Boris Goudenow by Mattheson, From (2005/2005), Directed by Lucy Graham, Nils Niemann, Conductor Stephen Stubbs, Paul O'Dette, Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston, United States

The timeless tale of Russian Czar Boris Goudenow is now told through the masterful pen of Johann Mathheson (1681–1764), one of Northern Europe’s leading and most influential composers and mentor to the young George Frideric Handel. Composed in 1710, Mattheson’s Boris Goudenow was not performed during the composer’s lifetime. The reason it was not staged can now only be conjectured, but the score is clearly one of the crowning achievements of Mattheson’s compositional career and of the entire Hamburg opera. Almost three hundred years later, this remarkable rediscovered drama will be presented—fully-staged—for the very first time as can only be accomplished by the superb directors and musicians of the Boston Early Music Festival. The famous story of Boris’s ascension to the Russian throne is brought to life in this “new” re-telling amidst plots of political intrigue, intense love triangles, and the emotions of the entire Russian people. A stunning spectacle of sight and sound, Mattheson’s Boris Goudenow features an all-star cast of internationally-acclaimed singers and instrumentalists and contains all of the elements for which BEMF operas have become renowned—a rich and beautiful score, memorable arias, small ensemble and large choral pieces, spectacular dances, even a children’s troupe of singers and dancers—all supported by our trademark world-class and sumptuous Baroque orchestra. Image