orchestrated several passages omitted in the 1896 revision:[84]

  1. "Pimen's story of Tsars Ivan and Fyodor" (Cell Scene)
  2. "Over the map of the Muscovite land" (Terem Scene)
  3. "The story of the parrot" (Terem Scene)
  4. "The chiming clock" (Terem Scene)
  5. "The scene of the False Dmitriy with Rangoni at the fountain" (Fountain Scene)
  6. "The False Dmitriy's soliloquy after the Polonaise" (Fountain Scene)
 
Fyodor Shalyapin was a powerful exponent of the Rimsky-Korsakov version, which launched Boris Godunov abroad. Portrait by Aleksandr Golovin (1912).

Rimsky-Korsakov compiled a new edition in 1908, this time restoring the cuts, and making some significant changes:

  • He omitted the end of the Novodievichy Scene, so that it ends with the Pilgrims' Chorus. (As does the 1874 vocal score.)
  • He added some music to the Coronation Scene, because producer Sergey Dyagilev wanted more stage spectacle for the Paris premiere. The additions are a 40 bar insert placed before Boris's monologue, and a 16 bar insert following it, both of which are based on the bell motifs that open the scene and on the "Slava" theme.
  • He altered the dynamics of the end of the Inn Scene, making the conclusion loud and bombastic, perhaps because he was dissatisfied that all of Mussorgsky's scenes with the exception of the Coronation Scene end quietly.
  • He similarly altered the conclusion of the Fountain Scene, replacing Mussorgsky's quiet moonlit trio with a grand peroration combining the 6 note descending theme that opens the scene, the 5 note rhythmic figure that opens the Polonaise, and the lusty cries of "Vivat!" that close the Polonaise.

These revisions clearly went beyond mere reorchestration. He made substantial modifications to harmony, melody, dynamics, etc., even changing the order of scenes.

"Maybe Rimsky-Korsakov's harmonies are softer and more natural, his part-writing better, his scoring more skillful; but the result is not Mussorgsky, nor what Mussorgsky aimed at. The genuine music, with all its shortcomings, was more appropriate. I regret the genuine Boris, and feel that should it ever be revived on the stage of the Mariinskiy Theatre, it is desirable that it should be in the original."[85]

— César Cui, in an article in Novosti, 1899

"Besides re-scoring Boris and correcting harmonies in it (which was quite justifiable), he introduced in it many arbitrary alterations, which disfigured the music. He also spoilt the opera by changing the order of scenes."[83]

— Miliy Balakirev, letter to Calvocoressi, 25 July 1906

Rimsky-Korsakov immediately came under fire from some critics for altering Boris, particularly in France, where his revision was introduced. The defense usually made by his supporters was that without his ministrations, Mussorgsky's opera would have faded from the repertory due to difficulty in appreciating his raw and uncompromising idiom. Therefore, Rimsky-Korsakov was justified in making improvements to keep the work alive and increase the public's awareness of Mussorgsky's melodic and dramatic genius.

"I remained inexpressibly pleased with my revision and orchestration of Boris Godunov, heard by me for the first time with a large orchestra. Moussorgsky's violent admirers frowned a bit, regretting something... But having arranged the new revision of Boris Godunov, I had not destroyed its original form, had not painted out the old frescoes forever. If ever the conclusion is arrived at that the original is better, worthier than my revision, then mine will be discarded and Boris Godunov will be performed according to the original score."[86]

— Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Chronicle of My Musical Life, 1909

The Rimsky-Korsakov version remained the one usually performed in Russia, even after Mussorgsky's earthier original (1872) gained a place in Western opera houses. The Bolshoy Theatre has only recently embraced the composer's own version.[87]

Dmitriy Shostakovich (1940) edit

 
Dmitriy Shostakovich orchestrated Pavel Lamm's vocal score.

Dmitriy Shostakovich worked on Boris Godunov in 1939–1940 on a commission from the Bolshoy Theatre for a new production of the opera. A conflation of the 1869 and 1872 versions had been published by Pavel Lamm and aroused keen interest in the piece. However, it did not erase doubts as to whether Mussorgsky's own orchestration was playable. The invasion of Russia by Nazi Germany prevented this production from taking place, and it was not until 1959 that Shostakovich's version of the score was premiered.[88]

To Shostakovich, Mussorgsky was successful with solo instrumental timbres in soft passages but did not fare as well with louder moments for the whole orchestra.[89] Shostakovich explained:

"Mussorgsky has marvelously orchestrated moments, but I see no sin in my work. I didn't touch the successful parts, but there are many unsuccessful parts because he lacked mastery of the craft, which comes only through time spent on your backside, no other way."

— Dmitriy Shostakovich

Shostakovich confined himself largely to reorchestrating the opera, and was more respectful of the composer's unique melodic and harmonic style. However, Shostakovich greatly increased the contributions of the woodwind and especially brass instruments to the score, a significant departure from the practice of Mussorgsky, who exercised great restraint in his instrumentation, preferring to utilize the individual qualities of these instruments for specific purposes. Shostakovich also aimed for a greater symphonic development, wanting the orchestra to do more than simply accompany the singers.[citation needed]

"This is how I worked. I placed Mussorgsky's piano arrangement in front of me and then two scores—Mussorgsky's and Rimsky-Korsakov's. I didn't look at the scores, and I rarely looked at the piano arrangement either. I orchestrated by memory, act by act. Then I compared my orchestration with those of Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. If I saw that either had done it better, then I stayed with that. I didn't reinvent bicycles. I worked honestly, with ferocity, I might say."

— Dmitriy Shostakovich

[citation needed]

Shostakovich remembered Alexander Glazunov telling him how Mussorgsky himself played scenes from Boris at the piano. Mussorgsky's renditions, according to Glazunov, were brilliant and powerful—qualities Shostakovich felt did not come through in the orchestration of much of Boris.[90] Shostakovich, who had known the opera since his student days at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, assumed that Mussorgsky's orchestral intentions were correct but that Mussorgsky simply could not realize them:[citation needed]

"As far as I can tell, he imagined something like a singing line around the vocal parts, the way subvoices surround the main melodic line in Russian folk song. But Mussorgsky lacked the technique for that. What a shame! Obviously, he had a purely orchestral imagination, and purely orchestral imagery, as well. The music strives for "new shores," as they say—musical dramaturgy, musical dynamics, language, imagery. But his orchestral technique drags us back to the old shores."

— Dmitriy Shostakovich

[citation needed]

One of those "old shore" moments was the large monastery bell in the scene in the monk's cell. Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov both use the gong. To Shostakovich, this was too elemental and simplistic to be effective dramatically, since this bell showed the atmosphere of the monk's estrangement. "When the bell tolls," Shostakovich reportedly told Solomon Volkov, "it's a reminder that there are powers mightier than man, that you can't escape the judgment of history."[91] Therefore, Shostakovich reorchestrated the bell's tolling by the simultaneous playing of seven instruments—bass clarinet, double bassoon, French horns, gong, harps, piano, and double basses (at an octave). To Shostakovich, this combination of instruments sounded more like a real bell.[citation needed]

Shostakovich admitted Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestration was more colorful than his own and used brighter timbres. However, he also felt that Rimsky-Korsakov chopped up the melodic lines too much and, by blending melody and subvoices, may have subverted much of Mussorgsky's intent. Shostakovich also felt that Rimsky-Korsakov did not use the orchestra flexibly enough to follow the characters' mood changes, instead making the orchestra calmer, more balanced.[citation needed]

Igor Buketoff (1997) edit

The American conductor Igor Buketoff created a version in which he removed most of Rimsky-Korsakov's additions and reorchestrations, and fleshed out some other parts of Mussorgsky's original orchestration. This version had its first performance in 1997 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, under Valery Gergiev.[92][93]

Related works edit

See also edit

References edit

Notes

  1. ^ This Holy Fool's character development also explicitly (see also the Novgorod coat of arms and Mussorgsky family history) references the controversial "bears appearance" scene in Bible. When a group of boys (or youths[62]) from Bethel taunted the prophet Elisha for his baldness, Elisha cursed them in the name of Yahweh and two female bears came out of the forest and tore forty-two of the boys.[63] Holy Fool finishes the opera, 2nd edition, as a prophet. Tchaikovsky used to call Mussorgsky "a bear" as an insult.[64]
  1. ^ Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: pp. 98, 138)
  2. ^ Brown (1986: p. 31)
  3. ^ Taruskin (1993: p. 202)
  4. ^ Oldani (1982: p. 12)
  5. ^ "Opera Discography".
  6. ^ Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: p. 106)
  7. ^ Calvocoressi (1959: p. 137)
  8. ^ Lloyd-Jones (1975: p. 13)
  9. ^ a b Oldani (1982: p. 8)
  10. ^ a b Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: p. 37)
  11. ^ Lloyd-Jones (1975: pp. 13, 16)
  12. ^ a b Lloyd-Jones (1975: p. 14)
  13. ^ Taruskin (1993: pp. 220, 222–223)
  14. ^ a b c d e f Oldani (2002: p. 545)
  15. ^ Oldani (1982: p. 9)
  16. ^ a b Taruskin (1993: pp. 250–251)
  17. ^ a b c Taruskin (1993: p. 251)
  18. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: pp. 109–110)
  19. ^ Calvocoressi (1956: p. 156)
  20. ^ Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: p. 46)
  21. ^ a b Oldani (1982: p. 7)
  22. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: pp. 221, 254, 327–328)
  23. ^ Calvocoressi (1956: p. 169)
  24. ^ Lloyd-Jones (1975: p. 17)
  25. ^ Oldani (1982: p. 10)
  26. ^ a b Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: p. 42)
  27. ^ Calvocoressi (1956: p. 135)
  28. ^ Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: pp. 48–51)
  29. ^ a b Oldani (1982: p. 11)
  30. ^ Orlova (1991: p. 158)
  31. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: pp. 145–146)
  32. ^ Emerson (1988: p. 236)
  33. ^ Orlova (1991: p. 77)
  34. ^ Orlova (1991: p. 171)
  35. ^ Emerson, Oldani (1994: p. 107)
  36. ^ Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: p. 39
  37. ^ Musorgskiy (1984: p. 323)
  38. ^ Emerson, Oldani (1994: p. 100)
  39. ^ Shirinyan (1989: p. 56)
  40. ^ a b c d e f g h Pruzhansky
  41. ^ Emerson, Oldani (1994: p. 91)
  42. ^ Lloyd-Jones (1975: p. 20)
  43. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p. 211)
  44. ^ Orlova (1991: p. 141)
  45. ^ Shirinyan (1989: p. 105)
  46. ^ Emerson, Oldani (1994: p. 119)
  47. ^ Metropolitan Opera Archives
  48. ^ Shirinyan (1989: pp. 134–135)
  49. ^ Oldani (1982: pp. 37, 49)
  50. ^ Taruskin (1993: p. 209)
  51. ^ Lloyd Jones (1975: p. 15)
  52. ^ Taruskin (1993: p. 204)
  53. ^ a b Emerson (1988: p. 237)
  54. ^ Taruskin (1993: pp. 217–218)
  55. ^ Taruskin (1993: pp. 211–212)
  56. ^ Taruskin (1993: p. 265)
  57. ^ Taruskin (1993: pp. 216)
  58. ^ Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: p. 119)
  59. ^ a b Taruskin (1993: p. 281)
  60. ^ Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: p. 47)
  61. ^ "Чайковский и "Могучая кучка": спор о русской музыке" [Tchaikovsky and The Mighty Handful: A Debate about Russian Music] (in Russian). Arzamas Academy. Retrieved 22 November 2019. Under the influence of these ideas, the source of which was largely French naturalism, new images from the social lower classes emerge in Mussorgsky's works as "high" music - for example, the Holy Fool [often wrongly translated to English as 'Simpleton'] in opera Boris Godunov
    • "Блаженные похабы" [The Blessed Offenders]. predanie.ru (in Russian). Orthodox Portal "Predanie". Retrieved 23 October 2020. he is privileged to ridicule, burlesque and defile the most sacred and important ceremonies… licensed to behave as no ordinary mortals would dream of behaving
  62. ^ Hebrew na'ar, translated "youths" in the New International Version. Jewish Encyclopedia on Elisha states, "The offenders were not children, but were called so ("ne'arim") because they lacked ("meno'arin") all religion (Soṭah 46b)." Although the Authorized King James Version used the words "little children", theologian John Gill stated in his Exposition of the Bible that the word was "used of persons of thirty or forty years of age".
  63. ^ Duffy, Daniel (1909). "Eliseus". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  64. ^ "Tchaikovsky: Between Heaven and Hell". YouTube (in Russian). TV Center. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  65. ^ Orlova, Pekelis (1971: pp. 198–199)
  66. ^ Hoffer, Charles (2012). Music Listening Today (Fourth ed.). Cengage Advantage. pp. 228–229.
  67. ^ Tikhonov in Istorichesky Vestnik, 1898. In Calvocoressi (1956: p. 175)
  68. ^ Hermann Laroche in Golos, 1874. In Taruskin (1993: p. 109)
  69. ^ Calvocoressi (1956: pp. 169, 177)
  70. ^ Cui, in the newspaper Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti, 1874. From Calvocoressi (1956: p. 178)
  71. ^ Calvocoressi (1956: p. 177)
  72. ^ Pyotr Tchaikovsky, letter to his brother Modest Tchaikovsky, 29 October 1874. In Tchaikovsky (1982: p. 89)
  73. ^ Lloyd-Jones (1975: p. 19)
  74. ^ Vladimir Baskin, in the journal Peterburgsky Listok, 1874. In Calvocoressi (1974: p. 51)
  75. ^ In Emerson, Oldani (1994: p. 107)
  76. ^ Calvocoressi, Abraham (1974: p. 139
  77. ^ Abraham (1985: p. 66)
  78. ^ Taruskin (1993: p. 248)
  79. ^ Taruskin (1999)
  80. ^ Taruskin (1993: p. 287)
  81. ^ Oldani (2002: p. 549)
  82. ^ Calvocoressi (1956: pp. 215, 217)
  83. ^ a b Calvocoressi (1956: p. 216)
  84. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p. 421)
  85. ^ Calvocoressi (1956: pp. 216–217)
  86. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov (1923: p. 407)
  87. ^ Lloyd-Jones (2002)
  88. ^ Maes, 368–369.
  89. ^ Maes, 368.
  90. ^ Volkov (1979: pp. 227–228)
  91. ^ Volkov (1979: p. 234)
  92. ^ Historic Opera 14 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  93. ^ Kozinn, Allan (11 September 2001). "New York Times, 11 September 2001". The New York Times.

Sources

  • Abraham, G., Essays on Russian and East European Music, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985
  • Brown, D. Abraham, G., "Mikhail Glinka" and "Modest Musorgsky" in The New Grove: Russian Masters 1, New York: W. W. Norton & Co. (1986)
  • Calvocoressi, M.D., Abraham, G., Mussorgsky, 'Master Musicians' Series, London: J.M.Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1974
  • Calvocoressi, M.D., Modest Mussorgsky: His Life and Works, London: Rockliff, 1956
  • Emerson, C., Mussorgsky's Libretti on Historical Themes: From the Two Borises to Khovanshchina, in Reading Opera, eds. Groos, A. & Parker, R., Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988
  • Emerson, C., and Oldani, R. W., Modest Musorgsky and Boris Godunov: Myths, Realities, Reconsiderations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994
  • Lloyd-Jones, D., Boris Godunov: The Facts and the Problems, Oxford University Press, 1975 (reprinted in the notes to Philips CD 412 281–2)
  • Lloyd-Jones, D., Interview: A Discussion with David Lloyd-Jones on The Sir Arnold Bax Website, 2002 (Accessed 1 March 2009)
  • Maes, Francis, tr. Arnold J. Pomerans and Erica Pomerans, A History of Russian Music: From Kamarinskaya to Babi Yar (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2002). ISBN 0-520-21815-9.
  • Metropolitan Opera Archives (Accessed 9 March 2011)
  • Musorgskiy, M., M. P. Musorgskiy: Letters, 2nd edition, Gordeyeva, Ye. (editor), Moscow: Muzïka (Music, publisher), 1984 [Мусоргский, М., М. П. Мусоргский: Письма, Гордеева, Е., Москва: Музыка, 1984]
  • Musorgskiy, M., Literary Legacy (Literaturnoye naslediye), Orlova, A., Pekelis, M. (editors), Moscow: Muzïka (Music, publisher), 1971 [Мусоргский, М., Литературное наследие, Орлова, А., Пекелис, М., Москва: Музыка, 1971]
  • Mussorgsky, M., Boris Godunov (vocal score), edited by Pavel Lamm, London: Oxford University Press
  • Oldani, R. W. (article), Sadie, S. (editor), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2001, 2002
  • Oldani, R. W., John, N., Fay, L. E., de Jonge, A., Osborne, N., Opera Guide 11: Boris Godunov, London: John Calder, Ltd., 1982
  • Opera Discography at http://www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk (Accessed 2 January 2010)
  • Orlova, A., Musorgsky Remembered, translated by Zaytzeff, V., and Morrison, F., Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1991
  • Pruzhansky, A., Dictionary of Native Singers 1750–1917 [Пружанский, А. М., Отечественные певцы. 1750–1917: Словарь] (In Russian. Retrieved August, 2011)
  • Rimsky-Korsakov, N., Chronicle of My Musical Life, translated by Joffe, J. A., New York: Knopf, 1923
  • Shirinyan, R. (author), Kondakhchan, K. (editor), M. P. Musorgskiy, Moscow: Muzïka (Music, publisher), 1989 [Ширинян, Р., Кондахчан, К., М. П. Мусоргский, Москва: Музыка, 1989]
  • Taruskin, R., Musorgsky: Eight Essays and an Epilogue, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1993
  • Taruskin, R., Russian Originals De- and Re-edited, CD Review, The New York Times, 1999 (Accessed 21 February 2009)
  • Tchaikovsky, P., Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Letters to his Family, an Autobiography, translated by G. von Meck, New York: Stein and Day, 1982
  • Volkov, S., Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitry Shostakovich, translated by Bouis, Antonina W., New York: Harper & Row, 1979

External links edit

 
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Libretto

  • English translation of Boris Godunov from Archive.org
  • Russian libretto in HTML

Other

December 15, 2023
boris, godunov, opera, other, uses, boris, godunov, disambiguation, boris, godunov, russian, Борис, Годунов, borís, godunóv, listen, opera, modest, mussorgsky, 1839, 1881, work, composed, between, 1868, 1873, saint, petersburg, russia, mussorgsky, only, comple. For other uses see Boris Godunov disambiguation Boris Godunov Russian Boris Godunov tr Boris Godunov listen is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky 1839 1881 The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg Russia It is Mussorgsky s only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece 1 2 Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov who reigned as Tsar 1598 to 1605 during the Time of Troubles and his nemesis the False Dmitriy reigned 1605 to 1606 The Russian language libretto was written by the composer and is based on the 1825 drama Boris Godunov by Aleksandr Pushkin and in the Revised Version of 1872 on Nikolay Karamzin s History of the Russian State Boris GodunovOpera by Modest MussorgskyThe death of Boris in the Faceted Palace from the premiere productionNative titleRussian Boris GodunovLibrettistMussorgskyLanguageRussianBased onBoris Godunov by Alexander Pushkin and History of the Russian State by Nikolay KaramzinPremiere27 January 1874 1874 01 27 Mariinsky Theatre Saint PetersburgAmong major operas Boris Godunov shares with Giuseppe Verdi s Don Carlos 1867 the distinction of having an extremely complex creative history as well as a great wealth of alternative material 3 The composer created two versions the Original Version of 1869 which was rejected for production by the Imperial Theatres and the Revised Version of 1872 which received its first performance in 1874 in Saint Petersburg Boris Godunov has often been subjected to cuts recomposition re orchestration transposition of scenes or conflation of the original and revised versions Several composers chief among them Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov and Dmitri Shostakovich have created new editions of the opera to correct perceived technical weaknesses in the composer s original scores Although these versions held the stage for decades Mussorgsky s individual harmonic style and orchestration are now valued for their originality and revisions by other hands have fallen out of fashion In the 1980s Boris Godunov was closer to the status of a repertory piece than any other Russian opera even Tchaikovsky s Eugene Onegin 4 and is the most recorded Russian opera 5 Contents 1 History 1 1 Composition history 1 2 Boris Godunov and the Imperial Family 1 3 Performance history 1 4 Publication history 2 Versions 3 Scene structure 4 Roles 5 Instrumentation 6 Historical basis of the plot 7 Synopsis 7 1 Part 1 Prologue 7 2 Part 2 Act 1 7 3 Part 3 Act 2 7 4 Act 3 The Polish Act 1872 Version only 7 5 Part 4 Act 4 8 Principal arias and numbers 9 Critical reception 10 Analysis 11 Performance practice 12 Versions by other hands 12 1 Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov 1896 12 2 Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov 1908 12 3 Dmitriy Shostakovich 1940 12 4 Igor Buketoff 1997 13 Related works 14 See also 15 References 16 External linksHistory editComposition history edit Note Dates provided in this article for events taking place in Russia before 1918 are Old Style nbsp Nikolay Karamzin 1766 1826 nbsp Alexander Pushkin 1799 1837 nbsp Vladimir Stasov 1824 1906 nbsp Vladimir Nikolsky 1836 1883 By the close of 1868 Mussorgsky had already started and abandoned two important opera projects the antique exotic romantic tragedy Salammbo written under the influence of Aleksandr Serov s Judith and the contemporary Russian anti romantic farce Marriage influenced by Aleksandr Dargomizhsky s The Stone Guest Mussorgsky s next project would be a very original and successful synthesis of the opposing styles of these two experiments the romantic lyrical style of Salammbo and the realistic style of Marriage 6 In the autumn of 1868 Vladimir Nikolsky a professor of Russian history and language and an authority on Pushkin suggested to Mussorgsky the idea of composing an opera on the subject of Pushkin s dramatic chronicle Boris Godunov 7 Boris the play modelled on Shakespeare s histories 8 was written in 1825 and published in 1831 but was not approved for performance by the state censors until 1866 almost 30 years after the author s death Production was permitted on condition that certain scenes were cut 9 10 Although enthusiasm for the work was high Mussorgsky faced a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to his plans in that an Imperial ukaz of 1837 forbade the portrayal in opera of Russian Tsars amended in 1872 to include only Romanov Tsars 11 nbsp Mussorgsky in 1870Original VersionWhen Lyudmila Shestakova the sister of Mikhail Glinka learned of Mussorgsky s plans she presented him with a volume of Pushkin s dramatic works interleaved with blank pages and bound and using this Mussorgsky began work in October 1868 preparing his own libretto 12 Pushkin s drama consists of 25 scenes written predominantly in blank verse Mussorgsky adapted the most theatrically effective scenes mainly those featuring the title character along with a few other key scenes Novodevichy Cell Inn often preserving Pushkin s verses 13 Mussorgsky worked rapidly composing first the vocal score in about nine months finished 18 July 1869 and completed the full score five months later 15 December 1869 at the same time working as a civil servant 12 14 In 1870 he submitted the libretto to the state censor for examination and the score to the literary and music committees of the Imperial Theatres 15 However the opera was rejected 10 February 1871 by a vote of 6 to 1 ostensibly for its lack of an important female role 16 Lyudmila Shestakova recalled the reply made by conductor Eduard Napravnik and stage manager Gennadiy Kondratyev of the Mariinsky Theatre in response to her question of whether Boris had been accepted for production 17 No they answered me it s impossible How can there be an opera without the feminine element Mussorgsky has great talent beyond doubt Let him add one more scene Then Boris will be produced 17 Lyudmila Shestakova in My Evenings her recollections of Mussorgsky and The Mighty Handful 1889 Other questionable accounts such as Rimsky Korsakov s allege that there were additional reasons for rejection such as the work s novelty 17 Mussorgsky submitted his completed Boris Godunov to the Board of Directors of the Imperial Theatres The freshness and originality of the music nonplussed the honorable members of the committee who reproved the composer among other things for the absence of a reasonably important female role 18 Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov Chronicle of My Musical Life 1909 All his closest friends including myself although moved to enthusiasm by the superb dramatic power and genuinely national character of the work had constantly been pointing out to him that it lacked many essentials and that despite the beauties with which it teemed it might be found unsatisfactory in certain respects For a long time he stood up as every genuine artist is wont to do for his creation the fruit of his inspiration and meditations He yielded only after Boris had been rejected the management finding that it contained too many choruses and ensembles whereas individual characters had too little to do This rejection proved very beneficial to Boris 19 Vladimir Stasov Meanwhile Pushkin s drama 18 of the published 24 scenes condensed into 16 finally received its first performance in 1870 at the Mariinsky Theatre three years in advance of the premiere of the opera in the same venue using the same scene designs by Matvey Shishkov that would be recycled in the opera 9 10 nbsp Eduard Napravnik conducted the premiere of Boris Godunov 1874 20 The Czech Napravnik would spend more than 40 years in the service of Russian music as chief conductor of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre 21 In Rimsky Korsakov s memoirs Chronicle of My Musical Life the composer praises his keen ear his ability to detect errors and his overall technique but faults him for his rapid tempi his interpretational inflexibility and insensitivity and most of all for his habit of making sweeping cuts 22 Revised VersionIn 1871 Mussorgsky began recasting and expanding the opera with enthusiasm ultimately going beyond the requirements of the directorate of the Imperial Theatres which called simply for the addition of a female role and a scene to contain it 16 He added three scenes the two Sandomierz scenes and the Kromi Scene cut one The Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed and recomposed another the Terem Scene The modifications resulted in the addition of an important prima donna role Marina Mniszech the expansion of existing female roles additional songs for the Hostess Fyodor and the Nurse and the expansion of the first tenor role the Pretender Mussorgsky augmented his adaptation of Pushkin s drama with his own lyrics assisted by a study of the monumental History of the Russian State by Karamzin to whom Pushkin s drama is dedicated The Revised Version was finished in 1872 vocal score 14 December 1871 full score 23 June 1872 14 and submitted to the Imperial Theatres in the autumn Most Mussorgsky biographers claim that the directorate of the Imperial Theatres also rejected the revised version of Boris Godunov even providing a date 6 May 1872 Calvocoressi 23 or 29 October 1872 Lloyd Jones 24 Recent researchers point out that there is insufficient evidence to support this claim emphasizing that in his revision Mussorgsky had rectified the only objection the directorate is known to have made 25 In any case Mussorgsky s friends took matters into their own hands arranging the performance of three scenes the Inn and both Sandomierz scenes at the Mariinsky Theatre on 5 February 1873 as a benefit for stage manager Gennadiy Kondratyev 14 Cesar Cui s review noted the audience s enthusiasm The success was enormous and complete never within my memory had such ovations been given to a composer at the Mariinsky 26 Cesar Cui Sankt Peterburgskie Vedomosti 1873 The success of this performance led V Bessel and Co to announce the publication of the piano vocal score of Mussorgsky s opera issued in January 1874 14 PremiereThe triumphant 1873 performance of three scenes paved the way for the first performance of the opera which was accepted for production on 22 October 1873 27 The premiere took place on 27 January 1874 as a benefit for prima donna Yuliya Platonova 14 The performance was a great success with the public The Mariinsky Theatre was sold out Mussorgsky had to take some 20 curtain calls students sang choruses from the opera in the street This time however the critical reaction was exceedingly hostile 28 see Critical Reception in this article for details Initial performances of Boris Godunov featured significant cuts The entire Cell Scene was cut from the first performance not as is often supposed due to censorship but because Napravnik wished to avoid a lengthy performance and frequently cut episodes he felt were ineffective 29 Later performances tended to be even more heavily cut including the additional removal of the Kromi scene likely for political reasons starting 20 October 1876 the 13th performance 30 After protracted difficulties in obtaining the production of his opera Mussorgsky was compliant with Napravnik s demands and even defended these mutilations to his own supporters Presently cuts were made in the opera the splendid scene Near Kromi was omitted Some two years later the Lord knows why productions of the opera ceased altogether although it had enjoyed uninterrupted success and the performances under Petrov and after his death by F I Stravinsky Platonova and Komissarzhevsky had been excellent There were rumors afloat that the opera had displeased the Imperial family there was gossip that its subject was unpleasant to the censors the result was that the opera was stricken from the repertory 31 Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov Chronicle of My Musical Life Boris Godunov was performed 21 times during the composer s lifetime and 5 times after his death in 1881 before being withdrawn from the repertory on 8 November 1882 When Mussorgsky s subsequent opera Khovanshchina was rejected for production in 1883 the Imperial Opera Committee reputedly said One radical opera by Mussorgsky is enough 32 Boris Godunov did not return to the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre until 9 November 1904 when the Rimsky Korsakov edition was presented under conductor Feliks Blumenfeld with bass Feodor Chaliapin in the title role Boris Godunov and the Imperial Family edit The reports of the antipathy of the Imperial family to Mussorgsky s opera are supported by the following accounts by Platonova and Stasov During the premiere after the scene by the fountain Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich a devoted friend of mine but by the calumny of the Conservatory members the sworn enemy of Musorgsky approached me during the intermission with the following words And you like this music so much that you chose this opera for a benefit performance I like it Your Highness I answered Then I am going to tell you that this is a shame to all Russia and not an opera he screamed almost foaming at the mouth and then turning his back he stomped away from me 33 Yuliya Platonova letter to Vladimir Stasov In the entire audience I think only Konstantin Nikolayevich was unhappy he does not like our school in general it was not so much the fault of the music as that of the libretto where the folk scenes the riot the scene where the police officer beats the people with his stick so that they cry out begging Boris to accept the throne and so forth were jarring to some people and infuriated them There was no end to applause and curtain calls 34 Vladimir Stasov letter to his daughter 1874 When the list of operas for the winter was presented to His Majesty the Emperor he with his own hand was pleased to strike out Boris with a wavy line in blue pencil 35 Vladimir Stasov letter to Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov 1888 Performance history edit Note This section lists performance data for the Saint Petersburg and Moscow premieres of each important version the first performance of each version abroad and premieres in English speaking countries Dates provided for events taking place in Russia before 1918 are Old Style Original interpreters nbsp Petrov and Dyuzhikovas Varlaam and Misail nbsp Ivan Melnikovas Tsar Boris nbsp Palecek and Platonovaas Rangoni and Marina nbsp Fyodor Komissarzhevskyas the Pretender 1872 Saint Petersburg ExcerptsThe Coronation Scene was performed on 5 February 1872 by the Russian Music Society conducted by Eduard Napravnik The Polonaise from Act 3 was performed without chorus on 3 April 1872 by the Free School of Music conducted by Miliy Balakirev 36 1873 Saint Petersburg Three scenesThree scenes from the opera the Inn Scene the Scene in Marina s Boudoir and the Fountain Scene were performed on 5 February 1873 at the Mariinsky Theatre Eduard Napravnik conducted 26 The cast included Darya Leonova Innkeeper Fyodor Komissarzhevsky Pretender Osip Petrov Varlaam Vasiliy Vasilyev or Vasilyev II Misail Mikhail Sariotti Police Officer Yuliya Platonova Marina Josef Palecek Rangoni and Feliks Krzesinski Old Polish Noble 37 nbsp The House of Boris design by Matvey Shishkov 1870 1874 Saint Petersburg World premiereThe Revised Version of 1872 received its world premiere on 27 January 1874 at the Mariinsky Theatre The Cell Scene was omitted The Novodevichiy and Coronation scenes were combined into one continuous scene The Call of Boris to the Tsardom Matvey Shishkov s design for the last scene of Pushkin s drama The House of Boris see illustration right was substituted for this hybrid of the Novodevichiy and Coronation scenes 38 The scenes were grouped in five acts as follows 39 Act 1 The Call of Boris to the Tsardom and Inn Act 2 With Tsar Boris Act 3 Marina s Boudoir and At the Fountain Act 4 The Death of Boris Act 5 The Pretender near Kromi Production personnel included Gennadiy Kondratyev stage director Ivan Pomazansky chorus master Matvey Shishkov Mikhail Bocharov and Ivan Andreyev scene designers and Vasiliy Prokhorov costume designer Eduard Napravnik conducted The cast included Ivan Melnikov Boris Aleksandra Krutikova Fyodor Wilhelmina Raab Kseniya Olga Shryoder nurse Vasiliy Vasilyev Vasilyev II Shuysky Vladimir Sobolev Shchelkalov Vladimir Vasilyev Vasilyev I Pimen Lawicki Fyodor Komissarzhevsky Pretender Yuliya Platonova Marina Josef Palecek Rangoni Osip Petrov Varlaam Pavel Dyuzhikov Misail Antonina Abarinova Innkeeper Pavel Bulakhov Yurodiviy Mikhail Sariotti Nikitich Lyadov Mityukha Sobolev Boyar in Attendance Matveyev Khrushchov and Sobolev Czernikowski The production ran for 26 performances over 9 years 40 The premiere established traditions that have influenced subsequent Russian productions and many abroad as well 1 Cuts made to shorten what is perceived as an overlong work 2 Declamatory and histrionic singing by the title character often degenerating in climactic moments into shouting initiated by Ivan Melnikov and later reinforced by Fyodor Shalyapin and 3 Realistic and historically accurate sets and costumes employing very little stylization 41 1879 Saint Petersburg Cell SceneThe Cell Scene Revised Version was first performed on 16 January 1879 in Kononov Hall at a concert of the Free School of Music in the presence of Mussorgsky 42 Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov conducted The cast included Vladimir Vasilyev Vasilyev I Pimen and Vasiliy Vasilyev Vasilyev II Pretender 43 44 1888 Moscow Bolshoy Theatre premiereThe Revised Version of 1872 received its Moscow premiere on 16 December 1888 at the Bolshoy Theatre The Cell and Kromi scenes were omitted Production personnel included Anton Bartsal stage director and Karl Valts scene designer Ippolit Altani conducted The cast included Bogomir Korsov Boris Nadezhda Salina Fyodor Aleksandra Karatayeva Kseniya O Pavlova Nurse Anton Bartsal Shuysky Pyotr Figurov Shchelkalov Ivan Butenko Pimen Lavrentiy Donskoy Pretender Mariya Klimentova Marina Pavel Borisov Rangoni Vladimir Streletsky Varlaam Mikhail Mikhaylov Misail Vera Gnucheva Innkeeper and Aleksandr Dodonov Boyar in attendance The production ran for 10 performances 40 45 1896 Saint Petersburg Premiere of the Rimsky Korsakov editionThe Rimsky Korsakov edition premiered on 28 November 1896 in the Great Hall of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov conducted The cast included Mikhail Lunacharsky Boris Gavriil Morskoy Pretender Nikolay Kedrov Rangoni and Fyodor Stravinsky Varlaam The production ran for 4 performances 40 nbsp Shalyapin as Boris 1898 1898 Moscow Fyodor Shalyapin as BorisBass Fyodor Shalyapin first appeared as Boris on 7 December 1898 at the Solodovnikov Theatre in a Private Russian Opera production The Rimsky Korsakov edition of 1896 was performed Production personnel included Savva Mamontov producer and Mikhail Lentovsky stage director Giuseppe Truffi conducted The cast also included Anton Sekar Rozhansky Pretender Serafima Selyuk Roznatovskaya Marina Varvara Strakhova Fyodor and Vasiliy Shkafer Shuysky The production ran for 14 performances 40 1908 Paris First performance outside RussiaThe Rimsky Korsakov edition of 1908 premiered on 19 May 1908 at the Paris Opera The Cell Scene preceded the Coronation Scene the Inn Scene and the Scene in Marina s Boudoir were omitted the Fountain Scene preceded the Terem Scene and the Kromi Scene preceded the Death Scene Production personnel included Sergey Dyagilev producer Aleksandr Sanin stage director Aleksandr Golovin Konstantin Yuon Aleksandr Benua and Yevgeniy Lansere scene designers Ulrikh Avranek chorusmaster and Ivan Bilibin costume designer Feliks Blumenfeld conducted The cast included Fyodor Shalyapin Boris Klavdiya Tugarinova Fyodor Dagmara Renina Kseniya Yelizaveta Petrenko Nurse Ivan Alchevsky Shuysky Nikolay Kedrov Shchelkalov Vladimir Kastorsky Pimen Dmitri Smirnov Pretender Nataliya Yermolenko Yuzhina Marina Vasiliy Sharonov Varlaam Vasiliy Doverin Kravchenko Misail Mitrofan Chuprinnikov Yurodiviy and Khristofor Tolkachev Nikitich 40 The production ran for 7 performances 46 nbsp Didur as Boris 1913 1913 New York United States premiere nbsp Cast of a performance of Boris Godunoff sung in Italian at the Metropolitan Opera 7 December 1922The United States premiere of the 1908 Rimsky Korsakov edition took place on 19 March 1913 at the Metropolitan Opera and was based on Sergey Dyagilev s Paris production The opera was presented in three acts The Cell Scene preceded the Coronation Scene the scene in Marina s Boudoir was omitted and the Kromi Scene preceded the Death Scene However the Inn Scene which was omitted in Paris was included Scenery and costume designs were the same as used in Paris in 1908 made in Russia by Golovin Benua and Bilibin and shipped from Paris Arturo Toscanini conducted The cast included Adamo Didur Boris Anna Case Fyodor Leonora Sparkes Kseniya Maria Duchene Nurse Angelo Bada Shuysky Vincenzo Reschiglian Shchelkalov Lawicki Jeanne Maubourg Innkeeper Leon Rothier Pimen Paul Althouse Pretender Louise Homer Marina Andres de Segurola Varlaam Pietro Audisio Misail Albert Reiss Yurodiviy Giulio Rossi Nikitich Leopoldo Mariani Boyar in Attendance and Louis Kreidler Czernikowski 47 This performance was sung in Italian nbsp Shalyapin as Boris 1913 1913 London United Kingdom premiereThe United Kingdom premiere of the 1908 Rimsky Korsakov edition took place on 24 June 1913 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London Production personnel included Sergey Dyagilev producer and Aleksandr Sanin stage director Emil Cooper conducted The cast included Fyodor Shalyapin Boris Mariya Davidova Fyodor Mariya Brian Kseniya Yelizaveta Petrenko Nurse Innkeeper Nikolay Andreyev Shuysky A Dogonadze Shchelkalov Pavel Andreyev Pimen Vasiliy Damayev Pretender Yelena Nikolayeva Marina Aleksandr Belyanin Varlaam Nikolay Bolshakov Misail Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Yurodiviy and Kapiton Zaporozhets Nikitich 40 1927 Moscow St Basil s SceneThe newly published St Basil s Scene was performed on 18 January 1927 at the Bolshoy Theatre in the 1926 revision by Mikhail Ippolitov Ivanov commissioned in 1925 to accompany the Rimsky Korsakov edition Production personnel included Vladimir Lossky stage director and Fyodor Fedorovsky scene designer Ariy Pazovsky conducted The cast included Ivan Kozlovsky Yurodiviy and Leonid Savransky Boris 48 The production ran for 144 performances 40 nbsp Novodevichiy Scene Design by Vladimir Dmitriev 1928 1928 Leningrad World premiere of the 1869 Original VersionThe Original Version of 1869 premiered on 16 February 1928 at the State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet Production personnel included Sergey Radlov stage director and Vladimir Dmitriyev scene designer Vladimir Dranishnikov conducted The cast included Mark Reyzen Boris Aleksandr Kabanov Shuysky Ivan Pleshakov Pimen Nikolay Pechkovsky Pretender Pavel Zhuravlenko Varlaam Yekaterina Sabinina Innkeeper and V Tikhiy Yurodiviy 40 1935 London First performance of the 1869 Original Version outside RussiaThe first performance of the 1869 Original Version abroad took place on 30 September 1935 at the Sadler s Wells Theatre The opera was sung in English Lawrance Collingwood conducted The cast included Ronald Stear Boris 49 1959 Leningrad First performance of the Shostakovich orchestrationThe premiere of the Shostakovich orchestration of 1940 of Pavel Lamm s vocal score took place on 4 November 1959 at the Kirov Theatre Sergey Yeltsin conducted The cast included Boris Shtokolov Boris 1974 New York First Russian Language Performance in the United StatesOn 16 December 1974 an adapted version of the original Mussorgsky orchestration was used for this New production with Martti Talvela performing the title role by the Metropolitan Opera which was also the first performance of Boris Godunov in the new Lincoln Center building since its opening in 1966 Publication history edit This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Boris Godunov opera news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Year Score Editor Publisher Notes1874 Piano vocal score Modest Mussorgsky V Bessel and Co Saint Petersburg Revised Version1896 Full score Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov V Bessel and Co Saint Petersburg A drastically edited re orchestrated and cut form of the 1874 vocal score1908 Full score Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov V Bessel and Co Saint Petersburg A drastically edited and re orchestrated form of the 1874 vocal score1928 Piano vocal score Pavel Lamm Muzsektor Moscow Oxford University Press London A restoration of the composer s scores a conflation of the Original and Revised Versions but with notes identifying the sourcesFull score Pavel Lamm and Boris Asafyev Muzsektor Moscow Oxford University Press London A restoration of the composer s scores a conflation of the Original and Revised Versions limited edition of 200 copies1963 Full score Dmitriy Shostakovich Muzgiz Moscow A new orchestration of Lamm s vocal score a conflation of the Original and Revised Versions1975 Full score David Lloyd Jones Oxford University Press London A restoration of the composer s scores a conflation of the Original and Revised Versions but with notes identifying the sourcesVersions edit nbsp Title page of the 1874 Piano Vocal Score The text reads Boris Godunov opera in 4 acts with a prologue a composition by M P Mussorgsky complete arrangement including scenes not offered for production on the stage for piano and voice Saint Petersburg by V Bessel and Co Note Musicologists are often not in agreement on the terms used to refer to the two authorial versions ofBoris Godunov Editors Pavel Lamm and Boris Asafyev used preliminary redaction and principal redaction for the 1st and 2nd versions respectively 50 and David Lloyd Jones designated them initial and definitive 51 This article aiming for utmost objectivity uses original and revised The differences in approach between the two authorial versions are sufficient as to constitute two distinct ideological conceptions not two variations of a single plan 52 53 1869 Original VersionThe Original Version of 1869 is rarely heard It is distinguished by its greater fidelity to Pushkin s drama and its almost entirely male cast of soloists It also conforms to the recitative opera style opera dialogue of The Stone Guest and Marriage and to the ideals of kuchkist realism which include fidelity to text formlessness and emphasis on the values of spoken theatre especially through naturalistic declamation 53 54 The unique features of this version include Pimen s narrative of the scene of the murder of Dmitriy Ivanovich Part 2 Scene 1 The original Terem Scene Part 3 which follows Pushkin s text more closely than does the revised version The scene The Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed the St Basil s Scene Part 4 Scene 1 The terse Terem Scene of the 1869 version and the unrelieved tension of the two subsequent and final scenes make this version more dramatically effective to some critics e g Boris Asafyev 55 1872 Revised VersionThe Revised Version of 1872 represents a retreat from the ideals of Kuchkist realism which had come to be associated with comedy toward a more exalted tragic tone and a conventionally operatic style a trend that would be continued in the composer s next opera Khovanshchina 56 This version is longer is richer in musical and theatrical variety 57 and balances naturalistic declamation with more lyrical vocal lines The unique features of this version include Two new offstage choruses of monks in the otherwise abbreviated Cell Scene Act 1 Scene 1 The innkeeper s Song of the Drake Act 1 Scene 2 The revised Terem Scene Act 2 which presents the title character in a more tragic and melodramatic light and includes new songs and new musical themes borrowed from Salammbo 58 The conventionally operatic Polish act Act 3 The novel final scene of anarchy the Kromi Scene Act 4 Scene 2 Mussorgsky rewrote the Terem Scene for the 1872 version modifying the text adding new songs and plot devices the parrot and the clock modifying the psychology of the title character and virtually recomposing the music of the entire scene This version has made a strong comeback in recent years and has become the dominant version 1874 Piano Vocal ScoreThe Piano Vocal Score of 1874 was the first published form of the opera and is essentially the 1872 version with some minor musical variants and small cuts The 1874 vocal score does not constitute a third version but rather a refinement of the 1872 Revised Version 14 Scene structure editThe distribution of scenes in the authorial versions is as follows Scene Short name Original Version 1869 Revised Version 1872The Courtyard of the Novodevichiy Monastery Novodevichy Scene Part 1 Scene 1 Prologue Scene 1A Square in the Moscow Kremlin Coronation Scene Part 1 Scene 2 Prologue Scene 2A Cell in the Chudov Monastery Cell Scene Part 2 Scene 1 Act 1 Scene 1An Inn on the Lithuanian Border Inn Scene Part 2 Scene 2 Act 1 Scene 2The Tsar s Terem in the Moscow Kremlin Kremlin Scene Part 3 Act 2Marina s Boudoir in Sandomierz Act 3 Scene 1The Garden of Mniszech s Castle in Sandomierz Fountain Scene Act 3 Scene 2The Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed St Basil s Scene Part 4 Scene 1 The Faceted Palace in the Moscow Kremlin Death Scene Part 4 Scene 2 Act 4 Scene 1A Forest Glade near Kromi Revolution Scene Act 4 Scene 2Upon revising the opera Mussorgsky initially replaced the St Basil s Scene with the Kromi Scene However on the suggestion of Vladimir Nikolsky he transposed the order of the last two scenes concluding the opera with the Kromi Scene rather than the Faceted Palace Scene This gives the overall structure of the 1872 Revised Version the following symmetrical form 59 Act Scene Character FocusPrologue Novodevichy PeopleCathedral Square BorisAct 1 Cell PretenderInnAct 2 Terem BorisAct 3 Marina s Boudoir PretenderFountainAct 4 Faceted Palace BorisNear Kromi PeopleEditions by other hands Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov 1896 Rimsky Korsakov 1908 Emilis Melngailis 1924 Dmitri Shostakovich 1940 Karol Rathaus 1952The Rimsky Korsakov Version of 1908 has been the most traditional version over the last century but has recently been almost entirely eclipsed by Mussorgsky s Revised Version 1872 It resembles the Vocal Score of 1874 but the order of the last two scenes is reversed see Versions by Other Hands in this article for more details Roles editRole Voice type Premiere cast 60 Mariinsky Theatre St Petersburg27 January 1874Conductor Eduard NapravnikBoris Godunov bass baritone Ivan MelnikovFyodor or Feodor his son mezzo soprano Aleksandra KrutikovaKseniya or Xenia Boris s daughter soprano Wilhelmina RaabKseniya s nurse contralto Olga Shryoder Schroder Prince Vasiliy Ivanovich Shuysky tenor Vasiliy Vasilyev Vasilyev II Andrey Shchelkalov Clerk of the Duma bass baritone Vladimir SobolevPimen chronicler hermit bass Vladimir Vasilyev Vasilyev I The Pretender under the name Grigoriy in training with Pimen tenor Fyodor KomissarzhevskyMarina Mniszech the daughter of the Sandomierz Voyevoda mezzo soprano or soprano Yuliya PlatonovaRangoni a covert Jesuit bass Josef PalecekVarlaam a vagabond bass Osip PetrovMisail a vagabond tenor Pavel DyuzhikovThe Innkeeper mezzo soprano Antonina AbarinovaThe yurodiviy tenor Pavel BulakhovNikitich a police officer bass Mikhail SariottiMityukha a peasant bass LyadovThe Boyar in Attendance tenor SobolevThe Boyar Khrushchov tenor Matvey MatveyevLawicki or Lavitsky Jesuit bass Vladimir Vasilyev Vasilyev I Czernikowski or Chernikovsky Jesuit bass SobolevChorus silent roles Boyars the Boyars children streltsi bodyguards policemen Polish nobles Sandomierz maidens wandering minstrels people of MoscowNote Roles designated with an asterisk do not appear in the 1869 Original Version Yurodiviy is often translated as Simpleton or Idiot However Holy Fool is a more accurate English equivalent 61 a In other roles lists created by Mussorgsky Pimen is designated a monk inok Grigoriy a novice poslushnik Rangoni a Cardinal kardinal Varlaam and Misail vagrant monks brodyagi chernecy the Innkeeper a hostess hozyajka and Khrushchov a Voyevoda voevoda 65 Pimen Grigoriy Varlaam and Misail were likely given non clerical designations to satisfy the censor Instrumentation editMussorgsky orchestration Strings violins I amp II violas cellos double basses Woodwinds 3 flutes 3rd doubling piccolo 2 oboes 2nd doubling english horn 3 clarinets 2 bassoons Brass 4 horns 2 trumpets 3 trombones 1 tuba Percussion timpani bass drum snare drum tambourine cymbals Other piano harp On Offstage instruments 1 trumpet bells tam tamRimsky Korsakov orchestration Strings violins I amp II violas cellos double basses Woodwinds 3 flutes 3rd doubling piccolo 2 oboes 2nd doubling english horn 3 clarinets 3rd doubling bass clarinet 2 bassoons Brass 4 horns 3 trumpets 3 trombones 1 tuba Percussion timpani bass drum snare drum tambourine cymbals Other piano harp On Offstage instruments 1 trumpet bells tam tamShostakovich orchestration Strings violins I amp II violas cellos double basses Woodwinds 3 flutes 3rd doubling piccolo 2 oboes english horn 3 clarinets 3rd doubling E flat clarinet bass clarinet 3 bassoons 3rd doubling contrabassoon Brass 4 horns 3 trumpets 3 trombones 1 tuba Percussion timpani bass drum snare drum tambourine cymbals tam tam triangle bells glockenspiel xylophone Other piano harp celesta On Offstage instruments 4 trumpets 2 cornets 2 horns 2 baritone horns 2 euphoniums 2 tubas balalaika and domra ad libitumHistorical basis of the plot edit nbsp Boris Godunov 1551 1605 nbsp Vasiliy Shuysky 1552 1612 nbsp The Pretender c 1582 1606 nbsp Marina Mniszech 1588 1614 An understanding of the drama of Boris Godunov may be facilitated by a basic knowledge of the historical events surrounding the Time of Troubles the interregnum of relative anarchy following the end of the Ryurik Dynasty 1598 and preceding the Romanov Dynasty 1613 Key events are as follows 1584 Ivan IV The Terrible the first Grand Prince of Muscovy to officially adopt the title Tsar Caesar dies Ivan s successor is his feeble son Fyodor I who cares only for spiritual matters and leaves the affairs of state to his capable brother in law boyar Boris Godunov 1591 Ivan s other son the eight year old Tsarevich Dmitriy Ivanovich dies under mysterious circumstances in Uglich An investigation ordered by Godunov and carried out by Prince Vasiliy Shuysky determines that the Tsarevich while playing with a knife suffered an epileptic seizure fell and died from a self inflicted wound to the throat Dmitriy s mother Maria Nagaya banished with him to Uglich by Godunov claims he was assassinated Rumors linking Boris to the death are circulated by his enemies 1598 Tsar Fyodor I dies He is the last of the Ryurik Dynasty who have ruled Russia for seven centuries Patriarch Job of Moscow nominates Boris to succeed as Tsar despite the rumors that Boris ordered the murder of Dmitriy Boris agrees to accept the throne only if elected by the Zemsky Sobor This the assembly does unanimously and Boris is crowned the same year 1601 The Russian famine of 1601 1603 undermines Boris Godunov s popularity and the stability of his administration nbsp Polish magnates1604 A pretender to the throne appears in Poland claiming to be Tsarevich Dmitriy but believed to be in reality one Grigoriy Otrepyev He gains the support of the Szlachta magnates and upon conversion to Roman Catholicism the Apostolic Nuncio Claudio Rangoni Obtaining a force of soldiers he marches on Moscow The False Dmitriy s retinue includes the Jesuits Lawicki and Czernikowski and the monks Varlaam and Misail of the Chudov Monastery Crossing into Russia Dmitriy s invasion force is joined by disaffected Cossacks However after a few victories the campaign falters Polish mercenaries mutiny and desert 1605 Boris dies of unknown causes He is succeeded by his son Fyodor II The death of Boris gives new life to the campaign of the False Dmitriy Boyars who have gone over to the Pretender murder Fyodor II and his mother The False Dmitriy enters Moscow and is soon crowned Prince Shuysky begins plotting against him 1606 The Russian boyars oppose Dmitriy s Polish and Catholic alliances He is murdered shortly after wedding Marina Mniszech and is succeeded by Vasiliy Shuysky now Vasiliy IV 1610 Battle of Klushino and Polish seizure and occupation of Moscow Vasiliy IV is deposed and dies two years later in a Polish prison Another pretender claiming to be Dmitriy Ivanovich False Dmitriy II is murdered 1611 Yet a third pretender False Dmitriy III appears He is captured and executed in 1612 1613 The Time of Troubles comes to a close with the accession of Mikhail Romanov son of Fyodor Romanov who had been persecuted under Boris Godunov s reign Note The culpability of Boris in the matter of Dmitriy s death can neither be proved nor disproved Karamzin accepted his responsibility as fact and Pushkin and Mussorgsky after him assumed his guilt to be true at least for the purpose of creating a tragedy in the mold of Shakespeare Modern historians however tend to acquit Boris Synopsis editNote Shishkov and Bocharev designed the sets samples below some of which were used in the first complete performance in 1874 Arias and numbers Passages cut from or added to the 1872 Revised Version see Versions in this article for details Setting Time The years 1598 to 1605 Place Moscow the Lithuanian frontier a castle in Sandomierz KromiPart 1 Prologue edit nbsp Shishkov s design for the Novodevichiy Monastery Scene 1870 Scene 1 The Courtyard of the Novodevichiy Monastery near Moscow 1598 There is a brief introduction foreshadowing the Dmitriy Motif The curtain opens on a crowd in the courtyard of the monastery where the weary regent Boris Godunov has temporarily retired Nikitich the police officer orders the assembled people to kneel He goads them to clamor for Boris to accept the throne They sing a chorus of supplication To whom dost thou abandon us our father The people are bewildered about their purpose and soon fall to bickering with each other resuming their entreaties only when the policeman threatens them with his club Their chorus reaches a feverish climax Andrey Shchelkalov the Secretary of the Duma appears from inside the convent informs the people that Boris still refuses the throne of Russia Orthodox folk The boyar is implacable and requests that they pray that he will relent An approaching procession of pilgrims sings a hymn Glory to Thee Creator on high exhorting the people to crush the spirit of anarchy in the land take up holy icons and go to meet the Tsar They disappear into the monastery Original 1869 Version only The people discuss the statements of the pilgrims Many remain bewildered about the identity of this Tsar The police officer interrupts their discussion ordering them to appear the next day at the Moscow Kremlin The people move on stoically exclaiming if we are to wail we might as well wail at the Kremlin nbsp Bocharov s design for the Cathedral Square Scene 1874 Scene 2 Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin 1598 The orchestral introduction is based on bell motifs From the porch of the Cathedral of the Dormition Prince Shuysky exhorts the people to glorify Tsar Boris As the people sing a great chorus of praise Like the beautiful sun in the sky glory a solemn procession of boyars exits the cathedral The people kneel Boris appears on the porch of the cathedral The shouts of Glory reach a climax and subside Boris delivers a brief monologue My soul grieves betraying a feeling of ominous foreboding He prays for God s blessing and hopes to be a good and just ruler He invites the people to a great feast and then proceeds to the Cathedral of the Archangel to kneel at the tombs of Russia s past rulers The people wish Boris a long life Glory Glory Glory A crowd breaks toward the cathedral The police officers struggle to maintain order The people resume their shouts of Glory In this scene Mussorgsky has been hailed as ahead of his time musically His use of the whole tone scale which uses only whole steps made the Coronation scene stand out This technique was replicated by impressionistic composers about 20 years later who noted his success Mussorgsky also combined different two beat and three beat meters to create a unique sound for his composition called polymeters These techniques were uncommon during this era and were believed to be almost too overwhelming for the public This led to his rejection on two different occasions by the Imperial Opera before they decided to perform 66 Part 2 Act 1 edit nbsp Ivan Bilibin s design for the Cell Scene 1900s Scene 1 Night A Cell in the Chudov Monastery within the Moscow Kremlin 1603 Pimen a venerable monk writes a chronicle Yet one last tale of Russian history The young novice Grigoriy awakes from a horrible and prophetic dream which he relates to Pimen in which he climbed a high tower was mocked by the people of Moscow and fell Pimen advises him to fast and pray Grigoriy regrets that he retired so soon from worldly affairs to become a monk He envies Pimen s early life of adventure Pimen speaks approvingly of Ivan the Terrible and his son Fyodor who both exhibited great spiritual devotion and draws a contrast with Boris a regicide Original 1869 Version only At Grigoriy s request Pimen tells the vivid details of the scene of the murder of Dmitriy Ivanovich which he witnessed in Uglich Upon discovering the similarity in age between himself and the murdered Tsarevich Grigoriy conceives the idea of posing as the Pretender As Pimen departs for Matins Grigoriy declares that Boris shall escape neither the judgment of the people nor that of God nbsp Shishkov s design for the Inn Scene 1870 Scene 2 An Inn on the Lithuanian Border 1603 There is a brief orchestral introduction based on three prominent themes from this scene Revised 1872 Version only The Hostess enters and sings the Song of the Drake I have caught a gray drake It is interrupted towards the end by approaching voices dd The vagrants Varlaam and Misail who are dressed as monks and are begging for alms and their companion Grigoriy who is in secular garb arrive and enter After exchanging greetings Varlaam requests some wine When the Hostess returns with a bottle he drinks and launches into a ferocious song So it was in the city of Kazan of Ivan the Terrible s siege of Kazan The two monks quickly become tipsy and soon begin to doze Grigoriy quietly asks the Hostess for directions to the Lithuanian border The Hostess mentions that the police are watching the ordinary roads but they are wasting their time because there is an alternative less well known way to get to the border Policemen appear in search of a fugitive heretic monk Grigoriy who has run off from the Chudov Monastery declaring that he will become Tsar in Moscow Noticing Varlaam s suspicious appearance and behavior the lead policeman thinks he has found his man He cannot read the ukaz edict he is carrying however so Grigoriy volunteers to read it He does so but eyeing Varlaam carefully he substitutes Varlaam s description for his own The policemen quickly seize Varlaam who protests his innocence and asks to read the ukaz Varlaam is only barely literate but he manages to haltingly read the description of the suspect which of course matches Grigoriy Grigoriy brandishes a dagger and leaps out of the window The men set off in pursuit Part 3 Act 2 edit nbsp Shishkov s design for the Terem Scene 1870 The Interior of the Tsar s Terem in the Moscow Kremlin 1605 Kseniya or Xenia clutching a portrait of Prince Ivan her betrothed who has died sings a brief mournful aria Where are you my bridegroom Fyodor studies a great map of the Tsardom of Russia Revised 1872 Version only Fyodor tries to console Kseniya and shows her the magic of the clock once it starts chiming Kseniya s nurse assures her that she will soon forget about Prince Ivan 1872 The nurse and Fyodor attempt to cheer Kseniya up with some songs A gnat was chopping wood and A little tale of this and that Boris abruptly enters briefly consoles Kseniya and then sends her and her nurse to their own quarters Fyodor shows Boris the map of Russia After encouraging his son to resume his studies Boris delivers a long and fine soliloquy I have attained supreme power nbsp I have attained supreme power Rimsky Korsakov Version source source performed by Feodor Chaliapin Problems playing this file See media help 1872 At the end of this arioso he reveals that he has been disturbed by a vision of a bloody child begging for mercy A commotion breaks out in his children s quarters Boris sends Fyodor to investigate The boyar in attendance brings word of the arrival of Prince Shuysky and reports a denunciation against him for his intrigues 1872 Fyodor returns to relate a whimsical tale Our little parrot was sitting involving a pet parrot Boris takes comfort in his son s imagination and advises Fyodor when he becomes Tsar to beware of evil and cunning advisors such as Shuysky Prince Shuysky now enters Boris insults him accusing him of conspiring with Pushkin an ancestor of the poet However the prince brings grave tidings A Pretender has appeared in Lithuania Boris angrily demands to know his identity Shuysky fears the Pretender might attract a following bearing the name of Tsarevich Dmitriy Shaken by this revelation Boris dismisses Fyodor He orders Shuysky to seal the border with Lithuania and clearly on the edge of madness asks Shuysky whether he has ever heard of dead children rising from their graves to question Tsars Boris seeks assurance that the dead child the prince had seen in Uglich was really Dmitriy He threatens Shuysky if he dissembles with a gruesome execution The Prince describes the ghastly scene of Dmitriy s murder in a brief and beautiful aria In Uglich in the cathedral But he gives hints that a miracle incorruptibility has occurred Boris begins choking with guilt and remorse and gives a sign for Shuysky to depart 1872 The chiming clock again begins working Boris hallucinates Hallucination or Clock Scene The spectre of the dead Dmitriy reaches out to him Addressing the apparition he denies his responsibility for the crime Begone begone child I am not thy murderer the will of the people He collapses praying that God will have mercy on his guilty soul Act 3 The Polish Act 1872 Version only edit nbsp Shishkov s design for the scene in Marina s Boudoir 1870 Scene 1 The Boudoir of Marina Mniszech in Sandomierz Poland 1604 Maidens sing a delicate sentimental song On the blue Vistula to entertain Marina as her chambermaid dresses her hair Marina declares her preference for heroic songs of chivalry She dismisses everyone Alone she sings of her boredom How tediously and sluggishly of Dmitriy and of her thirst for adventure power and glory The Jesuit Rangoni enters bemoans the wretched state of the church attempts to obtain Marina s promise that when she becomes Tsaritsa she will convert the heretics of Moscow Russian Orthodox Church to the true faith Roman Catholicism and encourages her to bewitch the Pretender When Marina wonders why she should do this Rangoni angrily insists that she stop short of nothing including sacrificing her honor to obey the dictates of the church Marina expresses contempt of his hypocritical insinuations and demands he leave As Rangoni ominously tells her she is in the thrall of infernal forces Marina collapses in dread Rangoni demands her obedience nbsp Shishkov s design for the scene in the Garden of Mniszech s Castle 1870 Scene 2 Mniszech s Castle in Sandomierz A Garden A Fountain A Moonlit Night 1604 Woodwind and harp accompany a pensive version of the Dmitriy Motif The Pretender dreams of an assignation with Marina in the garden of her father s castle However to his annoyance Rangoni finds him He brings news that Marina longs for him and wishes to speak with him The Pretender resolves to throw himself at Marina s feet begging her to be his wife and Tsaritsa He entreats Rangoni to lead him to Marina Rangoni however first begs the Pretender to consider him a father allowing him to follow his every step and thought Despite his mistrust of Rangoni the Pretender agrees not to part from him if he will only let him see Marina Rangoni convinces the Pretender to hide as the Polish nobles emerge from the castle dancing a polonaise Polonaise Marina flirts dancing with an older man The Poles sing of taking the Muscovite throne defeating the army of Boris and capturing him They return to the castle The Pretender comes out of hiding cursing Rangoni He resolves to abandon wooing Marina and begin his march on Moscow But then Marina appears and calls to him He is lovesick She however only wants to know when he will be Tsar and declares she can only be seduced by a throne and a crown The Pretender kneels at her feet She rejects his advances and attempting to spur him to action dismisses him calling him a lackey Having reached his limit he tells her he will depart the next day to lead his army to Moscow and to his father s throne Furthermore as Tsar he will take pleasure in watching her come crawling back looking for her own lost throne and will command everyone to laugh at her She quickly reverses course tells him she adores him and they sing a duet O Tsarevich I implore you Rangoni observes the amorous couple from afar and joining them in a brief trio cynically rejoices in his victory Part 4 Act 4 edit nbsp The Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed Bolshoy Theatre 1927 Scene 1 1869 Version only The Square before the Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed in Moscow 1605 A crowd mills about before the Cathedral of the Intercession the Temple of Vasiliy the Blessed in Red Square Many are beggars and policemen occasionally appear A group of men enters discussing the anathema the deacon had declared on Grishka Grigoriy Otrepyev in the mass They identify Grishka as the Tsarevich With growing excitement they sing of the advance of his forces to Kromi of his intent to retake his father s throne and of the defeat he will deal to the Godunovs A yurodiviy enters pursued by urchins He sings a nonsensical song The moon is flying the kitten is crying The urchins greet him and rap on his metal hat The yurodiviy has a kopek which the urchins promptly steal He whines pathetically Boris and his retinue exit the cathedral The boyars distribute alms In a powerful chorus Benefactor father Give us bread the hungry people beg for bread As the chorus subsides the yurodiviy s cries are heard Boris asks why he cries The yurodiviy reports the theft of his kopek and asks Boris to order the boys slaughter just as he did in the case of the Tsarevich Shuysky wants the yurodiviy seized but Boris instead asks for the holy man s prayers As Boris exits the yurodiviy declares that the Mother of God will not allow him to pray for Tsar Herod see Massacre of the Innocents The yurodiviy then sings his lament Flow flow bitter tears about the fate of Russia nbsp Shishkov s design for the Faceted Palace Scene 1870 Scene 2 1869 Version Scene 1 1872 version The Faceted Palace in the Moscow Kremlin 1605 A session of the Duma is in progress Original 1869 Version only The assembled boyars listen as Shchelkalov reading the Tsar s ukaz edict informs them of the Pretender s claim to the throne of Russia and requests they pass judgment on him After some arguments the boyars agree Well let s put it to a vote boyars in a powerful chorus that the Pretender and his sympathizers should be executed Shuysky whom they distrust arrives with an interesting story Upon leaving the Tsar s presence he observed Boris attempting to drive away the ghost of the dead Tsarevich exclaiming Begone begone child The boyars accuse Shuysky of spreading lies However a dishevelled Boris now enters echoing Shuysky Begone child The boyars are horrified After Boris comes to his senses Shuysky informs him that a humble old man craves an audience Pimen enters and tells the story One day at the evening hour of a blind man who heard the voice of the Tsarevich in a dream Dmitry instructed him to go to Uglich and pray at his grave for he has become a miracle worker in heaven The man did as instructed and regained his sight This story is the final blow for Boris He calls for his son declares he is dying Farewell my son I am dying gives Fyodor final counsel and prays for God s blessing on his children In a very dramatic scene The bell The funeral bell he dies Scene 2 1872 Version only A Forest Glade near Kromi 1605 Tempestuous music accompanies the entry of a crowd of vagabonds who have captured the boyar Khrushchov The crowd taunts him then bows in mock homage Not a falcon flying in the heavens The yurodiviy enters pursued by urchins He sings a nonsensical song The moon is flying the kitten is crying The urchins greet him and rap on his metal hat The yurodiviy has a kopek which the urchins promptly steal He whines pathetically Varlaam and Misail are heard in the distance singing of the crimes of Boris and his henchmen The sun and moon have gone dark They enter The crowd gets worked up to a frenzy Our bold daring has broken free gone on a rampage denouncing Boris Two Jesuits are heard in the distance chanting in Latin Domine Domine salvum fac praying that God will save Dmitriy They enter At the instigation of Varlaam and Misail the vagabonds prepare to hang the Jesuits who appeal to the Holy Virgin for aid Processional music heralds the arrival of Dmitriy and his forces Varlaam and Misail glorify him Glory to thee Tsarevich along with the crowd The Pretender calls those persecuted by Godunov to his side He frees Khrushchov and calls on all to march on Moscow All exeunt except the yurodiviy who sings a plaintive song Flow flow bitter tears of the arrival of the enemy and of woe to Russia nbsp From Mussorgsky s letter of 13 July 1872 to Vladimir Stasov A citation from the closing bars of the opera 1872 version The upper part depicts desolation the lower weeping The inscription is a line from the yurodiviy s lament Skoro vrag pridyot i nastanet tma Soon the enemy will arrive and darkness will come Principal arias and numbers editChorus To whom dost thou abandon us our father Na kogo ty nas pokidaesh otec nash People Aria Orthodox folk The boyar is implacable Pravoslavnye Neumolim boyarin Shchelkalov Chorus Like the beautiful sun in the sky glory Uzh kak na nebe solncu krasnomu slava People Monologue My soul grieves Skorbit dusha Boris Chorus Glory Glory Glory Slava Slava Slava People Aria Yet one last tale Eshe odno poslednee skazane Pimen Song So it was in the city of Kazan Kak vo gorode bylo vo Kazani Varlaam Monologue I have attained supreme power Dostig ya vysshej vlasti Boris Scene Hallucination or Clock Scene Scena s kurantami Boris Aria How tediously and sluggishly Kak tomitelno i vyalo Marina Dance Polonaise Polonez Marina Polish nobles Duet O Tsarevich I implore you O carevich umolyayu Marina Pretender Chorus Well Let s put it to a vote boyars Chto zh Pojdyom na golosa boyare Boyars Aria One day at the evening hour Odnazhdy v vechernij chas Pimen Aria Farewell my son I am dying Proshaj moj syn umirayu Boris Scene The bell The funeral bell Zvon Pogrebalnyj zvon Boris Fyodor Chorus Song Flow flow bitter tears Lejtes lejtes slyozy gorkie Yurodiviy Critical reception edit nbsp Cesar Cui 1835 1918 nbsp Mily Balakirev 1837 1910 nbsp Pyotr Tchaikovsky 1840 1893 nbsp Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov 1844 1908 Russian opera of the early 1870s was dominated by Western European works mainly Italian The domestic product was regarded with skepticism and sometimes hostility The playwright Tikhonov wrote in 1898 In those days splendid performances of Russian operas were given but the attendance was generally poor to attend the Russian opera was not fashionable At the first performance of The Maid of Pskov in 1873 there was a good deal of protest An energetic campaign was being waged against the music of the future that is that of the mighty handful 67 As the most daring and innovative member of the Mighty Handful Mussorgsky frequently became the target of conservative critics and rival composers and was often derided for his supposedly clumsy and crude musical idiom After the premiere of Boris Godunov influential critic Herman Laroche wrote The general decorativeness and crudity of Mr Mussorgsky s style his passion for the brass and percussion instruments may be considered to have been borrowed from Serov But never did the crudest works of the model reach the naive coarseness we note in his imitator 68 Reviews of the premiere performance of Boris Godunov were for the most part hostile 29 Some critics dismissed the work as chaotic and a cacophony Even his friends Mily Balakirev and Cesar Cui leading members of the Mighty Handful minimized his accomplishment 69 Unable to overlook Mussorgsky s trespasses against the conventional musical grammar of the time they failed to recognize the giant step forward in musical and dramatic expression that Boris Godunov represented Cui betrayed Mussorgsky in a notoriously scathing review of the premiere performance Mr Mussorgsky is endowed with great and original talent but Boris is an immature work superb in parts feeble in others Its main defects are in the disjointed recitatives and the disarray of the musical ideas These defects are not due to a lack of creative power The real trouble is his immaturity his incapacity for severe self criticism his self satisfaction and his hasty methods of composition 70 Although he found much to admire particularly the Inn Scene and the Song of the Parrot he reproved the composer for a poorly constructed libretto finding the opera to exhibit a lack of cohesion between scenes He claimed that Mussorgsky was so deficient in the ability to write instrumental music that he dispensed with composing a prelude and that he had borrowed the cheap method of characterization by leitmotives from Wagner 71 Other composers were even more censorious Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote in a letter to his brother Modest I have studied Boris Godunov and The Demon thoroughly Mussorgsky s music I send to the devil it is the most vulgar and vile parody on music 72 Of the critics who evaluated the new opera only the 19 year old critic Vladimir Baskin defended Mussorgsky s skill as a composer 73 Writing under the pen name Foma Pizzicato Baskin wrote Dramatization in vocal music could go no farther Mussorgsky has proved himself to be a philosopher musician capable of expressing with rare truth the mind and soul of his characters He also has a thorough understanding of musical resources He is a master of the orchestra his working out is fluent his vocal and chorus parts are beautifully written 74 nbsp Ivan Bilibin s program design for Sergey Dyagilev s 1908 Paris Opera production of Boris Godunov which launched the opera in Western Europe using the Rimsky Korsakov edition Although Boris Godunov is usually praised for its originality dramatic choruses sharply delineated characters and for the powerful psychological portrayal of Tsar Boris it has received an inordinate amount of criticism for technical shortcomings weak or faulty harmony part writing and orchestration Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov said I both adore and abhor Boris Godunov I adore it for its originality power boldness distinctiveness and beauty I abhor it for its lack of polish the roughness of its harmonies and in some places the sheer awkwardness of the music 75 The perception that Boris needed correction due to Mussorgsky s poverty of technique prompted Rimsky Korsakov to revise it after his death His edition supplanted the composer s Revised Version of 1872 in Russia and launched the work abroad remaining the preferred edition for some 75 years 21 see Versions by Other Hands in this article for more details For decades critics and scholars pressing for the performance of Mussorgsky s own versions fought an often losing battle against the conservatism of conductors and singers who raised on the plush Rimsky Korsakov edition found it impossible to adapt to Mussorgsky s comparatively unrefined and bleak original scores 76 Recently however a new appreciation for the rugged individuality of Mussorgsky s style has resulted in increasing performances and recording of his original versions Musicologist Gerald Abraham wrote in the perspective of a hundred years we can see that Musorgsky s score did not really need correction and reorchestration that in fact the untouched Boris is finer than the revised Boris 77 Analysis editModels and influences This section possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mikhail Glinka A Life for the Tsar 1836 Ruslan and Ludmila 1842 Aleksandr Serov Judith 1863 Rogneda 1865 The Power of the Fiend 1871 Giuseppe Verdi Don Carlos 1867 Cesar Cui William Ratcliff 1868 Aleksandr Dargomizhsky The Stone Guest 1869 Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov The Maid of Pskov 1872 Performance practice edit nbsp The Mariinsky Theatre opened in 1860 Boris Godunov received its premiere there in 1874 A conflation of the 1869 and 1872 versions is often made when staging or recording Boris Godunov This typically involves choosing the 1872 version and augmenting it with the St Basil s Scene from the 1869 version This practice is popular because it conserves a maximum amount of music it gives the title character another appearance on stage and because in the St Basil s Scene Boris is challenged by the Yurodiviy the embodiment of his conscience 78 However because the composer transferred the episode of the Yurodiviy and the urchins from the St Basil s Scene to the Kromi Scene when revising the opera restoring the St Basil s Scene to its former location creates a problem of duplicate episodes which can be partially solved by cuts Most performances that follow this practice cut the robbery of the Yurodiviy in the Kromi Scene but duplicate his lament that ends each scene The Rimsky Korsakov Version is often augmented with the Ippolitov Ivanov reorchestration of the St Basil s Scene commissioned by the Bolshoy Theatre in 1925 composed in 1926 and first performed in 1927 Conductors may elect to restore the cuts the composer himself made in writing the 1872 version see Versions in this article for more details The 1997 Mariinsky Theatre recording under Valery Gergiev is the first and only to present the 1869 Original Version side by side with the 1872 Revised Version and it would seem attempts to set a new standard for musicological authenticity However although it possesses many virtues the production fails to scrupulously separate the two versions admitting elements of the 1872 version into the 1869 recording and failing to observe cuts the composer made in the 1872 version 79 Critics argue that the practice of restoring the St Basil s scene and all the cuts that Mussorgsky made when revising the opera that is creating a supersaturated version can have negative consequences believing that it destroys the symmetrical scene structure of the Revised Version 59 it undermines the composer s carefully devised and subtle system of leitmotiv deployment and results in the overexposure of the Dmitriy motive 80 Versions by other hands editNikolay Rimsky Korsakov 1896 edit nbsp Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov edited Mussorgsky s works often drastically to enable them to enter the repertoire Portrait by Valentin Serov 1898 After Mussorgsky s death in 1881 his friend Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov undertook to put his scores in order completing and editing Khovanshchina for publication 1883 81 reconstructing Night on Bald Mountain 1886 and correcting some songs Next he turned to Boris 82 Although I know I shall be cursed for so doing I will revise Boris There are countless absurdities in its harmonies and at times in its melodies 83 Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov 15 April 1893 He experimented first with the Polonaise temporarily scoring it for a Wagner sized orchestra in 1889 In 1892 he revised the Coronation Scene and working from the 1874 Vocal Score completed the remainder of the opera although with significant cuts by 1896 Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov 1908 edit In the spring of 1906 Rimsky Korsakov revised and orchestrated several passages omitted in the 1896 revision 84 Pimen s story of Tsars Ivan and Fyodor Cell Scene Over the map of the Muscovite land Terem Scene The story of the parrot Terem Scene The chiming clock Terem Scene The scene of the False Dmitriy with Rangoni at the fountain Fountain Scene The False Dmitriy s soliloquy after the Polonaise Fountain Scene nbsp Fyodor Shalyapin was a powerful exponent of the Rimsky Korsakov version which launched Boris Godunov abroad Portrait by Aleksandr Golovin 1912 Rimsky Korsakov compiled a new edition in 1908 this time restoring the cuts and making some significant changes He omitted the end of the Novodievichy Scene so that it ends with the Pilgrims Chorus As does the 1874 vocal score He added some music to the Coronation Scene because producer Sergey Dyagilev wanted more stage spectacle for the Paris premiere The additions are a 40 bar insert placed before Boris s monologue and a 16 bar insert following it both of which are based on the bell motifs that open the scene and on the Slava theme He altered the dynamics of the end of the Inn Scene making the conclusion loud and bombastic perhaps because he was dissatisfied that all of Mussorgsky s scenes with the exception of the Coronation Scene end quietly He similarly altered the conclusion of the Fountain Scene replacing Mussorgsky s quiet moonlit trio with a grand peroration combining the 6 note descending theme that opens the scene the 5 note rhythmic figure that opens the Polonaise and the lusty cries of Vivat that close the Polonaise These revisions clearly went beyond mere reorchestration He made substantial modifications to harmony melody dynamics etc even changing the order of scenes Maybe Rimsky Korsakov s harmonies are softer and more natural his part writing better his scoring more skillful but the result is not Mussorgsky nor what Mussorgsky aimed at The genuine music with all its shortcomings was more appropriate I regret the genuine Boris and feel that should it ever be revived on the stage of the Mariinskiy Theatre it is desirable that it should be in the original 85 Cesar Cui in an article in Novosti 1899 Besides re scoring Boris and correcting harmonies in it which was quite justifiable he introduced in it many arbitrary alterations which disfigured the music He also spoilt the opera by changing the order of scenes 83 Miliy Balakirev letter to Calvocoressi 25 July 1906 Rimsky Korsakov immediately came under fire from some critics for altering Boris particularly in France where his revision was introduced The defense usually made by his supporters was that without his ministrations Mussorgsky s opera would have faded from the repertory due to difficulty in appreciating his raw and uncompromising idiom Therefore Rimsky Korsakov was justified in making improvements to keep the work alive and increase the public s awareness of Mussorgsky s melodic and dramatic genius I remained inexpressibly pleased with my revision and orchestration of Boris Godunov heard by me for the first time with a large orchestra Moussorgsky s violent admirers frowned a bit regretting something But having arranged the new revision of Boris Godunov I had not destroyed its original form had not painted out the old frescoes forever If ever the conclusion is arrived at that the original is better worthier than my revision then mine will be discarded and Boris Godunov will be performed according to the original score 86 Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov Chronicle of My Musical Life 1909 The Rimsky Korsakov version remained the one usually performed in Russia even after Mussorgsky s earthier original 1872 gained a place in Western opera houses The Bolshoy Theatre has only recently embraced the composer s own version 87 Dmitriy Shostakovich 1940 edit nbsp Dmitriy Shostakovich orchestrated Pavel Lamm s vocal score Dmitriy Shostakovich worked on Boris Godunov in 1939 1940 on a commission from the Bolshoy Theatre for a new production of the opera A conflation of the 1869 and 1872 versions had been published by Pavel Lamm and aroused keen interest in the piece However it did not erase doubts as to whether Mussorgsky s own orchestration was playable The invasion of Russia by Nazi Germany prevented this production from taking place and it was not until 1959 that Shostakovich s version of the score was premiered 88 To Shostakovich Mussorgsky was successful with solo instrumental timbres in soft passages but did not fare as well with louder moments for the whole orchestra 89 Shostakovich explained Mussorgsky has marvelously orchestrated moments but I see no sin in my work I didn t touch the successful parts but there are many unsuccessful parts because he lacked mastery of the craft which comes only through time spent on your backside no other way Dmitriy Shostakovich Shostakovich confined himself largely to reorchestrating the opera and was more respectful of the composer s unique melodic and harmonic style However Shostakovich greatly increased the contributions of the woodwind and especially brass instruments to the score a significant departure from the practice of Mussorgsky who exercised great restraint in his instrumentation preferring to utilize the individual qualities of these instruments for specific purposes Shostakovich also aimed for a greater symphonic development wanting the orchestra to do more than simply accompany the singers citation needed This is how I worked I placed Mussorgsky s piano arrangement in front of me and then two scores Mussorgsky s and Rimsky Korsakov s I didn t look at the scores and I rarely looked at the piano arrangement either I orchestrated by memory act by act Then I compared my orchestration with those of Mussorgsky and Rimsky Korsakov If I saw that either had done it better then I stayed with that I didn t reinvent bicycles I worked honestly with ferocity I might say Dmitriy Shostakovich citation needed Shostakovich remembered Alexander Glazunov telling him how Mussorgsky himself played scenes from Boris at the piano Mussorgsky s renditions according to Glazunov were brilliant and powerful qualities Shostakovich felt did not come through in the orchestration of much of Boris 90 Shostakovich who had known the opera since his student days at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory assumed that Mussorgsky s orchestral intentions were correct but that Mussorgsky simply could not realize them citation needed As far as I can tell he imagined something like a singing line around the vocal parts the way subvoices surround the main melodic line in Russian folk song But Mussorgsky lacked the technique for that What a shame Obviously he had a purely orchestral imagination and purely orchestral imagery as well The music strives for new shores as they say musical dramaturgy musical dynamics language imagery But his orchestral technique drags us back to the old shores Dmitriy Shostakovich citation needed One of those old shore moments was the large monastery bell in the scene in the monk s cell Mussorgsky and Rimsky Korsakov both use the gong To Shostakovich this was too elemental and simplistic to be effective dramatically since this bell showed the atmosphere of the monk s estrangement When the bell tolls Shostakovich reportedly told Solomon Volkov it s a reminder that there are powers mightier than man that you can t escape the judgment of history 91 Therefore Shostakovich reorchestrated the bell s tolling by the simultaneous playing of seven instruments bass clarinet double bassoon French horns gong harps piano and double basses at an octave To Shostakovich this combination of instruments sounded more like a real bell citation needed Shostakovich admitted Rimsky Korsakov s orchestration was more colorful than his own and used brighter timbres However he also felt that Rimsky Korsakov chopped up the melodic lines too much and by blending melody and subvoices may have subverted much of Mussorgsky s intent Shostakovich also felt that Rimsky Korsakov did not use the orchestra flexibly enough to follow the characters mood changes instead making the orchestra calmer more balanced citation needed Igor Buketoff 1997 edit The American conductor Igor Buketoff created a version in which he removed most of Rimsky Korsakov s additions and reorchestrations and fleshed out some other parts of Mussorgsky s original orchestration This version had its first performance in 1997 at the Metropolitan Opera New York under Valery Gergiev 92 93 Related works editAntonin Dvorak Opera Dimitrij 1882 Sergei Prokofiev Incidental music Boris Godunov 1936 See also editBoris Godunov discographyReferences editNotes This Holy Fool s character development also explicitly see also the Novgorod coat of arms and Mussorgsky family history references the controversial bears appearance scene in Bible When a group of boys or youths 62 from Bethel taunted the prophet Elisha for his baldness Elisha cursed them in the name of Yahweh and two female bears came out of the forest and tore forty two of the boys 63 Holy Fool finishes the opera 2nd edition as a prophet Tchaikovsky used to call Mussorgsky a bear as an insult 64 Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 pp 98 138 Brown 1986 p 31 Taruskin 1993 p 202 Oldani 1982 p 12 Opera Discography Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 p 106 Calvocoressi 1959 p 137 Lloyd Jones 1975 p 13 a b Oldani 1982 p 8 a b Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 p 37 Lloyd Jones 1975 pp 13 16 a b Lloyd Jones 1975 p 14 Taruskin 1993 pp 220 222 223 a b c d e f Oldani 2002 p 545 Oldani 1982 p 9 a b Taruskin 1993 pp 250 251 a b c Taruskin 1993 p 251 Rimsky Korsakov 1923 pp 109 110 Calvocoressi 1956 p 156 Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 p 46 a b Oldani 1982 p 7 Rimsky Korsakov 1923 pp 221 254 327 328 Calvocoressi 1956 p 169 Lloyd Jones 1975 p 17 Oldani 1982 p 10 a b Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 p 42 Calvocoressi 1956 p 135 Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 pp 48 51 a b Oldani 1982 p 11 Orlova 1991 p 158 Rimsky Korsakov 1923 pp 145 146 Emerson 1988 p 236 Orlova 1991 p 77 Orlova 1991 p 171 Emerson Oldani 1994 p 107 Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 p 39 Musorgskiy 1984 p 323 Emerson Oldani 1994 p 100 Shirinyan 1989 p 56 a b c d e f g h Pruzhansky Emerson Oldani 1994 p 91 Lloyd Jones 1975 p 20 Rimsky Korsakov 1923 p 211 Orlova 1991 p 141 Shirinyan 1989 p 105 Emerson Oldani 1994 p 119 Metropolitan Opera Archives Shirinyan 1989 pp 134 135 Oldani 1982 pp 37 49 Taruskin 1993 p 209 Lloyd Jones 1975 p 15 Taruskin 1993 p 204 a b Emerson 1988 p 237 Taruskin 1993 pp 217 218 Taruskin 1993 pp 211 212 Taruskin 1993 p 265 Taruskin 1993 pp 216 Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 p 119 a b Taruskin 1993 p 281 Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 p 47 Chajkovskij i Moguchaya kuchka spor o russkoj muzyke Tchaikovsky and The Mighty Handful A Debate about Russian Music in Russian Arzamas Academy Retrieved 22 November 2019 Under the influence of these ideas the source of which was largely French naturalism new images from the social lower classes emerge in Mussorgsky s works as high music for example the Holy Fool often wrongly translated to English as Simpleton in opera Boris Godunov Blazhennye pohaby The Blessed Offenders predanie ru in Russian Orthodox Portal Predanie Retrieved 23 October 2020 he is privileged to ridicule burlesque and defile the most sacred and important ceremonies licensed to behave as no ordinary mortals would dream of behaving Hebrew na ar translated youths in the New International Version Jewish Encyclopedia on Elisha states The offenders were not children but were called so ne arim because they lacked meno arin all religion Soṭah 46b Although the Authorized King James Version used the words little children theologian John Gill stated in his Exposition of the Bible that the word was used of persons of thirty or forty years of age Duffy Daniel 1909 Eliseus The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 5 New York Robert Appleton Company Retrieved 7 January 2014 Tchaikovsky Between Heaven and Hell YouTube in Russian TV Center 4 January 2020 Retrieved 29 September 2020 Orlova Pekelis 1971 pp 198 199 Hoffer Charles 2012 Music Listening Today Fourth ed Cengage Advantage pp 228 229 Tikhonov in Istorichesky Vestnik 1898 In Calvocoressi 1956 p 175 Hermann Laroche in Golos 1874 In Taruskin 1993 p 109 Calvocoressi 1956 pp 169 177 Cui in the newspaper Sankt Peterburgskie Vedomosti 1874 From Calvocoressi 1956 p 178 Calvocoressi 1956 p 177 Pyotr Tchaikovsky letter to his brother Modest Tchaikovsky 29 October 1874 In Tchaikovsky 1982 p 89 Lloyd Jones 1975 p 19 Vladimir Baskin in the journal Peterburgsky Listok 1874 In Calvocoressi 1974 p 51 In Emerson Oldani 1994 p 107 Calvocoressi Abraham 1974 p 139 Abraham 1985 p 66 Taruskin 1993 p 248 Taruskin 1999 Taruskin 1993 p 287 Oldani 2002 p 549 Calvocoressi 1956 pp 215 217 a b Calvocoressi 1956 p 216 Rimsky Korsakov 1923 p 421 Calvocoressi 1956 pp 216 217 Rimsky Korsakov 1923 p 407 Lloyd Jones 2002 Maes 368 369 Maes 368 Volkov 1979 pp 227 228 Volkov 1979 p 234 Historic Opera Archived 14 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Kozinn Allan 11 September 2001 New York Times 11 September 2001 The New York Times Sources Abraham G Essays on Russian and East European Music Oxford Clarendon Press 1985 Brown D Abraham G Mikhail Glinka and Modest Musorgsky in The New Grove Russian Masters 1 New York W W Norton amp Co 1986 Calvocoressi M D Abraham G Mussorgsky Master Musicians Series London J M Dent amp Sons Ltd 1974 Calvocoressi M D Modest Mussorgsky His Life and Works London Rockliff 1956 Emerson C Mussorgsky s Libretti on Historical Themes From the Two Borises to Khovanshchina in Reading Opera eds Groos A amp Parker R Princeton Princeton University Press 1988 Emerson C and Oldani R W Modest Musorgsky and Boris Godunov Myths Realities Reconsiderations Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1994 Lloyd Jones D Boris Godunov The Facts and the Problems Oxford University Press 1975 reprinted in the notes to Philips CD 412 281 2 Lloyd Jones D Interview A Discussion with David Lloyd Jones on The Sir Arnold Bax Website 2002 Accessed 1 March 2009 Maes Francis tr Arnold J Pomerans and Erica Pomerans A History of Russian Music FromKamarinskaya to Babi Yar Berkeley Los Angeles and London University of California Press 2002 ISBN 0 520 21815 9 Metropolitan Opera Archives Accessed 9 March 2011 Musorgskiy M M P Musorgskiy Letters 2nd edition Gordeyeva Ye editor Moscow Muzika Music publisher 1984 Musorgskij M M P Musorgskij Pisma Gordeeva E Moskva Muzyka 1984 Musorgskiy M Literary Legacy Literaturnoye naslediye Orlova A Pekelis M editors Moscow Muzika Music publisher 1971 Musorgskij M Literaturnoe nasledie Orlova A Pekelis M Moskva Muzyka 1971 Mussorgsky M Boris Godunov vocal score edited by Pavel Lamm London Oxford University Press Oldani R W article Sadie S editor The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians London Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2001 2002 Oldani R W John N Fay L E de Jonge A Osborne N Opera Guide 11 Boris Godunov London John Calder Ltd 1982 Opera Discography at http www operadis opera discography org uk Accessed 2 January 2010 Orlova A Musorgsky Remembered translated by Zaytzeff V and Morrison F Bloomington and Indianapolis Indiana University Press 1991 Pruzhansky A Dictionary of Native Singers 1750 1917 Pruzhanskij A M Otechestvennye pevcy 1750 1917 Slovar In Russian Retrieved August 2011 Rimsky Korsakov N Chronicle of My Musical Life translated by Joffe J A New York Knopf 1923 Shirinyan R author Kondakhchan K editor M P Musorgskiy Moscow Muzika Music publisher 1989 Shirinyan R Kondahchan K M P Musorgskij Moskva Muzyka 1989 Taruskin R Musorgsky Eight Essays and an Epilogue New Jersey Princeton University Press 1993 Taruskin R Russian Originals De and Re edited CD Review The New York Times 1999 Accessed 21 February 2009 Tchaikovsky P Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Letters to his Family an Autobiography translated by G von Meck New York Stein and Day 1982 Volkov S Testimony The Memoirs of Dmitry Shostakovich translated by Bouis Antonina W New York Harper amp Row 1979External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boris Godunov opera Libretto English translation of Boris Godunov from Archive org Russian libretto in HTML Russian libretto in zip file for WordOther Boris Godunov Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Boris Godunov on Operabase Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Boris Godunov opera amp oldid 1188516021, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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