Boris Godunov

Boris Godunov is a tale of intrigue, murder, treason, and insanity in the troubled court of the Russian tsar. Mussorgsky’s opera is based on a play by Alexander Pushkin which recounts political tensions that shook Russia in the early 17th century. The large chorus represents the Russian people in rousing crowd scenes, while the core drama focuses on Tsar Boris Gudonov as he wrestles with his conscience and his fate. He is accused of murdering the Tsarevich Dmitri. A Pretender to the throne emerges, falsely claiming to be Dmitri, but Boris cannot discredit him without confessing to the murder. Mussorgsky’s score draws on folk dances and church hymns for distinctively Russian colour. The coronation scene is introduced with a peal of church bells followed by a resolute Orthodox-style chorus, “Like the beautiful sun in the sky, glory”. Boris has many passionate arias, including his boastful “I have attained supreme power” and his final descent into insanity and death, “The bell! The funeral bell!” Mussorgsky’s original version (1869) is in seven scenes. The work was rejected by the Russian Imperial Opera, in part because it lacked a lead female role. Mussorgsky revised the work in 1872, recasting it in four acts and including the role of Marina, a love interest for the Pretender. After Mussorgsky’s death, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov produced a new edition. Most early recordings use Rimsky-Korsakov’s version, but Mussorgsky’s two versions, especially the first, have become increasingly popular.