Boris Godunov, an opera in four acts with prologue
Modest Mussorgsky, composer. Libretto by the composer, based on Alexander Pushkin's drama Boris Godunov and Nikolai Karamazin's History of the Russian Empire
First performance: 8 February 1874 at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg
Principal Characters
| Boris Godunov | Baritone |
| Fyodor, his son | Mezzo-soprano |
| Xenia, his daughter | Soprano |
| Xenia's nurse | Low mezzo-soprano |
| Prince Vasiliĭ Ivanovič Shuĭskiĭ | Tenor |
| Andreĭ Ščelkalov, council secretary | Baritone |
| Pimen, chronicler, anchorite | Bass |
| Pretender (False Dimitriĭ, Grigoriĭ) | Tenor |
| Marina Mnishek, daughter of the governor of Sandomir | Mezzo-soprano or dramatic soprano |
| Rangoni, conspiratorial Jesuit | Bass |
| Varlaam, itinerant monk | Bass |
| Misail, itinerant monk | Tenor |
| Hostess of the inn | Mezzo-soprano |
| Simpleton (Yurodivyĭ) | Tenor |
| Mikitič, police officer | Bass |
Time and Place
1598-1605, Russia and Poland
Summary
Boris Godunov, the regent of the young Tsar Fyodor, has arranged the assasination of the Tsar's half-brother and heir Dimitriĭ, in order to seize power. When the Tsar himself dies Boris pretends to decline the crown, but his agents incite the Muscovite crowd to acclaim him as the new Tsar. Though racked with guilt, Boris is crowned. In the monastery of Chudov an old monk Pimen is writing a chronicle of Russia. He tells his novice Grigoriĭ of the history surrounding Boris, and Grigoriĭ resolves to avenge the murdered Dimitriĭ. Leaving the monastery Grigoriĭ claims to be the dead Tsarevich and with two vagabond friars Varlaam and Misail escapes across the border into Lithuania. In his Kremlin rooms Boris learns of the pretender. His councillor Shuĭskiĭ aims to reassure him by recounting the murder of Dimitriĭ but this throws Boris into a state of hallucination.
In Poland, Grigoriĭ's lover Marina dreams of becoming tsarina and her Jesuit confessor Rangoni exhorts her to support the Catholic cause. Marina joins Grigoriĭ in a moonlit rendezvous and she drives him forward with his ambitions.
In the Kromy forest the people are in disordered revolt against Boris but rally behind Grigoriĭ's call to follow him to Moscow. A simpleton is left behind bewailing the fate of the Russian people. The boyars hold an emergency meeting in the council hall in Moscow and Shuĭskiĭ describes the Tsar's unstable mental state, confirmed when Boris enters. Pimen arrives to describe a miraculous cure performed at the tomb of Dimitriĭ, causing the Tsar to collapse. Boris bids farewell to his son, prays for Russia, and dies.
Schematic (Rimsky-Korsakov Edition, 1908)
| Prologue | |
| Scene 1. | At the Novodeviči Cloister |
| Chorus of Wandering Holy Beggars | |
| Scene 2. | Kremlin. Coronation |
| Act I | |
| Scene 1. | Monk's Cell. Night |
| Scene 2. | Inn near the Lithuanian Border |
| Hostess' Song | |
| Varlaam's Song | |
| Act II | |
| In Boris' Apartment | |
| Song about the Gnat | |
| Clapping Game | |
| Boris' Recitative and Aria | |
| Chiming Clock | |
| Act III | |
| Scene 1. | Marina's Boudoir. Chorus of Girls of Sandomir |
| Marina's Aria | |
| Scene 2. | Night, Garden, Fountain |
| Polonaise with Chorus | |
| Duet | |
| Act IV | |
| Scene 1. | Near Kromy |
| Scene 2. | Session of the Council of Boyars. Death of Boris |
| Pimen's Narrative |