Boris Godunov on actions. Editorials of Boris Godunov of Musorgsky and his path to fame

Characters:

HISTORY OF CREATION

The idea to write an opera based on the plot of Pushkin’s historical tragedy “Boris Godunov” (1825) was suggested by his friend, a prominent historian, Professor V.V. Nikolsky. I was extremely fascinated by the opportunity to translate the topic of the relationship between the tsar and the people, which was acutely relevant for his time, and to bring the people into the role of the main character of the opera. “I understand the people as a great personality, animated by a single idea,” he wrote. - This is my task. I tried to solve it in opera."

The work, which began in October 1868, proceeded with great creative enthusiasm. A month and a half later, the first act was ready. The composer himself wrote the libretto of the opera, drawing on materials from N. M. Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State” and other historical documents. As the composition progressed, individual scenes were performed in a circle of “kuchkists” who gathered first at and sometimes at sister L. I. Shestakova’s. “Joy, admiration, admiration were universal,” recalled V.V. Stasov.

At the end of 1869, the opera “Boris Godunov” was completed and presented to the theater committee. But its members, discouraged by the ideological and artistic novelty of the opera, rejected the work under the pretext of the lack of a winning female role. The composer made a number of changes, adding a Polish act and a scene near Kromy. However, the second edition of Boris, completed in the spring of 1872, was also not accepted by the directorate of the imperial theaters. “Boris” was staged only thanks to the energetic support of advanced artistic forces, in particular the singer Yu. F. Platonova, who chose the opera for her benefit performance. The premiere took place on January 27 (February 8), 1874 at the Mariinsky Theater. The democratic public greeted “Boris” enthusiastically. Reactionary criticism and the nobility-landowner society reacted sharply negatively to the opera.

Soon the opera began to be performed with arbitrary abbreviations, and in 1882 it was completely removed from the repertoire. “There were rumors,” he wrote on this occasion, “that the royal family did not like the opera; they chatted that its plot was unpleasant to the censors.”

"Boris Godunov" was revived in St. Petersburg many years later (1896) on a private stage in edition and instrumentation. From that time on, the triumphant march of “Boris” began across the stages of musical theaters around the world. Recently, the opera's instrumentation, made by .

PLOT

In the courtyard of the Novodevichy Convent, the bailiff threatens the assembled people to ask the boyar Boris Godunov to accept the royal crown. Boris stubbornly refuses the throne. Duma clerk Shchelkalov informs the people about this. “Holy elders” pass by - Kaliki passers-by, advocating for the election of Boris. The bailiff announces the decree of the boyars - tomorrow everyone must be in the Kremlin and wait there for orders.

The next morning, the people gathered in front of the Assumption Cathedral dutifully praise Boris, who agreed to be crowned king. But the triumph does not please the sovereign - painful forebodings torment him.

In the cell of the Chudov Monastery, the old hermit Pimen writes a true chronicle about Boris, who is guilty of the death of the rightful heir to the throne - Tsarevich Dimitri. The young monk Grigory Otrepyev became interested in the details of the murder. With excitement, he learns that the prince was his age, and makes a daring decision: to call himself Dimitri and enter into a fight with Boris.

Gregory appears in a tavern on the Lithuanian border along with random fellow travelers - fugitive monks Varlaam and Misail. The bailiffs enter: they are looking for the fugitive heretic Grishka Otrepiev. Reading the royal decree, Grishka names the signs of Varlaam. The imaginary criminal is captured, but the deception is discovered, and the Pretender has to flee.

The Tsar's Tower in the Kremlin. Boris consoles his daughter Ksenia, who is grieving over her deceased fiancé. The king has no luck both in his family and in government affairs. His efforts to earn the love of the people are in vain, the memories of the crime committed are painful. Prince Vasily Shuisky, a cunning and treacherous courtier, brings news of the appearance in Lithuania of an Pretender who called himself the name of Dimitri, who is supported by the king and lords. Boris is confused. He sternly interrogates Shuisky, a witness to the death of Dimitri, did the prince really die? However, Boris is unable to listen to the end of the story: he sees the ghost of a murdered baby.

Girls entertain Marina Mniszek, who is bored in Sandomierz Castle, with songs. An ambitious Polish woman, who dreams of taking the throne of the Moscow Tsars, wants to capture the Pretender. In the interests of the Catholic Church, Jesuit Rangoni also demands this from her.

Together with a crowd of merry gentlemen, Marina leaves the castle into the garden. Here the Impostor is waiting for her. With cunning and affection, Marina kindles his love. It will belong to him when, at the head of the Polish army, the Pretender takes control of Moscow and becomes the ruler of Rus'.

Square in front of St. Basil's Cathedral. The people eagerly catch rumors about the approach of the Pretender. He believes that Dimitri is alive and will save him from Boris’s tyranny. The royal procession begins. Hungry people stretch out their hands with a desperate plea: “Bread!” The pitiful Holy Fool throws a grave accusation in the autocrat's face: he asks Boris to kill the boys who offended him, just as he stabbed the little prince.

The Boyar Duma met in the Faceted Chamber of the Kremlin. Everyone is excited about the news of the Imposter. The belated Shuisky talks about Boris’s secret suffering. Suddenly, the Tsar himself appears before the eyes of the boyars, driving away the ghost of a child in fear. Boris's torment reaches its limit when the chronicler Pimen, deliberately brought by Shuisky, tells of the miraculous healing of a blind man who prayed over the grave of Demetrius. The king cannot stand it and falls unconscious. Waking up, he calls his son Fyodor and, barely having time to utter his last parting words, dies.

The peasant uprising flares up with a bright flame. In a forest clearing, near the village of Kromy, people mock Borisov’s governor and deal with the Jesuits who come to hand. Varlaam and Misail incite the rebellious people, talking about torture and executions in Rus'. The Impostor appears, the people joyfully greet him. But the Holy Fool predicts new adversities for the people. “Woe, grief of Rus', cry, Russian people, hungry people,” he sings.

MUSIC

“Boris Godunov” is a folk musical drama, a multifaceted picture of the era, striking in its Shakespearean breadth and boldness of contrasts. The characters are depicted with exceptional depth and psychological insight. The music reveals with stunning power the tragedy of the tsar’s loneliness and doom, and innovatively embodies the rebellious, rebellious spirit of the Russian people.

The prologue consists of two scenes. The orchestral introduction to the first expresses grief and tragic hopelessness. The chorus “To whom are you leaving us” is akin to mournful folk lamentations. Appeal from clerk Shchelkalov “Orthodox! The boyar is relentless!” imbued with majestic solemnity and restrained sadness.

The second scene of the prologue is a monumental choral scene, preceded by the ringing of bells. The solemn eulogy to Boris “As red as the sun in the sky” is based on a genuine folk melody. In the center of the picture is Boris’s monologue “The Soul Grieves,” whose music combines royal grandeur with tragic doom.

The first scene of the first act opens with a brief orchestral introduction; the music conveys the monotonous creak of the chronicler’s pen in the silence of a secluded cell. Pimen’s measured and sternly calm speech (monologue “One more, last legend”) outlines the stern and majestic appearance of the old man. An imperious, strong character is felt in his story about the kings of Moscow. Gregory is depicted as an unbalanced, ardent young man.

The second scene of the first act contains rich everyday scenes. Among them are the songs of the shinkarka “I caught a gray drake” and Varlaam’s “As it was in the city in Kazan” (to folk words); the latter is full of elemental strength and daring.

The second act broadly outlines the image of Boris Godunov. is filled with a restless, mournful feeling and alarming contrasts. Boris's mental discord worsens in a conversation with Shuisky, whose speeches sound insinuating and hypocritical, and reaches extreme tension in the final scene of hallucinations (the "scene with the chimes").

The first scene of the third act opens with an elegantly graceful chorus of girls “On the Azure Vistula”. Marina’s aria “How languid and sluggish,” set in the rhythm of a mazurka, paints a portrait of an arrogant aristocrat.

The orchestral introduction to the second scene depicts an evening landscape. The melodies of the Pretender's love confession are romantically excited. The scene of the Pretender and Marina, built on sharp contrasts and capricious changes of mood, ends with a duet full of passion, “Oh Tsarevich, I beg you.”

The first scene of the fourth act is a dramatically tense folk scene. From the plaintive groan of the Holy Fool’s song “The month is moving, the kitten is crying”, a chorus of “Bread!”, stunning in its tragic power, grows.

The second scene of the fourth act ends with the psychologically acute scene of Boris's death. His last monologue, “Farewell, my son!” painted in tragically enlightened, peaceful tones.

The third scene of the fourth act is a monumental folk scene of exceptional scope and power. The opening chorus “Not a falcon flies across the sky” (to the authentic folk melody of a majestic song) sounds mocking and menacing. The song of Varlaam and Misail “The sun and the moon have darkened” is based on the melody of a folk epic. The climax of the picture is the rebellious chorus “Walked up, walked around”, full of spontaneous, indomitable revelry. The middle section of the chorus, “Oh, you, strength,” is a sweeping tune of a Russian round dance song, which, as it develops, leads to menacing, angry cries of “Death to Boris!” The opera ends with the solemn entry of the Pretender and the cry of the Holy Fool.

The editions of Boris Godunov Mussorgsky are a rich history and a turbulent creative process. Modest Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov was created rapidly: in the fall of 1868, the composer began working on a libretto based on materials from Pushkin and Karamzin, and by the winter of 1869, the finished work was presented to the Directorate of Imperial Theaters.

From that moment on, the matter took a new turn, as a result of which the work acquired a number of editions and was presented to the public only 5 years after its creation.

About Mussorgsky's editions...

Musical history, perhaps, cannot name another opera presented in so many different editions as Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.

The first of them, from 1869, was a reflection of the composer’s main idea of ​​contrasting the people and the tsar. Mussorgsky saw in the people “a great personality, animated by a single idea” and realized this task in the first edition of the work.

Probably for this reason, the original version of the opera was criticized by the Directorate of Imperial Theaters. The argument put forward was the absence of a significant female part, which was considered a mandatory attribute of an opera production. Modest Mussorgsky introduced into the work the character of False Dmitry's beloved Marina Mniszech, which required an entire Polish act, and also fulfilled another tradition of the operatic genre - a spectacular finale, in which he presented the uprising of the masses near Kromy.

The second edition, presented to the theater committee in 1872, was also rejected. Rimsky-Korsakov attributed the reason for this to his comrade's innovative musical language, which "baffled the venerable committee."

Nevertheless, thanks to Mussorgsky's entourage, the opera was staged in the winter of 1874 at the Mariinsky Theater. But after 6 years it disappeared from the repertoire. A year later, Mussorgsky himself died (1881). The situation with the removal of “Boris” from the list of repertoire performances was repeated in Moscow: in 1888, the opera was first performed at the Bolshoi Theater, but lasted only 10 performances.

...and others

Studying the legacy of Modest Mussorgsky, modern music critics note that it is the first version of “Boris Godunov” that is distinguished by the greatest harmony and self-sufficiency, linking this, among other things, with the absence of the need to follow someone else’s will. However, in this form the composition was first performed in the USSR - in Leningrad in 1928, based on the 1869 edition restored by musicologist Pavel Lamm.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was the first to begin editing the opera. A version in which some of the rough edges of Mussorgsky's language were smoothed out and the orchestration partially redone was presented under the baton of Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1896.

By the way, Fyodor Stravinsky, the father of 14-year-old Igor, the future great composer, performed as Varlaam. Another great Russian musician, Fyodor Chaliapin, also sang in the same version. He first appeared in the role of Tsar Boris in 1898 and represented the opera as a soloist in its first foreign productions (Paris in 1908, London in 1913, New York in 1921).

In 1959, in Leningrad, the opera was performed in a new version, presented by Dmitry Shostakovich. The changes that the Soviet classic subjected to the composition affected exclusively the orchestral writing and were largely performed in the style of Mussorgsky himself.

It should be noted that in the twentieth century “Boris Godunov” found its place in the world opera repertoire. In 1948, the opera was again staged at the Bolshoi Theater by a brilliant cast of directors: conductor N. Golovanov, director L. Baratov, artist F. Fedorovsky, choreographer L. Lavrovsky. This version was restored in 2011 and now “Boris Godunov” is one of the oldest performances of the country’s main theater.

November 23, 2017. The 1998 production will present M. Mussorgsky's work in its original edition.

M.P. Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov” (first production – 1874)

One of Mussorgsky's main ideas embodied in his operatic work was the desire to show the true history of Rus'. The composer conceived an opera trilogy about three revolutions:

1. Boris Godunov

2. 18th century – schismatics and Westerners (“Khovanshchina”)

3. Pugachev uprising

I. History of the creation of the opera: Mussorgsky began work on “Boris Godunov” in the second half of the 60s. When working on the concept of the opera, the composer relied on several sources:

– “Chronicles” by Shakespeare;

– “History of the Russian State” by Karamzin;

- Pushkin's tragedy "Boris Godunov". The composer places the antithesis “tsar - people” at the center of the plot collision; for him, as for Pushkin, it is obvious that the idea of ​​an absolute monarchy is criminal (for Shakespeare, the legality of the monarch’s power is undeniable) - one person does not have the right to decide the fate of the entire nation. However, the endings of the tragedies of Pushkin and Mussorgsky are different. In Pushkin, “the people are silent,” while Mussorgsky paints a picture of a spontaneous popular revolt.

There are currently several editions of the opera. “Mussorgsky himself left it, Rimsky-Korsakov made two more, changing the orchestration, D. Shostakovich proposed his own version. Two more versions were made by John Gutman and Karol Rathaus in the mid-20th century for the New York Metropolitan Opera. Each of these options provides its own solution to the problem of which scenes written by Mussorgsky should be included in the context of the opera and which ones should be excluded, and also offers its own sequence of scenes.

II. The dramaturgy of the opera connects three lines:

1. Boris’s personal drama is a line going downhill.

2. A collective portrait of the people - this line, on the contrary, crescendos

3. There is also a dramaturgical intermediary sphere - the image of the Pretender. On the one hand, this line forms the political surroundings of the era, on the other hand, it provokes and pushes the development of the first two spheres.

III. The musical embodiment of a dramatic collision.

The image of the people. This dramatic sphere is characterized in two ways: the people as a monolith and the people personified in specific characters.

Monolithic people. The exposition of the image is given in the Prologue to the opera, where the people are shown united in their passivity, acting under compulsion (bailiff). In the symphonic introduction to the first scene of the Prologue, the theme of “suffering of the people” and the theme of “power” sound (the idea of ​​power in this case is embodied in the image of a bailiff).

The first picture of the prologue is a huge choral fresco; it has a three-part structure. The main theme is written in the spirit of lamentation, the middle section is unusual. Here Mussorgsky is an innovator, since he creates a choral recitative that is designed to show the people’s disinterest in what is happening. The reprise sounds more dynamic due to the intonation of the refrain. The conclusion of the picture is the arioso of the Duma clerk and the chorus of passers-by.

Scene II of the Prologue continues the exposition of the image: if earlier the people cried “under pressure,” now they are forced to rejoice and praise the new king. Mussorgsky uses the Russian folk theme "Glory to the Bread" as the basis of a majestic chorus.

The next stage in the development of the image of the people is Act IV. Scene I - a scene at St. Basil's Cathedral: the people believe that the impostor is Tsarevich Dimitri, who miraculously escaped, which fuels hatred of Tsar Boris. The clash between the people and Boris develops from request to demand (“Bread!”).

The final phase of the development of the image of the people is the scene near Kromy, a picture of a spontaneous revolt (2nd scene of Act IV). There are several sections in this scene: I – recitative choral, introductory; the main one is the glorification of boyar Khrushchev; the third section is the exit of Valaam and Misail with curses to Boris “The sun and moon have darkened” (here the epic chant “Svyatoslav lived 90 years” is used); the climax section is the choral fugue “Walking up and walking around”. Its main theme is solved in the spirit of good songs, the chorus “Oh, you, strength, strength” is the folk theme “Play my bagpipes.” At the moment of greatest emotional upsurge, Catholic monks and False Dmitry appear. There is a tragic breakdown in the image of the people - people welcome the impostor, seeing in him the legitimate king. The opera ends with the cry of the Holy Fool, “Flow, flow, bitter tears.”

Characters of the folk sphere.

Pimen embodies the idea of ​​equality of people in the face of history; this image also reflects the idea of ​​​​people's memory as the highest court. The character is endowed with 2 leitthemes: 1st - the theme of Pimen the chronicler, 2nd - the theme of Pimen the hero. It will become the main characteristic of the hero and will accompany him throughout the opera.

Varlaam and Misail – examples of characteristic portraits in the works of Mussorgsky. These are ministers of the church, who, however, lead a completely non-church life (they drink in taverns, participate in a popular revolt), in this capacity they receive a satirical characterization that emphasizes their hypocrisy. Varlaam’s first song, “As it was in the city in Kazan,” is an expression of strength and power, the spontaneous daring of the Russian people. Varlaam’s second song “Yon Rides” is a comic characterization; the folk song “The bells rang” is used here.

Holy Fool first appears in the 1st scene of Act IV. This image is close in spirit to Pimen, since it embodies the idea of ​​a people's court. The holy fool accuses Boris of murdering Tsarevich Dimitri. His song “The Month Is Riding” corresponds to the tradition of lamentation and lamentation.

Boris's image. This is one of the most profound and controversial images in world musical literature. The complexity is determined by the psychological problem of morality, a sick conscience. Boris cannot be unambiguously classified as a villain, since his characterization also contains positive qualities. He is shown as a family man, a loving father (Act II, scene with children - Ksenia and Theodore), his political aspirations have positive features, one of his main ideas is power for the good of the country. However, he comes to power by committing the murder of a child.

The main character is characterized by leitthemes and extensive vocal monologues. There are several themes: the first appears in the 2nd scene of the Prologue - this is the theme of Boris’s gloomy forebodings; The second (the theme of family happiness) and the third (hallucinations - active chromatically descending moves) themes appear in Act II.

In Boris's monologues (I - “The soul grieves” from the 2nd scene of the Prologue), II - “I have reached the highest power” from Act II) the principles of the recitative-arioso style laid down by Dargomyzhsky are embodied. Each phrase of the text is adequately embodied in music. The nature of the musical statement changes in accordance with the dynamics of the hero’s state.

The development of the image of Boris is “directed” by two characters - the Pretender and Shuisky. Shuisky provokes the Tsar's remorse. The first time he talks about the death of the prince (Act II), which causes Boris to have an attack of visions. The second time he brings Pimen (act IV) with the news of a miracle (he heard the voice of Tsarevich Dimitri, who announced that he had been accepted into the ranks of angels and his grave had become miraculous). For Boris, the impostor is the embodiment of a sick conscience, a reminder of an innocent victim. The impostor's theme initially appears in Pimen's story from Act I as Demetrius's theme.

The denouement of the image of Boris is the death scene, which was constructed in detail by Mussorgsky from a psychological point of view. Boris leaves the kingdom to his son Theodore, showing himself as a loving father, wise statesman, and politician. He indirectly admits his guilt (“...don’t ask at what price I acquired the kingdom”) and turns to God in prayer.

Topics (edited by P. Lamm):

Introduction to the Prologue:

Theme of the suffering of the people – p.5, 5 bars to Ts.1

Bailiff's topic – p.7, Ts.4

Prologue:

I painting

Chorus “To whom are you leaving us” – p.9, Ts.6

“Mityukh, and Mityukh, why are we yelling?” – p.14, Ts.11 – according to notes

Arioso of the Duma clerk “Orthodox! The boyar is implacable” – p.30, Ts.24 – according to notes

II painting

Chorus “Like the red sun in the sky!” – p.50, Ts.7

Boris’s monologue “The soul grieves” – p.57, Ts.15

Iaction:

1st picture

Theme of Pimen the Chronicler – p.64 (orchestra up to C.1)

Theme of Pimen the Hero – p.67, Ts.5 – according to notes

The theme of Tsarevich Dimitri (later – the theme of the Pretender) – p.84, Ts.36

2nd picture

Scene in the tavern, Varlaam and Misail “Christian People” – p.97, Ts.10

Song of Varlaam (1st) “Like in the city” – p.103, Ts.19 – by notes

Song of Varlaam (2nd) “How Yon Rides” – p.112, Ts.33 – with notes

IIaction, 2nd edition (two editions in total)

Boris’s monologue “I have reached the highest power” – p.200, Ts.43

“The right hand of the formidable judge is heavy” – p.202, Ts.47

Theme of hallucinations “And even sleep flees” (orchestral part) – p.207, Ts.52, 4th measure – by notes

IIIaction "Polish"

IVaction

1st picture (in the 1874 version of the clavier, the scene of St. Basil's is missing)

Song of the Holy Fool “The Moon is Coming” – p.334, Ts.19

Chorus “Breadwinner, Father, for Christ’s sake” – p.337, Ts.24 – with notes

"Of bread! Of bread!" – p.339, Ts.26

2nd picture

Scene of Boris’s death “Farewell my son” – p.376, Ts.51 – according to notes

3rd picture (scene near Kromy)

The greatness of the boyar Khrushchev “The falcon does not fly” – p.396, Ts.12 – with notes

Varlaam, Misail “The sun and moon have darkened” – p.408, Ts.25 – with notes

Choir “Wasted up, walked around” – p.413

“Oh, you, strength, strength” – p.416, Ts.34

Opera (folk musical drama) in four acts with a prologue by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky to a libretto by the composer, based on the tragedy of the same name by A.S. Pushkin, as well as materials from “The History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin.

CHARACTERS:

BORIS GODUNOV (baritone)
Boris's children:
FEDOR (mezzo-soprano)
KSENIA (soprano)
KSENIIA'S MOM (low mezzo-soprano)
PRINCE VASILY IVANOVICH SHUISKY (tenor)
ANDREY SHCHELKALOV, Duma clerk (baritone)
PIMEN, chronicler, hermit (bass)
IMPOSTOR UNDER THE NAME OF GRIGORY (as in the score; correct: Gregory, Imposter under the name of Demetrius) (tenor)
MARINA MNISHEK, daughter of the Sandomierz voivode (mezzo-soprano or dramatic soprano)
RANGONI, secret Jesuit (bass)
tramps:
VARLAAM (bass)
MISAIL (tenor)
THE INDUSTRIAL OWNER (mezzo-soprano)
Yurodivy (tenor)
NIKITICH, bailiff (bass)
BLAZNIY BOYARIN (tenor)
BOYARIN KHRUSHOV (tenor)
Jesuits:
LAVITSKY (bass)
CHERNIKOVSKY (bass)
VOICES FROM THE PEOPLE, peasants and peasant women (bass (Mityukha), tenor, mezzo-soprano and soprano)
BOYARS, BOYAR CHILDREN, SAGITTARIANS, RYNDAS, BAILIFFS, GRANTS AND PANNS, SANDOMIR GIRLS, KALIKS TRANSFORMERS, PEOPLE OF MOSCOW.

Duration: 1598 - 1605.
Location: Moscow, on the Lithuanian border, in Sandomierz Castle, near Kromy.
First performance: St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theater, January 27 (February 8), 1874.

There are half a dozen versions of Boris Godunov. Mussorgsky himself left two; his friend N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov made two more; one version of the orchestration of the opera was proposed by D. D. Shostakovich, and two more versions were made by John Gutman and Karol Rathaus in the middle of this century for the New York Metropolitan Opera. Each of these options provides its own solution to the problem of which scenes written by Mussorgsky should be included in the context of the opera and which ones should be excluded, and also offers its own sequence of scenes. The last two versions, moreover, reject Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestration and restore Mussorgsky's original. As a matter of fact, as far as retelling the content of the opera is concerned, it does not really matter which edition to follow; it is only important to give an idea of ​​all the scenes and episodes written by the author. This drama is constructed by Mussorgsky rather according to the laws of chronicle, like Shakespeare's chronicles of kings Richard and Henry, rather than a tragedy in which one event follows with fatal necessity from another.

Nevertheless, in order to explain the reasons that led to the appearance of so many editions of the opera, we present here the preface by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov to his 1896 edition of Boris Godunov (that is, to his first edition):

“The opera, or folk musical drama, “Boris Godunov,” written 25 years ago, at its first appearance on stage and in print, aroused two opposing opinions in the public. The high talent of the writer, the penetration of the folk spirit and the spirit of the historical era, the liveliness of the scenes and the outlines of the characters, the truth of life in both drama and comedy and the vividly captured everyday side with the originality of musical ideas and techniques aroused the admiration and surprise of one part; impractical difficulties, fragmentary melodic phrases, inconvenience of voice parts, rigidity of harmony and modulations, errors in voice guidance, weak instrumentation and generally weak technical side of the work, on the contrary, caused a storm of ridicule and censure from the other part. The mentioned technical shortcomings obscured for some not only the high merits of the work, but also the very talent of the author; and vice versa, these very shortcomings were elevated by some to almost merit and merit.

A lot of time has passed since then; the opera was not given on stage or was given extremely rarely, the public was not able to verify the established opposing opinions.

“Boris Godunov” was composed before my eyes. No one like me, who was in close friendly relations with Mussorgsky, could have known so well the intentions of the author of “Boris” and the very process of their implementation.

Highly appreciating Mussorgsky’s talent and his work and honoring his memory, I decided to begin processing “Boris Godunov” in a technical sense and re-instrumenting it. I am convinced that my processing and instrumentation did not at all change the original spirit of the work and the very intentions of its composer, and that the opera I processed, nevertheless, entirely belongs to the work of Mussorgsky, and the purification and streamlining of the technical side will only make its high quality more clear and accessible to everyone. meaning and will stop any complaints about this work.

During the editing, I made some cuts due to the opera being too long, which forced it to be shortened during the author’s lifetime when performing on stage in moments that were too significant.

This edition does not destroy the first original edition, and therefore Mussorgsky’s work continues to be preserved intact in its original form.”

To make it easier to navigate the differences between the author's editions of the opera, and also to more clearly understand the essence of the director's decisions in modern productions of the opera, we present here a schematic plan of both editions of Mussorgsky.

First edition (1870)
ACT I
Picture 1. courtyard of the Novodevichyev Monastery; the people ask Boris Godunov to accept the kingdom.
Picture 2.
ACT II
Picture 3.
Picture 4.
ACT III
Picture 5. The Tsar's Tower in the Kremlin; Boris with children; Boyar Shuisky talks about the Pretender; Boris experiences torment and remorse.
ACT IV
Picture 6. Square near St. Basil's Cathedral; The holy fool calls Boris King Herod.
Picture 7. Meeting of the Boyar Duma; death of Boris.

Second edition (1872)
PROLOGUE
Picture 1. courtyard of the Novodevichy Convent; the people ask Boris Godunov to accept the kingdom.
Picture 2. Moscow Kremlin; Boris's crowning of the kingdom.
ACT I
Picture 1. Cell of the Chudov Monastery; scene of Pimen and Grigory Otrepyev.
Picture 2. Tavern on the Lithuanian border; the fugitive monk Gregory hides in Lithuania in order to then reach Poland.
ACT II
(Does not divide into paintings)
A series of scenes in the royal palace in the Kremlin.
ACT III (POLISH)
Picture 1. Marina Mniszek's restroom in Sandomierz Castle.
Picture 2. Scene of Marina Mnishek and the Pretender in the garden by the fountain.
ACT IV Picture 1. Meeting of the Boyar Duma; death of Boris.
Picture 2. Popular uprising near Kromy (with the episode with the Holy Fool, borrowed - partially - from the first edition).

Since “Boris Godunov” on opera stages around the world is often staged in the second edition by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, which represents the content of the opera most fully, we will follow exactly this edition in our retelling.

PROLOGUE

Picture 1. The courtyard of the Novodevichy Convent near Moscow (now the Novodevichy Convent within Moscow). Closer to the spectators is the exit gate in the monastery wall with a turret. The orchestral introduction paints an image of a downtrodden, oppressed people. The curtain rises. People are marking time. The movements, as the author's remark indicates, are sluggish. The bailiff, threatening with a baton, forces the people to beg Boris Godunov to accept the royal crown. The people fall to their knees and cry out: “To whom are you leaving us, father!” While the bailiff is away, there is a squabble among the people, the women rise from their knees, but when the bailiff returns, they fall to their knees again. Duma clerk Andrei Shchelkalov appears. He comes out to the people, takes off his hat and bows. He reports that Boris is adamant and, despite “the mournful call of the boyar duma and the patriarch, he does not want to hear about the royal throne.”

(In 1598, Tsar Fyodor dies. There are two contenders for the royal throne - Boris Godunov and Fyodor Nikitich Romanov. The boyars are for the election of Godunov. He is “asked” to become king. But he refuses. This refusal seemed strange. But Godunov, this outstanding politician, understood , that the legality of his claims is doubtful. Popular rumor blamed him for the death of Tsarevich Demetrius, the younger brother of Tsar Fyodor and the legal heir to the throne. And it was not without reason that modern chroniclers spoke about Boris’s participation in this matter, of course, according to rumors and guesses. .O. Klyuchevsky - Of course, they did not have and could not have had (...) But in the chronicle stories there is no confusion and contradictions, which is full of the report of the Uglich investigative commission. So, Boris needed “everyone.” peace" they begged him to accept the royal crown. And so, to a certain extent, bluffing, this time he refuses: the forced appeal to him of the "people", rounded up and frightened by the bailiff, lacks "universal" enthusiasm.)

The scene is illuminated by the reddish glow of the setting sun. The singing of the kalikas of passers-by (behind the stage) can be heard: “Glory to you, the Most High Creator, on earth, glory to your heavenly powers and glory to all saints in Rus'!” Now they appear on stage, led by guides. They distribute palms to the people and call on the people to go with the icons of the Don and Vladimir Mother of God to the “Tsar at Candlemas” (which is interpreted as a call for the election of Boris to the kingdom, although they do not say this directly).

Picture 2.“The square in the Moscow Kremlin. Directly in front of the audience, in the distance, is the Red Porch of the royal towers. On the right, closer to the proscenium, people on their knees take a place between the Assumption and Archangel Cathedrals.”

The orchestral introduction depicts the procession of the boyars into the cathedral under the “great ringing of bells”: they will have to elect a new king to the kingdom. Prince Vasily Shuisky appears. He announces the election of Boris as Tsar.

A powerful choir sounds - a praise to the king. Solemn royal procession from the cathedral. “The bailiffs put the people in trellises” (stage directions in the score). However, Boris is overcome by an ominous premonition. The first of his monologues sounds: “The soul grieves!” But no... No one should see the slightest timidity of the king. “Now let us bow to the deceased rulers of Rus',” Boris says, and then all the people are invited to the royal feast. Under the ringing of bells, the procession heads to the Archangel Cathedral. People are rushing to the Archangel Cathedral; The bailiffs are putting things in order. Hustle. Boris appears from the Archangel Cathedral and heads towards the towers. The jubilant ringing of bells. Curtain falls. End of prologue.

ACT I

Picture 1. Night. Cell in the Chudov Monastery. An old monk, Pimen, writes a chronicle. The young monk, Gregory, is sleeping. Monks can be heard singing (behind the stage). Grigory wakes up, he is tormented by a damned dream, he is dreaming about it for the third time. He tells Pimen about him. The old monk instructs Gregory: “Humble yourself with prayer and fasting.” But Gregory is attracted by worldly joys: “Why shouldn’t I have fun in battles? Shouldn’t we feast at the royal table?” Pimen indulges in memories, he tells how Ivan the Terrible himself sat here, in this cell, “and he cried...” Then - memories of his son, Tsar Feodor, who, according to Pimen, “transformed the royal palace into a prayer cell " We will never know such a king again, because we “have called the regicide our ruler.” Gregory is interested in the details of the case of Tsarevich Dimitri, what age he was when he was killed. “He would be your age and reign” (in some publications: “and he would reign”), Pimen answers.

The bell sounds. They call for matins. Pimen leaves. Grigory is left alone, there is fermentation in his mind... An ambitious plan is born in his head.

Picture 2. Tavern on the Lithuanian border. Varlaam and Misail, Chernets vagabonds, came here, joined by Gregory: his goal is to get across the border to Lithuania in order to escape from there to Poland. The hostess welcomes the guests. A small feast is started, but all Gregory’s thoughts are about imposture: he intends to impersonate Tsarevich Dimitri and challenge Boris for the throne. Varlaam starts singing (“As it was in the city in Kazan”). Meanwhile, Grigory asks the owner of the tavern about the road across the border. She explains how to get through in order to avoid the bailiffs, who are now detaining everyone and examining them, because they are looking for someone who fled from Moscow.

At this moment there is a knock on the door - the bailiffs appear. They peer at Varlaam. One of the bailiffs takes out the royal decree. It talks about the escape from Moscow of a certain Grigory from the Otrepiev family, a black monk who needs to be caught. But Varlaam doesn’t know how to read. Then Gregory is called to read the decree. He reads and... instead of the signs that expose him, he pronounces out loud the signs of Varlaam. Varlaam, feeling that things are bad, snatches the decree from him and, with difficulty making out the letters, he himself begins to read the letters and then guesses that he is talking about Grishka. At this moment, Grigory threateningly swings a knife and jumps out the window. Everyone shouts: “Hold him!” - they rush after him.

ACT II

Interior chambers of the royal tower in the Moscow Kremlin. Luxurious setting. Ksenia cries over the portrait of the groom. The prince is busy with the “book of a large drawing.” Mom doing needlework. Boris consoles the princess. He has no luck either in his family or in government affairs. Tsarevich Fyodor responds to the mother’s fairy tale (“Song about a mosquito”) with a fairy tale (“A fairy tale about this and that, how a hen gave birth to a bull, a little piglet laid an egg”).

The Tsar kindly asks Fyodor about his activities. He examines the map - “a drawing of the land of Moscow.” Boris approves of this interest, but the sight of his kingdom makes him think deeply. Boris’s aria sounds amazing in its power of expression and drama (with the recitative: “I have reached the highest power...”). Boris is tormented by remorse, he is haunted by the image of the slaughtered Tsarevich Dimitri.

A nearby boyar enters and reports that “Prince Vasily Shuisky is hitting Boris with his forehead.” Shuisky, who appears, tells Boris that an impostor has appeared in Lithuania, posing as Prince Dimitri. Boris is in the greatest excitement. Grabbing Shuisky by the collar, he demands that he tell him the whole truth about Dmitry’s death. Otherwise, he will come up with such an execution for him, Shuisky, that “Tsar Ivan will shudder with horror in his grave.” In response to this demand, Shuisky launches into such a description of the picture of the murder of a baby, from which the blood runs cold. Boris can't stand it; he orders Shuisky to leave.

Boris is alone. What follows is a scene called “Clock with Chimes” in the score - Boris’s stunning monologue “If there is only one spot on you...” The rhythmic chiming of the chimes, like rock, enhances the oppressive atmosphere. Boris does not know where to escape from the hallucinations that haunt him: “Over there... over there... what is that?.. there in the corner?..” Exhausted, he calls out to the Lord: “Lord! You do not want the sinner to die; have mercy on the soul of the criminal Tsar Boris!”

ACT III (POLISH)

Picture 1. Marina Mniszek's restroom in Sandomierz Castle. Marina, the daughter of the Sandomierz governor, is sitting at the toilet. The girls entertain her with songs. The elegant and graceful choir “On the Azure Vistula” sounds. An ambitious Polish woman, who dreams of taking the Moscow throne, wants to capture the Pretender. She sings about this in the aria “Boring for Marina.” Rangoni appears. This Catholic Jesuit monk demands the same from Marina - that she seduce the Pretender. And she is obliged to do this in the interests of the Catholic Church.

Picture 2. The moon illuminates the garden of the Sandomierz governor. The fugitive monk Gregory, now a contender for the Moscow throne - the Pretender - is waiting for Marina at the fountain. The melodies of his love confession (“At midnight, in the garden, by the fountain”) are romantically excited. Rangoni sneaks around the corner of the castle, looking around. He tells the Impostor that Marina loves him. The impostor rejoices hearing the words of her love conveyed to him. He intends to run to her. Rangoni stops him and tells him to hide so as not to destroy himself and Marina. The impostor is hiding behind the doors.

A crowd of guests leaves the castle. Polish dance (polonaise) sounds. Marina walks arm in arm with the old gentleman. The choir sings, proclaiming confidence in the victory over Moscow and the capture of Boris. At the end of the dance, Marina and the guests retire to the castle.

There is only one impostor. He laments that he only managed to glance furtively and briefly at Marina. He is overwhelmed by a feeling of jealousy towards the old gentleman with whom he saw Marina. “No, to hell with everything! - he exclaims. “Quickly, put on your armor!” Marina enters. She listens with annoyance and impatience to the Pretender's love confession. It doesn’t bother her, and that’s not what she came for. She asks him with cynical frankness when he will finally be king in Moscow. This time even he was taken aback: “Could power, the radiance of the throne, a swarm of vile slaves, their vile denunciations in you really drown out the holy thirst for mutual love?” Marina has a very cynical conversation with the Pretender. In the end, the Impostor became indignant: “You are lying, proud Pole! I am the Tsarevich! And he predicts that he will laugh at her when he sits as king. Her calculation was justified: with her cynicism, cunning and affection, she kindled the fire of love in him. They merge in a passionate love duet.

Rangoni appears and watches the Imposter and Marina from afar. The voices of feasting gentlemen can be heard behind the stage.

ACT IV

Picture 1. The last act contains two scenes. In theatrical practice, it has developed that in different productions either one or the other is given first. This time we will adhere to the second edition of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Forest clearing near the village of Kromy. On the right is a descent and behind it is the city wall. From the descent through the stage there is a road. Directly - the forest thicket. Near the descent there is a large stump.

The peasant uprising is spreading. Here, near Kromy, a crowd of vagabonds, who had seized the boyar Khrushchev, the governor of Boris, mocked him: they surrounded him, tied up and put on a stump, and sang to him mockingly, mockingly and menacingly: “It is not a falcon that flies across the sky” (to the melody of a truly Russian folk song of praise).

The holy fool enters, surrounded by boys. (In productions of the opera that include the so-called insert scene “The Square in Front of St. Basil’s Cathedral,” this episode is transferred into it, where it is dramatically incomparably richer and emotionally stronger, despite the fact that Mussorgsky himself removed the score of this episode from there and placed it in the scene near Kromy .)

Varlaam and Misail appear. By talking about torture and executions in Rus', they incite the rebellious people. The voices of Lavitsky and Chernikovsky, Jesuit monks, are heard behind the stage. When they go on stage, people grab them and tie them up. The tramps remaining on stage listen. The noise of the impostor's approaching army reaches their ears. Misail and Varlaam - this time, ironically - glorify the Pretender (apparently not recognizing in him the fugitive Moscow monk Grishka Otrepiev, who once fled from a tavern on the Lithuanian border): “Glory to you, prince, saved by God, glory to you, prince , hidden by God!

The Pretender rides in on horseback. Boyar Khrushchov, dumbfounded, praises the “son of John” and bows to him at the waist. The impostor calls: “Follow us to a glorious battle! To the holy homeland, to Moscow, to the Kremlin, the golden-domed Kremlin!” An alarm bell sounds behind the stage. The crowd (which also includes both Jesuit monks) follows the Pretender. The stage is empty. The holy fool appears (this is the case if this character is not transferred to the insert scene - the Square in front of St. Basil's Cathedral); he predicts the imminent arrival of the enemy, bitter grief for Rus'.

Picture 2. The Faceted Chamber in the Moscow Kremlin. On the sides of the bench. To the right exit to the Red Porch; to the left, into the tower. On the right, closer to the ramp, is a table with writing materials. To the left is the royal place. Extraordinary meeting of the Boyar Duma. Everyone is excited about the news of the Imposter. The boyars, semi-literate, foolishly discuss the matter and decide to execute the villain. Someone reasonably notes that first he needs to be caught. In the end they agree that “it’s a pity that Prince Shuisky is not here. Even though he’s a seditious person, without him, it seems, something went wrong.” Shuisky appears. He tells how Boris is now in a deplorable state, haunted by the ghost of Tsarevich Dimitri. Suddenly the Tsar himself appears before the eyes of the boyars. Boris's torment reaches its limit; he doesn’t notice anyone and in his delirium assures himself: “There is no killer! Alive, alive, little one!..” (But in this case - everyone understands this - the Impostor is not an impostor, not False Dmitry, but Dmitry, the rightful king.) Boris comes to his senses. Then Shuisky brings Elder Pimen to him. Boris hopes that a conversation with him will calm his tormented soul.

Pimen enters and stops, looking intently at Boris. His story is about the miraculous healing of a blind old man who heard a child’s voice: “Know, grandfather, I am Dimitri, a prince; The Lord accepted me into the face of his angels, and now I am the great wonderworker of Rus'...”, and “... trudged on a long journey...” (Tsarevich Dimitri was canonized by the Orthodox Church - his body was found incorrupt when the coffin was opened; three were installed festivities in his memory: on the days of his birth (October 19, 1581), death (May 15, 1591) and the transfer of his relics (June 3, 1606).)

Boris cannot bear this story - he falls unconscious into the arms of the boyars. The boyars imprison him, he comes to his senses and then calls upon Tsarevich Fyodor. Some boyars run after the prince, others run to the Chudov Monastery. Tsarevich Fyodor runs in. The dying Boris says goodbye to the prince and gives him his last instructions: “Farewell, my son! I'm dying. Now you will begin to reign.” He hugs his son and kisses him. A long-drawn bell and funeral ringing are heard. Boyars and singers enter. Boris jumps up and menacingly exclaims: “Wait: I’m still a king!” Then to the boyars, pointing to their son: “Here is your king... king... forgive me...” Fermata lunga (Italian - long fermata [stop]). Tsar Boris is dead. Curtain falls.

It remains for us to talk about the so-called insert scene “The Square in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral.”

This scene, according to Mussorgsky's original plan, constituted the first scene of the fourth act. But, as N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov testifies in his “Chronicle,” after the opera was rejected by the management of the imperial theaters, Mussorgsky reworked it, and the scene in which the Pretender is anathematized was abolished, and the holy fool appearing in her, was transferred to the scene “Under Kromi”. It remains difficult for us to explain how the decision could be made to exclude from the opera what was perhaps its most brilliant episode. In a word, this scene eventually received the status of “inserted” and in modern productions of the opera it takes place - quite logically - at the beginning of the fourth act. But since the more impressive ending of the opera - this is my personal opinion - is the death of Boris, that is, the painting in the Palace of Facets (as it was intended by Mussorgsky in the original plan), the place of the painting "Under Kromami" should be after the scene at the cathedral, that is, it should be the second in this action. Then, therefore, the painting in the Chamber of Facets.

The square in front of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. There are crowds of impoverished people on the stage. Bailiffs often appear in the crowd. The orchestral introduction conveys a mood of anticipation and alertness. A group of men enters from the cathedral; among them is Mityukha. The people shouted (Mityukha) that at mass they cursed Grishka Otrepyev, and sang eternal memory to the prince. This causes bewilderment among the people: to sing eternal memory to the living (after all, Demetrius, that is, False Demetrius, is already very close)!

A holy fool in chains runs onto the stage, followed by a crowd of boys. They tease him. He sits on a stone, darns his bast shoes and sings, swaying. He boasts about the little penny he has; the boys snatch it from him. He is crying. The royal procession begins from the cathedral; The boyars give out alms. Boris appears, followed by Shuisky and other boyars. The holy fool turns to Boris and says that the boys have offended him, and he asks Boris to order them to be punished: “Let them be slaughtered, just as you slaughtered the little prince.” Shuisky intends to punish the holy fool. But Boris stops him and asks the holy fool to pray for him, Boris. But the holy fool refuses: “No, Boris! You can't, you can't, Boris! You can’t pray for King Herod!” The people disperse in horror. The holy fool sings: “Flow, flow, bitter tears.”

A. Maykapar

The fate of the opera “Boris Godunov” is the fate of a revolutionary work of art, both glorified and persecuted. Its significance was immediately understood in Mussorgsky's inner circle. Others, on the contrary, for conformist reasons, due to conservative taste and lack of faith in the new, did everything to fail it after the success of the first ideas. Despite sporadic revivals of Boris, its true discovery and international recognition came after 1896, and especially in 1908 in Paris, when Fyodor Chaliapin sang in an opera edited by Rimsky-Korsakov. This edition caused confusion among musicologists and fans of the original version of "Boris". The editor disrupted the order of scenes, removed some, changed the most daring harmonies and shifted metric divisions, which was reflected in the emphasis; finally, he re-orchestrated the score, in which Mussorgsky himself wanted to redo something, and, of course, did the job masterfully, with knowledge business, but the brilliant color that the opera acquired as a result seemed far removed from the original gloom of the tragedy. Over time, other amendments were made, along with attempts to restore Mussorgsky's original (which still requires corrections, at least in the instrumentation).

In 1928, an academic publication by P. A. Lamm was published, while the opera was gaining increasing recognition, which is explained by two factors: the influence exerted by “Boris” with its melodic-harmonic innovations, gleaned from the music of Ancient Rus', on the evolution of new European movements, starting with impressionism; the creation, thanks to the most original alternation of paintings, of a historical and political drama of exceptional strength and humanism, in which various features of Russian culture, especially linguistic ones, seem to be carved in stone. In the opera, the king and the people collide; enormous power and loneliness are associated with betrayal; the presence of the people (choir) is subject to the law of a change of power that is as violent as it is senseless. Meanwhile, the voices, opposed to each other, form the living body of Rus', personify its fate, which is revealed by music in solemn chords, brought to the fore by harmonic basses, embodying the movement towards the same result, unchanged over the centuries: ruin, tyranny, woeful mysticism , superstitions.

It must be admitted that Mussorgsky followed a difficult path, given that we are dealing with the genre of traditional musical drama. The opera includes only one love duet, and it is illuminated by the cold light of state interests and inserted into a mocking frame precisely because the music does not seem to notice them, all imbued with the enthusiastic lyrical impulse of the meeting of Marina and the Pretender. In general, the richness of sound and the luxury of the spectacle are fully developed in this wide, unconventional canvas, they can be found in folk songs, in choirs and in the parts of the characters who briefly appear from the choir as protagonists. A huge number of energetic, lively people, and not hackneyed types of traditional theater, constitute a true storehouse of those national treasures for which the “Mighty Handful” stood up. Mussorgsky reveals to her the far from benign genuine rhythms and motifs of folk music or imitates them. The crowd sings, affirming their reality. Folk types - cripples, drunkards, vagabond monks, peasants - all these motley images of a living, crowded crowd, whose speech is deeply emotional, testify to how the power of illusions grows, despite troubles, while the king threatens and begs in fruitless hope stay on the throne. When the pangs of conscience leave Boris for a while, his voice expresses deep sadness, but for stubborn facts this alone is not enough. Almost at the beginning, after the coronation celebration, the echo of history, full of continuous treachery, sounds, as if in a dream, in Pimen’s cell, grows from hidden hints, multiplies its mysterious network, which is not afraid of any obstacles: it is the elder, the stern monk, who will finally finish off the criminal lord. Haunted by terrible ghosts, he wanders and mutters like an expressionist victim. He destroyed a pure, innocent being, and this is the answer of the deceased. The dying king has no choice but to cry out to heaven for help, not for himself, but for the children, also innocent victims, like baby Demetrius. This prayer touches the innermost strings of the human soul, which no other character in the opera could touch. Boris says goodbye, overshadowed by grace. In the last act, the crowd indulges in feverish, destructive fun. The defenseless voice of the holy fool sounds an accusation of their delirium.

G. Marchesi (translated by E. Greceanii)

History of creation

The idea of ​​writing an opera based on the plot of Pushkin’s historical tragedy “Boris Godunov” (1825) was given to Mussorgsky by his friend, the prominent historian Professor V.V. Nikolsky. Mussorgsky was extremely fascinated by the opportunity to translate the topic of the relationship between the tsar and the people, which was acutely relevant for his time, and to bring the people into the role of the main character of the opera. “I understand the people as a great personality, animated by a single idea,” he wrote. “This is my task. I tried to solve it in opera."

The work, which began in October 1868, proceeded with great creative enthusiasm. A month and a half later, the first act was ready. The composer himself wrote the libretto of the opera, drawing on materials from N. M. Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State” and other historical documents. As the composition progressed, individual scenes were performed in a circle of “kuchkists”, who gathered either at A. S. Dargomyzhsky or at Glinka’s sister L. I. Shestakova. “Joy, admiration, admiration were universal,” recalled V.V. Stasov.

At the end of 1869, the opera “Boris Godunov” was completed and presented to the theater committee. But its members, discouraged by the ideological and artistic novelty of the opera, rejected the work under the pretext of the lack of a winning female role. The composer made a number of changes, adding a Polish act and a scene near Kromy. However, the second edition of Boris, completed in the spring of 1872, was also not accepted by the directorate of the imperial theaters.

“Boris” was staged only thanks to the energetic support of advanced artistic forces, in particular the singer Yu. F. Platonova, who chose the opera for her benefit performance. The premiere took place on January 27 (February 8), 1874 at the Mariinsky Theater. The democratic public greeted “Boris” enthusiastically. Reactionary criticism and the nobility-landowner society reacted sharply negatively to the opera. Soon the opera began to be performed with arbitrary abbreviations, and in 1882 it was completely removed from the repertoire. “There were rumors,” wrote N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov on this occasion, “that the royal family did not like the opera; they chatted that its plot was unpleasant to the censors.”

Despite sporadic revivals of Boris, its true discovery and international recognition came after 1896, and especially in 1908 in Paris, when Fyodor Chaliapin sang in an opera edited by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Music

“Boris Godunov” is a folk musical drama, a multifaceted picture of the era, striking in its Shakespearean breadth and boldness of contrasts. The characters are depicted with exceptional depth and psychological insight. The music reveals with stunning power the tragedy of the tsar’s loneliness and doom, and innovatively embodies the rebellious, rebellious spirit of the Russian people.

The prologue consists of two scenes. The orchestral introduction to the first expresses grief and tragic hopelessness. The chorus “To whom are you leaving us” is akin to mournful folk lamentations. Appeal from clerk Shchelkalov “Orthodox! The boyar is relentless!” imbued with majestic solemnity and restrained sadness.

The second scene of the prologue is a monumental choral scene, preceded by the ringing of bells. The solemn eulogy to Boris “As red as the sun in the sky” is based on a genuine folk melody. In the center of the picture is Boris’s monologue “The Soul Grieves,” whose music combines royal grandeur with tragic doom.

The first scene of the first act opens with a brief orchestral introduction; the music conveys the monotonous creak of the chronicler’s pen in the silence of a secluded cell. Pimen’s measured and sternly calm speech (monologue “One more, last legend”) outlines the stern and majestic appearance of the old man. An imperious, strong character is felt in his story about the kings of Moscow. Gregory is depicted as an unbalanced, ardent young man.

The second scene of the first act contains rich everyday scenes. Among them are the songs of the shinkarka “I caught a gray drake” and Varlaam’s “How it was in the city in Kazan” (to folk words); the latter is full of elemental strength and daring.

The second act broadly outlines the image of Boris Godunov. The long monologue “I have reached the highest power” is filled with a restless, mournful feeling and alarming contrasts. Boris's mental discord worsens in a conversation with Shuisky, whose speeches sound insinuating and hypocritical, and reaches extreme tension in the final scene of hallucinations (the "scene with the chimes").

The first scene of the third act opens with an elegantly graceful chorus of girls “On the Azure Vistula”. Marina’s aria “How languid and sluggish,” set in the rhythm of a mazurka, paints a portrait of an arrogant aristocrat.

The orchestral introduction to the second scene depicts an evening landscape. The melodies of the Pretender's love confession are romantically excited. The scene of the Pretender and Marina, built on sharp contrasts and capricious changes of mood, ends with a duet full of passion, “Oh Tsarevich, I beg you.”

The first scene of the fourth act is a dramatically intense folk scene. From the plaintive groan of the Holy Fool’s song “The month is moving, the kitten is crying” grows the chorus of “Bread!”, stunning in its tragic power.

The second scene of the fourth act ends with the psychologically acute scene of Boris's death. His last monologue, “Farewell, my son!” painted in tragically enlightened, peaceful tones.

The third scene of the fourth act is a monumental folk scene of exceptional scope and power. The opening chorus “Not a falcon flies across the sky” (to the authentic folk melody of a majestic song) sounds mocking and menacing. The song of Varlaam and Misail “The sun and the moon have darkened” is based on the melody of a folk epic. The climax of the picture is the rebellious chorus “Dispersed, dissolved”, full of spontaneous, indomitable revelry. The middle section of the chorus, “Oh, you, strength,” is a sweeping tune of a Russian round dance song, which, as it develops, leads to menacing, angry cries of “Death to Boris!” The opera ends with the solemn entry of the Pretender and the cry of the Holy Fool.

M. Druskin

Discography: CD - Philips (author's edition). Conductor Fedoseev, Boris (Vedernikov), Pretender (Pyavko), Marina (Arkhipova), Pimen (Matorin), Varlaam (Eisen). CD - Erato (author's edition). Conductor Rostropovich, Boris (R. Raimondi), Pretender (Polozov), Marina (Vishnevskaya), Pimen (Plishka), Varlaam (Tezarovich). CD - Decca (edited by Rimsky-Korsakov). Conductor Karayan, Boris (Gyaurov), Pretender (Shpiss), Marina (Vishnevskaya), Pimen (Talvela), Varlaam (Dyakov). “Melody” (edited by Rimsky-Korsakov). Conductor Golovanov, Boris (Reisen), Pretender (Nelepp), Marina (Maksakova), Pimen (M. Mikhailov).

Opera in four acts with prologue; libretto by Mussorgsky based on the drama of the same name by A. S. Pushkin and “History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin. First production: St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theater, January 27 (February 8), 1874.

Characters:

Boris Godunov (baritone or bass), Fyodor and Ksenia (mezzo-soprano and soprano), Ksenia's mother (mezzo-soprano), Prince Vasily Shuisky (tenor), Andrei Shchelkalov (baritone), Pimen (bass), Impostor under the name of Gregory ( tenor), Marina Mnishek (mezzo-soprano), Rangoni (bass), Varlaam and Misail (bass and tenor), tavern owner (mezzo-soprano), holy fool (tenor), Nikitich, bailiff (bass), close boyar (tenor) , boyar Khrushchev (tenor), Jesuits Lavitsky (bass) and Chernikovsky (bass), boyars, archers, bells, bailiffs, lords and ladies, Sandomierz girls, passersby, the people of Moscow.

The action takes place in Moscow in 1598-1605.

Prologue

Novodevichy Convent. Boyar Boris Godunov found refuge here. After the death of King Theodore, he must take the royal throne. People reluctantly fill the monastery courtyard. The bailiff forces the crowd to beg Boris to marry into the kingdom (chorus “To whom are you leaving us”). Duma clerk Shchelkalov reports that Godunov refuses the crown (“Orthodox! The boyar is implacable”).

Square in the Moscow Kremlin. The people praise Godunov, who finally agreed to be crowned king. On the threshold of the Assumption Cathedral, Boris, sad and thoughtful, turns with reverent praise to his predecessor and to the other sovereigns of Holy Rus' (“The Soul Sorrows”).

Act one

Cell in the Chudov Monastery. Elder Pimen writes a chronicle (“One more, last legend”). Novice Gregory wakes up from a nightmare that haunts him not for the first time. Pimen tells him how Tsarevich Dimitri, brother of the late Theodore, was killed by assassins sent by Boris. Gregory learns that if Dimitri were alive, he would now be his age. When Pimen leaves, Grigory reveals his intention to take revenge on Godunov for a terrible crime.

Tavern on the Lithuanian border. Shinkarka hums a cheerful song (“I caught a gray drake”). The beggar monks Misail and Varlaam enter, and with them Gregory, who has fled from the monastery and disguised himself: he is about to cross the border. Varlaam, drunk, begins to sing (“As it was in the city in Kazan”). While he is dozing, muttering another song (“How Yen Rides”), Grigory asks the tavern driver where he can cross the border. Suddenly, a bailiff and soldiers appear in the tavern: they show the royal decree to catch the fugitive monk, that is, Gregory. Since the bailiff cannot read, Grigory undertakes to do it himself and names the signs of Varlaam (“From the Chudov Monastery”) instead of his own. He tears out the paper and, reading from the folds, reveals his deception. Gregory jumps out the window and runs away.

Act two

The Tsar's Tower in the Kremlin. Boris's daughter Ksenia mourns the death of her fiancé. The Tsar consoles Xenia. He realizes that he is hated by the people and that the wrath of God is pursuing his family. Often a terrible ghost of a bloodied boy who demands retribution appears to him (“I have reached the highest power”). Prince Shuisky brings news of a rebellion, led by someone who calls himself Dimitri. Boris is horrified, he asks Shuisky if the prince was really killed. The prince describes the dead baby in detail. Having sent Shuisky away, the king is left alone. A bloody ghost haunts Boris. The room darkens, the chimes sound gloomily (“Ugh! It’s hard! Let me catch my breath”).

Act three

Marina Mniszek's room in Sandomierz Castle in Poland. The girls dress her and comb her hair, entertaining her with songs (“On the Azure Vistula”). Marina dreams of the Moscow throne (“How languid and sluggish”). Her spiritual father, Jesuit Rangoni, wants even more: to convert Rus' to Catholicism.

Garden near the castle. Dimitri approaches the fountain, where Marina has made a date with him. She leaves the castle with a crowd of feasting people (with a chorus of “I don’t believe your passion, sir”), Dimitri passionately declares his love to her, but she is driven by cold calculation: she encourages him to first achieve the crown with the support of the Poles. Dimitri throws himself on his knees in front of her (duet “Oh Tsarevich, I beg you”).

Act four

Square in front of St. Basil's Cathedral. Anathema to the Pretender sounds from the cathedral. The people sympathize with the Pretender, whom they consider to be a real prince. The holy fool appears, he sings something meaningless and plaintive (“The moon is moving, the kitten is crying”). The boys take a penny from him and run away. The king comes out of the cathedral. All hands are reaching out to him. "Of bread!" - a desperate and threatening cry is heard. The holy fool asks Boris to punish the boys who offended him: “Let them be slaughtered, just as you stabbed the little prince.”

Chamber of Facets in the Kremlin. The boyar Duma gathered here to discuss the state of affairs in connection with the approach of the False Demetrius. Shuisky tells how the ghost of a murdered prince recently appeared to the king; someone does not believe him, but everyone freezes when Boris enters, driving away the ghost. The Tsar gains control of himself and turns to the Boyar Duma asking for help and advice. Shuisky informs him about the arrival of the holy elder. This is Pimen: he tells the story of a blind shepherd who was healed at the grave of the prince. At the end of the story, Boris can barely stand on his feet. He calls his son, gives him the last instructions on how to rule the state (“Farewell, my son”). The bell sounds. Boris falls dead.

Forest clearing near Kromy. Night. The rebel people captured the boyar Khrushchev and mocked him. The monks Misail and Varlaam enter with a victorious song (“The sun and moon have darkened”) and inflame the people even more (the choir “Dispersed, dispersed”). The arriving Jesuits Lavitsky and Chernikovsky were captured and sent to the fortress. To the sound of trumpets, Dimitri's troops appear, whom everyone joyfully greets. The people are going with him to Moscow. Only the holy fool remains on stage, he cries and sings a mournful song (“Flow, flow, bitter tears”).

G. Marchesi (translated by E. Greceanii)

BORIS GODUNOV - opera by M. Mussorgsky in 4 scenes with a prologue, libretto by the composer after A. Pushkin and N. Karamzin. Premiere: St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theater, January 27, 1874, conducted by E. Napravnik; in Moscow - Bolshoi Theater, December 16, 1888, under the direction of I. Altani. As revised by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, the opera was first performed under his direction in the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Conservatory on November 28, 1896 (performance by the Society of Musical Collections; M. Lunacharsky - Boris, F. Stravinsky - Varlaam). Since then, it has been staged only in this version for many years.

The performance of the Russian Private Opera on December 7, 1898, in which F. Chaliapin performed the title role for the first time, was of decisive importance in the stage history of the work. Soon “Boris Godunov” appeared in the repertoire of theaters in the periphery (for example, Kazan - 1899; Orel, Voronezh, Saratov - 1900), in 1901 it was staged at the Bolshoi Theater with Chaliapin in the main role (L. Sobinov - The Pretender ), in 1904 - at the Mariinsky. Gradually, he became one of the most repertoire operas, conquering all stages of the world. “Boris Godunov” is Mussorgsky’s central work and one of the pinnacles of Russian and world musical art. The composer worked on the 1st edition in 1868-1869. She was rejected by the conservative opera committee of the Mariinsky Theater in February 1871. In 1871-1872. Mussorgsky created a new version: he composed a rebellious scene near Kromy, which became the finale of the opera, added two Polish paintings with the participation of Marina Mniszech, reworked the scene in the mansion (in particular, he wrote a new monologue for Boris, introduced genre-based episodes), and made changes to other paintings. The scene at St. Basil's Cathedral was excluded, and the cry of the Holy Fool from it was transferred to the finale of the opera. Some changes were made after the premiere, in preparation for the publication of the clavier (1874).

“Boris” was composed and finalized simultaneously with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Woman of Pskov. All Kuchkists took part in the discussion. The role of V. Stasov and the historian V. Nikolsky, who suggested the theme of the work to Mussorgsky, was especially significant. On his advice, the composer changed the sequence of the two final scenes, ending the opera with a scene near Kromy (originally it ended with the death of Boris; Rimsky-Korsakov restored this sequence in his edition). 24 scenes of Pushkin's tragedy are compressed in the final version of the opera into 9 scenes (the scene at St. Basil's Cathedral is often added to them in Russian theatrical practice).

The composer did not reduce his task to resurrecting images of the past. Dramatic vicissitudes of the 17th century. he saw the events of the 60s from the perspective of a contemporary. XIX century The formula “past in the present”, put forward by him (albeit for a different reason), is polysemantic. She speaks both about the vitality of the old and about the fact that the roots of the new go back to the past.

The opera is based on Pushkin’s brilliant creation, which shows not only the tragedy of conscience (Pushkin accepted the version of Boris’s guilt in the murder of Tsarevich Dimitri), but above all the conflict between the tsar and the people, acting as an incorruptible judge and the decisive force of history. “Popular opinion” determines the success of the Pretender, but the menacing silence of the crowd at the end of the tragedy marks the collapse of this support. Mussorgsky developed and strengthened the role of the people, making them the main character. The opera shows the change in the attitude of ordinary people towards Boris and the royal power. From indifference in the election of the Tsar, through the condemnation of him by the Holy Fool, to open revolt there is a movement of mass scenes. But the people’s anger is skillfully and insidiously used by the gentry’s protege, the Pretender. The opera ends with the cry of the Holy Fool over the fate of Rus'. The hero's personal tragedy, shown with exceptional psychological depth, is inextricably linked with the people's attitude towards him. Boris cannot help but see the indifference of the masses towards him, but the lust for power wins. Already in his first monologue, “The Soul Grieves,” one sounds not so much triumph (the goal was achieved - he became a king), but rather “involuntary fear,” “an ominous premonition.” Mussorgsky, as a brilliant playwright, builds on the same harmony the bell ringing that accompanies the coronation and the funeral ringing that precedes the death of Boris. Death was initially inherent in his election as king. The growth of popular protest leads to Godunov’s gradually increasing loneliness. Not only pangs of conscience (they play a large role in this complex psychological image), but also the awareness of the futility of attempts to win the trust of his subjects and their love determine Boris’s drama. And if the culmination of a personal drama is the finale of the second stage (hallucinations), then the highest point of the drama of a man and a king, condemned and rejected by the people, is the scene of Boris with the Holy Fool (at St. Basil's Cathedral). Mussorgsky in “Boris Godunov” is not inferior to either Tolstoy or Dostoevsky in the depth of psychological analysis and revelation of the subtlest movements of the soul, and is equal to Surikov in his ability to recreate images of history. There has never been a work in the world of opera that so powerfully reveals the tragedy of the individual and the people.

With great difficulty, “Boris” made his way to the viewer. The 2nd edition, like the 1st, was rejected by the theater. However, some of its fragments were performed in concerts, and finally it was possible to ensure that three scenes were presented in the benefit performance (the tavern, the scene at Marina, the scene at the fountain) with the participation of F. Komissarzhevsky, O. Petrov, D. Leonova, Yu. Platonova and O. Palechek. The performance took place on February 5, 1873 and was a great success. Even critics who took a hostile position towards Mussorgsky had to recognize his victory. G. Laroche wrote: “Boris Godunov is a very significant phenomenon. This opera revealed that in the circle that forms the extreme left of our musical world... there is an original, independent content... They say knowledge is power. To a much greater extent "It is true that talent is power. The performance on February 5 convinced me that this power in the extreme left of our musical world is incomparably greater than one could have expected." inclusion of "Boris" in the repertoire. Rehearsals began at the end of 1873. The first performance was an exceptional success among the democratic audience, but caused discontent among conservative circles and furious controversy in the press. Its passion testified to the deep impact of the opera on the audience. But the matter was not limited to controversy. Determined attempts were made to extinguish the rebellious spirit of the work. When the opera was resumed in 1876, the scene near Kromy, which had previously caused attacks of a political nature, was thrown out. V. Stasov, in the article “Cuttings in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov,” heatedly protested against the barbaric distortion of the composer’s plan, calling this scene the crowning achievement of creation - “higher and deeper than anything in concept, in nationality, in original creativity, in power of thought.” ..Here the whole “Rus' under the bottom” is expressed with amazing talent, rising to its feet with its power, with its harsh, wild, but magnificent impulse at the moment of all kinds of oppression falling on it,” the critic wrote.

In 1882, “Boris” was excluded from the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater by a resolution of the Arts Council, the decision of which was determined by motives that had nothing to do with art. The history of the first Moscow production was short-lived, despite its success and the brilliant talent of P. Khokhlov, who replaced B. Korsov, in performing the title role. Staged in 1888, the opera was withdrawn after ten performances in 1890.

“Boris Godunov” did not enjoy the favor of those in power; Alexander III and Nicholas II removed it from the repertoire of the imperial theaters. The position of the leading figures of Russian culture, who remained faithful to the high ideals of the 60s, and above all Stasov and Rimsky-Korsakov, was different. New edition and instrumentation of “Boris”, carried out in the 90s. Rimsky-Korsakov, aimed to bring opera into line with the performing practice of the Russian opera theater. Due to the smoothing out of harmonic and orchestral sharpness, some of the individual features of Mussorgsky's style were, of course, lost. But the editing played a very important role, making the opera more performable and easing its path to the stage.

In 1898, Rimsky-Korsakov's version was staged at the Moscow Private Opera with Chaliapin in the title role. The great artist did not part with this role all his life, adding more and more new touches to its performance. The brilliant interpretation of Boris's role determined the growing success and worldwide fame of the opera and determined the peculiarities of its perception as a whole (Chaliapin often acted as its director). Thanks to the exceptional brightness of the title role, the focus was on the tragedy of the conscience of the criminal king. The scene near Kromy was usually excluded; the scene at St. Basil's Cathedral was first staged only in 1927.

When working on the role of Boris, Chaliapin had unusual consultants - S. Rachmaninov in the musical field and V. Klyuchevsky in the historical field. The image created by the artist was a new, high achievement of Russian musical and stage realism. Y. Engel testified: “Chaliapin played the title role; what a talented artist he made of her! Starting with the makeup and ending with every pose, every musical intonation, it was something amazingly alive, convex, bright.”

The role improved with each performance. Chaliapin revealed the hero's life from the highest rise (coronation) to death. Critics noted the high nobility, the greatness of Boris's appearance and at the same time the feeling of vague anxiety consuming his soul in the prologue. This anxiety, flashing for a moment, develops and turns into dull melancholy, suffering and torment. Chaliapin, with amazing tragic power and strength, conducted the monologue “I have reached the highest power,” the scene with Shuisky, and hallucinations.

E. Stark wrote: “Boris expels Shuisky and sank down at the table in complete exhaustion... Suddenly he turned, his gaze accidentally slid over the clock, and... oh, what suddenly happened to the unfortunate king, what whispered to him in an extremely inflamed imagination, what kind of ghost seemed to him in the silence of the stuffy mansion? As if under the influence of an inhuman force, Boris straightens up terribly, leans back, almost knocks over the table at which he was sitting, and his fingers frantically dig into the thick brocade tablecloth... “What is this?” there in the corner... swaying... growing... approaching... trembling and groaning!" Ice horror is heard in every word... Like a knocked-down Boris collapses to his knees... The tension of horror reaches its highest point, the shock of the whole being exorbitantly more than a person can bear, and then enlightenment comes, the monstrous ghost has disappeared, the moment of hallucination has passed, in the calm mansion everything is as before, the even light of the moon quietly pours through the window, and in this vague light Boris, on his knees, with his face turned to the corner with the images, completely exhausted, as if waking up from a heavy sleep, haggard, with drooping corners of his mouth, with a clouded gaze, he does not speak, but somehow babbles like a baby.”

In the last scene, “Tsar Boris appears in robes, but with his head uncovered and his hair disheveled. He has aged a lot, his eyes have sunken even more, and his forehead has become even more wrinkled.” Having come to his senses, the king “slowly, dragging his feet with force, moves towards the royal place, preparing to listen to the story of Pimen brought by Shuisky. Boris listens to him calmly, sitting motionless on the throne, motionless with his gaze fixed on one point. But as soon as the words were heard: “Go to Uglich-grad,” a sharp anxiety digs into his soul like an arrow and grows there, grows, as the old man’s story about the miracle at the grave develops... By the end of this monologue, Boris’s entire being is engulfed with insane anxiety, his face betrays what unbearable torment his soul is experiencing, his chest rises and falls, his right hand convulsively crumples the collar of his clothes... his breathing tightens, his throat catches... and suddenly with a terrible cry: “Oh, it’s stuffy!” . It’s stuffy!.. Light!” “Boris jumps up from the throne and rushes down the steps somewhere into space.” With the same strength and truthfulness, Chaliapin conducted the scene with Tsarevich Fyodor, showing Boris’s struggle with approaching death, and the death scene itself.

The drawing of the role found by the outstanding artist and the details of his performance determined the interpretation of the part by subsequent performers. Chaliapin himself carried the image he created through all the stages of the world, starting from Moscow (following the Mamontov Opera - at the Bolshoi Theater) and St. Petersburg, and then abroad - at La Scala in Milan, in Paris, London, New York, Buenos -Ayres, etc. The Chaliapin tradition was followed by both Russian singers - G. Pirogov, P. Tsesevich, P. Andreev, etc., and foreign ones - E. Giraldoni, A. Didur, E. Pinza, etc. This tradition is alive and in our days.

It would be wrong to reduce the pre-revolutionary stage history of Mussorgsky's opera to Chaliapin alone. The approaches of the theaters were different - for example, the Mariinsky (1912) and the Musical Drama Theater (1913), which promoted outstanding performers (A. Mozzhukhin). An interesting interpretation of the opera was given by director A. Sanin when staged at the St. Petersburg People's House in July 1910 with N. Figner in the role of the Pretender. However, “Boris Godunov” was interpreted for the first time in the Soviet theater as a tragedy of the people, and not just the tsar. The study of the great composer's manuscripts by researchers (primarily P. Lamm) and the publication of the complete consolidated author's edition of the opera allowed theaters to stage the author's version along with Rimsky-Korsakov's version. Later, a third version appeared - by D. Shostakovich, who re-instrumented the opera, but kept all the features of Mussorgsky’s harmony intact. The Soviet theater sought a truthful and deep disclosure of the author's intention, overcoming vulgar sociological misconceptions. For the first time in the Bolshoi Theater performance (1927), based on Rimsky-Korsakov's edition, a scene at St. Basil's Cathedral (in the instrumentation of M. Ippolitov-Ivanov) was performed, deepening the drama of the people and Boris. The first performance of the opera in its original version (Leningrad, Opera and Ballet Theater, February 16, 1928, conducted by V. Dranishnikov) played a major role in the stage history of the opera. The Soviet theater, unlike the pre-revolutionary one, attached decisive importance to folk scenes, so the painting at St. Basil's Cathedral and the scene near Kromy were in the center of attention.

In our country and abroad, the opera is performed both in the author’s version and in editions by Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich. Among the best domestic performers of the title role are Grigory and Alexander Pirogov, M. Donets, P. Tsesevich, L. Savransky, M. Reisen, T. Kuuzik, A. Ognivtsev, I. Petrov, B. Shtokolov, B. Gmyrya; among foreign ones - B. Hristov, N. Rossi-Lemeni, N. Gyaurov, M. Changalovich, J. London, M. Talvela. Conductors V. Dranishnikov, A. Pazovsky, N. Golovanov, A. Melik-Pashayev and others deeply interpreted the score of “Boris Godunov”. In 1965, the opera was performed in Salzburg (in the edition of Rimsky-Korsakov) under the direction of G. Karajan. One of the best productions was staged in London's Covent Garden in 1948 (directed by P. Brooke), and in 1970 the opera was staged there under the direction of G. Rozhdestvensky. In 1975, director Yu. Lyubimov showed his interpretation of “Boris” on the stage of La Scala in Milan. In subsequent years, it should be noted the production of A. Tarkovsky at Covent Garden (1983), as well as performances in Zurich (1984, M. Salminen - Boris) and at the Florence Musical May festival under the direction of M. Chung (1987). A. Tarkovsky's production, after the director's death, was transferred to the stage of the Mariinsky Theater (premiere - April 26, 1990, under the direction of V. Gergiev; R. Lloyd - Boris). In 2004, the production was staged in New York (conductor S. Bychkov).

The opera was filmed several times, in Russia - in 1955 (director V. Stroeva; G. Pirogov - Boris, I. Kozlovsky - Holy Fool), abroad - in 1989 (director A. Zhulavsky, conductor M. Rostropovich; R. Raimondi - Boris, G. Vishnevskaya - Marina).