Brief summary of the musical Boris Godunov. The most famous operas in the world: Boris Godunov, M. P. Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov. Don Carlos. History of creation

M.P. Mussorgsky opera "Boris Godunov"

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky's opera "" is a work extraordinary in its strength, design and musical language. It was written to a libretto by the composer himself based on the tragedy of the same name by A.S. Pushkin.

Brief summary of the opera Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov” and many interesting facts about this work can be found on our page.

It is known that the opera is based on true historical events, telling about the difficult time for the country that came with the death of Boris Godunov, the arrival of the Poles and False Dmitry. It is no coincidence that Mussorgsky defined its genre as folk musical drama, because the main character in it is the people, and scenes with them occupy a central place in drama.

The whole action takes place in the years 1598-1605, before the beginning of the most difficult time for the country and people - the “Time of Troubles”. Perhaps the central place in the opera is occupied by the tragedy of Boris himself. After the unexpected death of Tsarevich Dimitri, he ascended the throne, seemingly achieving supreme power. Moreover, he was elected by the people themselves. But Boris deeply worries about his own tragedy and worries about his family. He is very worried about his daughter, who lost her fiancé, and about his still young son. But most of all, his soul is tormented by thoughts of the innocently murdered Tsarevich Dimitri. It should be noted that in the work of A.S. Pushkin and in the libretto by M.P. Mussorgsky considers the version of Boris Godunov's involvement in the murder of the baby, but this is only based on popular rumor.

On top of everything else, the Time of Troubles is brewing in the country, an impostor appears, the fugitive monk Grigory Otrepiev, who, having heard from the chronicler the story of the murdered prince, proclaims himself Demetrius. In addition, he gained the support of the Poles. Having gathered his army, he heads to Moscow to win back “his” throne.

As a result of this, Godunov, tormented by constant visions of the murdered prince and pangs of conscience, dies, transferring the throne by law to his son Fyodor. And a dark time is coming for the people, which the holy fool from the picture of the popular uprising predicts in his final song.

Interesting Facts

• After its premiere in 1874, the opera remained on stage for several years. However, the performance was presented with arbitrary cuts. ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote that there was an opinion that the royal family did not like the opera.
• The drama received its real calling later, in 1898, already in the edition of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. It was this version that the public liked, and the triumphant ascent of the opera across domestic and foreign stages began.
• An interesting fact is connected with one of the productions of “Boris Godunov”, which took place on January 6, 1911 at the Mariinsky Theater, where F. Chaliapin played the role of the Tsar. Emperor Nicholas II and his family were present in the hall. The members of the troupe (choristers and some soloists) decided on an adventurous act - to perform a performance on stage for the emperor in order to achieve an increase in salary. At the climax of the opera, the performers fell to their knees, extended their arms and began to sing a pre-prepared hymn to the Tsar. At this time, the theater management and director rushed about behind the stage in horror, even Chaliapin himself, not knowing about the action that was being prepared, hurried to the stage and froze in amazement. However, all this turned out to be in vain. Nicholas II did not understand the soloists’ hint, their singing was not intelligible, so everyone decided that in this way they were showing love for the emperor. Moreover, F. Chaliapin was accused of non-collectivist behavior, because he did not kneel before the sovereign himself.

• In its first edition Mussorgsky I wrote down every movement of the performers on stage, right down to the facial expressions. Many researchers compare it to a movie script.
• This huge number of editions was explained by Rimsky-Korsakov in his preface to the opera. He wrote that after its first appearance on stage, the work caused a contrary opinion. So, on the one hand, this is an unusually talented work, imbued with the folk spirit and history, with lively and vivid scenes. On the other hand, there are noticeable shortcomings in the technical side: awkward voice parts, weak instrumentation, inaccuracies in voice acting. That is why he took on the first edition of Mussorgsky's opera, trying to preserve the original source as accurately as possible, but to smooth out all the inaccuracies and errors.
• By the way, Godunov was the first tsar elected by the people.
• It is noteworthy that Mussorgsky never made preliminary sketches while working on his works, preferring to think for a long time and record the finished music. That is why his work progressed more slowly compared to other composers
• The scene near Kromy, terrible from a moral point of view, with the distraught people cruelly dealing with the boyar, was cut out from the performances of the Imperial theaters. Only after the October Revolution they were able to return it.

Popular arias and numbers

Fool's song "The moon is moving, the kitten is crying" - listen

Boris's monologue “The soul grieves” - listen

Varlaam's song "As it was in the city in Kazan" - listen

Peasant choir "Gaida! The strength and bravery has gone wild" - listen

History of creation

In 1868, Mussorgsky’s friend V. Nikolsky suggested that he take a closer look at A. Pushkin’s work “Boris Godunov”. The composer liked the tragedy and almost immediately began writing the opera. Mussorgsky decided to create the libretto on his own, especially since he relied on the primary source – Pushkin’s tragedy, and also actively used facts from N. Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State”.

The work captivated the composer so quickly that after 1.5 months the first act was already written. Separate scenes and compositions Mussorgsky presented before the members " Mighty bunch ", who gathered at A. Dargomyzhsky or sisters M. Glinka . Everyone, without exception, was delighted with what they heard. Even the critic V. Stasov spoke very warmly about the composer’s new creation.

A year later, the work was completely completed and the score was offered to the directorate of the Imperial Theaters. But the composer was in for great disappointment, since the work was not approved. In 1871-1872, Mussorgsky presented his second version. Here he adds a scene of a popular uprising in the finale, but the editors again reject the manuscript. The composer found his own explanation for this. He thought it had something to do with the music - it was too new. This is partly true, since the harmonic language is truly innovative. Suffice it to recall the scene from Act II with the chimes or the Prologue with the ringing of bells. In these fragments of the opera, Mussorgsky introduces listeners to sonorism.

Despite the decisive refusal to stage it, some scenes from the play were performed already that year. Thus, the Russian Musical Society presented the coronation scene to the public, under the direction of conductor E. Napravnik. In the same year, the Free Music School introduced listeners to the polonaise from Act III. A little later, in 1873, singer Yulia Platonova managed to get three scenes from the opera performed, which she included in her benefit performance.

It is also worth mentioning that this opera has a large number of editions. According to official sources alone, there are about six of them. So, two were written by Mussorgsky himself, a little later N. Rimsky-Korsakov created the same number, then the opera was edited by M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, D. Shostakovich , John Gutman, Karol Rathaus. It is noteworthy that each of these options presents a different sequence of scenes and includes different parts in the context of the original source. Plus, Mussorgsky's orchestration returns in the last two modern versions.

Productions

The premiere of the play took place at the Mariinsky Theater on January 27, 1874, under the baton of conductor E. Napravnik. Despite conflicting reviews, sometimes too enthusiastic or downright negative, the opera remained in the repertoire for several more years, although it was already performed with some reductions. So, after the premiere, over the course of 10 years the play was staged only 15 times, and in 1881 it was completely excluded from the repertoire. After this, the audience was able to again enjoy Mussorgsky's beautiful music only in December 1888, when the opera was staged on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. However, even in the capital, the fate of the work was not very successful; after 10 performances, it was also removed from the stage in 1890. Rimsky-Korsakov decided to correct the situation and presented his first edition, which was staged on November 28, 1896 at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The editor himself acted as a conductor. The public liked this option.

The opera received true recognition in December 1898, when it was staged at the Moscow Solodovnikov Theater, under the direction of conductor I. Truffi. Boris was performed by the legendary Fyodor Chaliapin. It was this version that made it possible to present the opera in other cities, and it was an undoubted success everywhere.

The scandalous production took place in November 1904 at the Mariinsky Theater. The production director decided to use the old scenery, renewing it. The main soloist F. Chaliapin did not like this very much and he almost disrupted the performance, refusing to go on stage.

In May 1908, residents and guests of Paris were able to see the authentic Russian drama “Boris Godunov” at the premiere at the Grand Opera. Its performance was timed to coincide with Diaghilev’s famous Russian seasons. The opera was a huge success, and soloist Natalia Ermolenko-Yuzhina, who performed the role of Marina Mnishek, was even nominated for the Legion of Honor.

The New York public was able to get acquainted with the opera "Boris Godunov" in March 1913, during a production at the Metropolitan Opera. The performance was conducted by Arturo Toscanini.
The opera has also been filmed several times. In 1955, a film was released directed by V. Stroev, in 1987 - by Derek Bailey. In 1989, A. Zulavsky shot a film with the participation of Galina Vishnevskaya in the role of Marina and Rugelo Raimondi - the part of Boris. The orchestra was conducted by M. Rostropovich.

In the fall of 2010, New York audiences were able to get acquainted with a new reading of “Boris Godunov” thanks to the directorial work of Stephen Wadsworth and conductor Valery Gergiev. This performance was technically equipped, it could be seen online anywhere in the world and you could feel like you were among the spectators in the hall. The role of Boris was entrusted to the most charismatic bass - Rene Pape. By the way, initially the director of the play was Peter Stein, however, he was forced to leave due to the humiliating attitude towards himself at the American consulate.

The premiere of “Boris Godunov,” which took place in June 2015, will be remembered for a long time by the audience. Its main difference is that it took place on the territory of the Holy Trinity Belopesotsky Monastery. Such an unusual project “Russian opera in a Russian monastery” was blessed by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna.

An unusual production of the opera took place in November 2015 at the Novosibirsk Opera House. It came along with infographics so that the comments shown there would help viewers better immerse themselves in the work and the historical era, and the producers decided to completely remove the Polish Act. They explained this by the fact that he was absent from Mussorgsky's very first version.

Mussorgsky's drama is rightfully a true masterpiece; it is included in the repertoire of many world theaters. Interestingly, the opera itself has many versions and a rather difficult fate.

Video: watch the opera “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky

In 1868, on the advice of Professor V.V. Nikolsky, a historian of Russian literature, he drew attention to the tragedy of A.S. Pushkin “Boris Godunov” as a possible source for a future opera. This play was very rarely staged on stage - the reason for this was both the politically acute content (the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe criminality of the tsarist power), and the dramaturgy, unusual for contemporaries, which seemed “unstageable”. But it was precisely these features that attracted the composer, who, in his words, “understood the people as a great personality.” The action takes place in one of the most difficult periods of Russian history - during the Time of Troubles, immediately before the Polish intervention, when the country was equally threatened by internal contradictions and external enemies. Against this tragic background, the personal drama of the main character unfolds - Tsar Boris, who is grieving his crime.

M. P. Mussorgsky created the libretto of the opera “Boris Godunov” himself, relying not only on the tragedy of A. S. Pushkin, but also on “The History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin. Of the twenty scenes of the play, he retained the original seven, achieving greater dramatic intensity of the action, which is in complete unity with the music. Vocal parts “grow” from the expressiveness of human speech - and individual speech, outlining many vivid images: the majestically calm monk-chronicler Pimen, the youthfully ambitious Pretender, the drunkard Varlaam, the Holy Fool, wise in his tragic holiness... The image of the title character seems especially interesting, who does not at all look uniquely like a “criminal king” - he is a wise statesman, a loving father, and a man tormented by pangs of conscience...

The extreme vitality of the expressive recitative melodies of M. P. Mussorgsky often conflicts with the rules of harmony, creating harshness that is unusual for the ears of contemporaries. However, this also occurs in instrumental episodes - for example, in the ringing of bells: a colorful sound is created by a combination of musical layers that are not tonally related to each other. The basis of these combinations is the tritone consonance, which will return in the scene of Boris's hallucination - the moment that should be the triumph of the criminal king becomes a prediction of his tragic fate.

Despite the brightness of the images of individual characters, the main “character” of the opera “Boris Godunov” remains the people, embodied by the choir. Mass scenes based on the intonations of a peasant song become the main milestones in the development of the action: “To whom are you leaving us” in the prologue - a mournful plea, “Bread!” in the scene at St. Basil's Cathedral - this is already a demand, and finally, “The valiant force has dispersed, the daring has gone wild” in the scene near Kromy - “Russian rebellion, senseless and merciless” in action. The chorus in the opera by M. P. Mussorgsky never appears as a single monolithic mass - separate groups always stand out in it, creating the impression of a motley crowd.

M. P. Mussorgsky proposed the score of the opera “Boris Godunov” to the directorate of the imperial theaters in 1870. The work was rejected, and the official reason given was the lack of a spectacular female part that could be performed by a prima donna. The composer perceived this untenable excuse as constructive criticism, especially since in the literary source there was a suitable image - Marina Mniszek. In the new edition, completed in 1872, Polish scenes associated with this heroine appeared, making one remember the Polish act of “Life for the Tsar,” and the scene near Kromy was also written at the same time. The author removed the scene at St. Basil's Cathedral, and the episode with the Holy Fool was transferred from it to the scene near Kromy.

But even this option did not satisfy the management of the imperial theaters; that year only two fragments were performed - the coronation scene (by the Russian Musical Society) and the polonaise from the third act at the Free Music School. Only in 1874 did the premiere take place at the Mariinsky Theater. This happened thanks to the popular singer Yulia Platonova, who demanded that “Boris Godunov” be staged in her benefit performance, threatening to leave the theater if she refused. The management did not want to lose the famous singer, so they came up with a new reason for refusal - lack of money for decorations. But this obstacle was also overcome: for the performance they used the scenery in which the tragedy “Boris Godunov” by A. S. Pushkin was staged at the Alexandrinsky Theater.

After the death of M. P. Mussorgsky, the opera “Boris Godunov” was edited and re-orchestrated. In this form, in 1908, the work was presented with great success in Paris - the part of Boris was performed by, whose interpretation of this role became the standard. Subsequently, another edition was created by D. D. Shostakovich.

Musical seasons

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 the passionate duet “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 original 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.

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 that is declining.

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 in four acts with prologue

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.

Time of action

1598 – 1605

Scene

Moscow, on the Lithuanian border, in Sandomierz Castle, near Kromy

Prologue

Scene 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 Dimitri, the younger brother of Tsar Fyodor and the legal heir to the throne. And they blamed him for good reason. “Modern chroniclers talked about Boris’s participation in this matter, of course, according to rumors and guesses,” writes V. O. Klyuchevsky - Of course, they did not have direct evidence and could not have had one (...) But in the chronicle stories there is no confusion and contradiction, which is full of the report of the Uglitsky investigative commission." So, Boris needed that "with the whole world" he was begged to accept the royal crown. And so, to a certain extent bluffing, he refuses this time: the forced appeal to him of the “people”, the people rounded up and intimidated 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).

Scene 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 the prologue.

Act I

Scene 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 named 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.

Scene 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 begins to sing (“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 inspecting 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 measured 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

Scene 1. Marina Mniszek's dressing room 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.

Scene 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

Scene 1. 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 Khrushchev, in a daze, 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'.

Scene 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 festivals were established in his memory: in days of his birth (October 19, 1581), death (May 15, 1591) and transfer of 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.
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: “Get them killed, just as you killed 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.”