Boris Godunov at the Royal Opera

"Mussorgsky drafted his own libretto from Pushkin's drama and Karamzin's History of the Russian State, composing an initial sevenscene version between 1868 and 1869. This original score, the one being used for Jones' production, focused on Boris' psychological unravelling, the scheming that took place around him and his relationship with the Russian populace. There was no conventional love plot which led to the opera being rejected by the Imperial Theatres in 1871."

"In response, Mussorgsky created a revised version (187172), expanding the structure to nine scenes, adding a love story and reworking several existing scenes. The revision moved somewhat away from stark realism toward a more lyrically operatic style, yet it preserved the speechderived vocal writing, raw harmonies and dark Asiatic sonororities that made the work so radical. The revised version premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg in 1874, marking Mussorgsky's only completed opera to reach the stage."

Richard Jones's production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov has returned to the Royal Opera House for a third staging, following runs in 2016 and 2019. Bryn Terfel reprises the haunted czar. Mussorgsky drafted his libretto from Pushkin's drama and Karamzin's History of the Russian State and composed an initial seven-scene score in 1868–69 that foregrounded Boris's psychological unravelling, court scheming and his fraught relationship with the Russian populace. The lack of a conventional love plot led to rejection by the Imperial Theatres in 1871. Mussorgsky revised the opera in 1871–72 to nine scenes, added a love story while retaining speech-derived vocal writing, raw harmonies and dark Asiatic sonorities. The revision premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1874. The narrative follows a destabilised Russia after Tsar Fyodor's death, rumours that Boris murdered Dmitry, Boris's guilty visions, political unrest and the monk Pimen's revelation that prompts Grigory to flee.

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