Musorgsky’sBoris GodunovRevisited>

Abstract

Boris Godunov is probably one of the most controversial operas in the whole of Russian operatic history, and, quite possibly, one of the uniquely enigmatic works in the entire West European history of the genre. Written by Musorgsky in two significantly differing versions, the opera has never been performed in the shape and forni conceived by its creator, whose conception has many times been worked on, reworked and distorted by a great number of composers, musicologists, directors, conductors and producers. From day one the opera was suiTounded by tales and myths, beginning with the historical events it depicts (was the historical Boris guilty of murder?), the personality and professional qualifications of the composer (he was customarily accused of incompetence) and ending with the origins of the libretto (was the opera based only on Pushkin's play?). Throughout its history Boris Godunov was viewed as a political statement. This tendency to use ideology and social criteria as the main instruments for understanding the artistic process reached its peak during the half-century of Soviet intervention in literature, music, theatre and other forms of artistic expression. This was also a time of intensive research on Musorgsky which led to prolific and, sometimes, profound pieces of scholarship, when the mythologization of Boris Godunov intensified and Musorgsky was made an icon in the pantheon of Soviet cultural and artistic ideology, his views and convictions used and twisted for a variety of ideological causes. This does not mean that the entire body of Soviet and Western research into Musorgsky' s opera can or should be dismissed. On the contrary, throughout these years a wealth of materials and research was accumulated. However, with the disintegration of the Soviet empire and its ideological dogmas and the ensuing re-evaluation and rethinking in all fields of the humanities in post-Communist Russia, a reconsideration of Musorgsky and Boris Godunov is high on the agenda of musicologists, literary critics, art historians and performers. The book under review is one of the first such responses. It attempts to reconsider pressing issues of the past era. It is a comprehensive study that successfully challenges myths that have surrounded Musorgsky' s opera for more