"Boris Godunov" staged by the Bolshoi Theater is an example of the "grand style" of the mid-20th century preserved to this day. Referring to Mussorgsky's “folk musical drama” (the composer gave such a genre definition to his work), the creators of the play - conductor Nikolai Golovanov, director Leonid Baratov, artist Fyodor Fedorovsky, choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky - created a work of epic proportions. Historically accurate scenery and costumes, large-scale mass scenes, detailed psychological study of images - all this makes the performance a unique monument of the era.
To take up Pushkin's "Boris Godunov" Mussorgsky was advised by his friend, the historian Vladimir Nikolsky. The composer was extremely carried away by this task. In his work, he focused on two lines: the tragedy of the people and the "tragedy of conscience" of Tsar Boris. “I understand the people as a great person, animated by a single idea: this is my task. I tried to solve it in the opera, "- with such an author's commentary, the clavier of the opera was published in 1874.
The composer himself wrote the libretto, and he used not only the text of Pushkin's tragedy, but also other materials: "History of the Russian State" by Karamzin, historical documents. Work proceeded quickly, on a great rise: Mussorgsky began composing music in October 1868, a month and a half later the first act was ready, and in May 1869 - the entire clavier. Some scenes were performed with friends. “Joy, admiration, admiration were universal,” later recalled Vladimir Stasov, the inspirer and ideologist of the “Mighty Handful”. By December, the instrumentation was completely finished.
In the summer of 1870, Boris Godunov was submitted to the Directorate of Imperial Theaters for consideration. The opera was rejected due to the absence of a significant female party. The composer made a number of changes, added a Polish act and a scene near Kromy. The second edition was completed in the spring of 1872. However, she was also not accepted for production. Without waiting for a favorable decision from the Directorate, a group of leading artists under the guidance of the composer himself began to secretly learn the parts. In 1873, the first public performance of three pictures of the long-suffering opera took place. They were given to a benefit performance directed by Kondratyev. And on January 27, 1874, the Mariinsky Theater finally hosted a full-fledged premiere, the success of which exceeded all expectations.
The interference of the censorship in the fate of the opera greatly complicated the life of potential directors. After all, since 1872 there have been practically two "independent" "Boris": two author's versions, not very easily "mounted" with each other. In 1896, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov proposed his own version of the opera, but, as it turned out, did not close the "question", including for himself. In 1908, at the request of Diaghilev, who intended to introduce this opera to the Parisian public, he made another version. In 1927, the musicologist Pavel Lamm prepared a consolidated author's version of the opera. In 1940, Dmitry Shostakovich made his own edition.
At the Bolshoi Theater, Boris Godunov was traditionally aired by Rimsky-Korsakov. To it was added the scene "At St. Basil's," orchestrated by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov. It was first shown at the Bolshoi Theater in 1927.
For many years Boris Godunov was destined to become the most popular Russian opera in the West, expressing the spirit of the Russian people. Fyodor Chaliapin, the consummate performer of the title role, brought world fame to the work.
For the first time "Boris Godunov" was staged at the Bolshoi Theater in 1888, but quickly left the stage. The opera appeared for the second time in the repertoire in 1901, just in connection with the transfer to Chaliapin's troupe. (The role of the Pretender in this performance was sung by the outstanding tenor of the Bolshoi Leonid Sobinov.)
Almost in its current form, Boris Godunov was staged in 1946, only the scene Under the Kromy was missing. In 1948, she was included in the performance, which then took on its present form.
In 2007, the Bolshoi showed a production based on the second author's version (conductor - Alexander Vedernikov, director - Alexander Sokurov). In 2011, after reopening the Historical Stage after reconstruction, the theater turned back to its glorious history and brought back the famous 1948 production.
"Boris Godunov", which is staged today at the Bolshoi Theater, is a legend performance that has become a symbol of the Bolshoi's identity and historical traditions.
