jan 1, 1874 - Boris Gudonov

Description:

an opera by Modest Mussorgsky.

Art and Autocracy
1. Historical themes were popular stories for operas in the nineteenth century.
2. In the late nineteenth century, the tsar controlled everything, and censorship was
stringent.
3. Russian art moved away from Romanticism toward realism, regarding beauty with
skepticism.
4. Mussorgsky used the past to comment on the present.
a. Pushkin wrote Boris Godunov in deliberate imitation of Shakespeare’s history plays.
b. The play is a commentary on kingship and legitimacy, and it was not performed
until 1866 (*NB: this is the play, NOT the opera).
5. Mussorgsky took out all scenes that did not include Boris, leaving Pushkin’s text intact but succinct and direct.

The Coronation Scene
1. The Prologue (Coronation Scene) is the most famous scene in Boris Godunov.
2. Musical realism extends from the declamation of text to instrumentation and harmony.

Revising Boris Godunov
1. Mussorgsky could not get Boris Godunov performed at first, because there was no role
for a prima donna.
a. He added the role, which had existed to a degree in Pushkin already.
2. He made other revisions, and not necessarily against his will (as has been told).
a. Upon hearing the opera, a group of friends did not receive it the way Mussorgsky had intended. He was dissatisfied at not having communicated effectively.
3. Much of Mussorgsky’s music has been edited by other composers, most notably Pictures at an Exhibition.
a. Originally composed for piano, Ravel orchestrated it.
b. Rimsky-Korsakov reorchestrated Boris Godunov and other works.

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