I enjoyed not enjoying this opera.
I appreciated that the Met performed Mussorgsky’s original composition. Later re-writes gift the audience with more chorus at the beginning and end with a fuller plot that balances the male dominated cast with some female voices – but that’s not Mussorgsky – That’s the re-write. I’d rather hear an authentic idea than one polished over for an audience – Broadway is just a mile away.
Mussorgsky is quoted in the evenings playbill that a goal of his was to have the orchestra and singing sound like human speech “without exaggeration and forcing.” If the success of a work of art is for the artist to fulfill his intent – well done. As a contemporary listener I was disappointed because there are brilliant and exciting melodic acrobats in the score that made me sit up and take notice at the unexpected twists and turns, but they just as quickly returned to an almost recitative.
His deep dive into minimalism and experimentation is laudable, if not the most exciting for my ear. I was expecting a little more fun in the orchestra considering Mussorgsky’s orchestral works like Pictures at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain.
Mussorgsky foreshadows earlier works I’ve seen like Debussy’s Pelleas y melisande however this production never came together for me and no component stood on its own to give me the feeling of awe I’m used to at the opera. Rene’ Papa didn’t register the feeling of the character for me, maybe that’s my ear, but their is a big promotional campaign that sells his name in a way I wanted to.
Perhaps there was intent here? The music never found a tempo to pull me along or slow down enough for me go deep and care. This kinda reflects the middling tension inside of the character Boris. He is the most human of kings.
Like Macbeth his humanity comes into conflict with his ambition and the resulting doubt leaves him unable to rule with a selfish fun like Handel’s Agrippina or with the wisdom of Mozart’s La Clemeza di Tito. The king is a mirror to being a good citizen and walking a middle line and never fully enjoying the sacred or the profane.
One shining moment of the night was when Ryan Speedo Green stole the show as Varlaam retelling a story of war to bar patrons – He had a charisma, timing, and voice that
In my personal life I don’t really have any good anecdotes that relate to this opera, no trips down memory lane or doubts about being king. I always think of the goal of actually reaching 101 operas as very secondary to the goal of hearing and seeing the great performances along the way, but this one just felt like a number.
So What’s Boris Godunov all about?
Heavy is the crown.
Notes on the Production:
Conductor ……………………………. Sebastian Weigle
Boris Godunov ……………………. Rene’ Pape
Grigory ………………………………….. David Butt Philip
Prince Shuisky ……………………. Maxim Paster
Varlaam ………………………………… Ryan Speedo Green
Holy Fool ……………………………… Miles Mykkanen
Mitukha ……………………………….. Bradley Garvin