Boris Godounov (1869 & 1872 Versions)

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
Besides being one of the best modern recordings of this masterpiece about a Macbeth-like czar who murders his way to the top, this five-disc set (sold for the cost of three) presents the opera both in its original 1869 version and in its 1872 revision, side by side. The former is clearly not finished: it needs more scenes (key characters have little stage time), and the ones that do exist don't always make their full dramatic impact. However, there's much brilliance even in nascent form, particularly with the composer's discreet breaks with traditional, functional harmony a full 30 years before Debussy. Even passages that sound inept do so eloquently, thanks to Valery Gergiev's seemingly telepathic rapport with Moussorgsky's psychologically penetrating dramaturgy. Key roles are often double cast, which gives vocal and interpretive variety and shows off just how rich the Kirov Opera is in bass voices. I prefer the earlier Boris (the lighter-voiced, more nuanced Nikolai Putilin) to the beefier Vladimir Vaneev in the later version. The later Grigory, Vladimir Galusin, shouts a bit but in a text-attentive way; besides, his character (the pretend czar) is likely to go for bombast. Borodina's Marina is relentlessly imperious and not sufficiently seductive--the one minor problem in this fine, studio-recorded set that signals a great sonic improvement over Kirov's more fatiguing outings in the Mariinsky Theatre. --David Patrick Stearns

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Customer reviews

review by: Horatio date: 2008-05-14 rating:
Brilliant Boris
I can not compare this version with others it's the first "Boris" I have ever listened to. I enjoyed the performance very much. It was good to have both versions for the price of one. What I don't understand is why the libretto has the russian rendered in cyrillic. Why not a phonetic Russian that none Russian speakers can follow? But do not let this small quibble put you off a fine recording.

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review by: date: 2007-12-29 rating:
Three cheers for the original, harsher 1869 version
Since it appeared in 1998, this two-for-one Boris Godunov has been widely acclaimed. I'd just like to praise the original 1869 version, which is harsher, more compact, and more visceral than all its successors. Here is the Gramophone's brief account of the opera's evolution:

"Mussorgsky composed seven scenes: outside the Novedevichy Monastery, Coronation outside the Kremlin, Pimen's Cell, the Inn, the Tsar's rooms in the Kremlin, outside St Basil's Cathedral, Boris's Death in the Kremlin. When these were rejected by the Imperial Theatres in 1872, he made various revisions. To meet objections about the lack of female roles, he added the two scenes with the Polish princess Marina Mniszek; he also substituted the final Kromy Forest scene for the St Basil's scene (causing a problem by duplicating the episode with the yurodivy, or holy fool). He made a large number of adjustments, some minor, some more significant (such as dropping Pimen's narration of the murder of the young Tsarevich), and one huge, the complete rewriting of the original fifth scene, in the Kremlin, sometimes known as the Terem scene (terem is an obsolete word for a room in a tower). This was the work he resubmitted, and which was first performed in St Petersburg in 1874. Rimsky-Korsakov's famous version (which does much more than reorchestrate) was first heard in 1896, and for many years superseded its predecessors. "

We are used to a central character who expresses many sides of Tsar Boris, but Putilin gives us the raw, villainous Boris that Mussorgsky wanted to convey originally, before he humanized him in various ways, but chiefly throughhis love of his sonFyodor. I found myself riveted to that chatacter, and I agree with those who say that the 1869 and 1872 operas aren't different versions but different works. Gergiev's account is the only one available of the original boris, so it's all the more wonderful that his recording contains so much dramatic fire and passion.

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review by: Osvaldo Colarusso date: 2007-12-15 rating:
Two times a great opera
Boris Godunov is really one of the most important operas of all times. With L'Orfeo (Monteverdi) ,Don Giovanni, Tristan, Pelleas , Wozzeck , we are with this opera at a very high level . Fortunately , after 1975 we normally hear this opera as the author wrote , not with the modifications of Korsakow , that aren't one "orchestration " but one important change in Harmony, rhythms, and sequence of the scenes . Maybe we can consider the work of Korsakow important in a time when the modernity of the music was really incomprehensible( Napravnick , the conductor of the premiere was a very bad musician as he conducted but acted against the work and after the death of Mussorgsky he did the same thing with Khowantscina : he refused the last opera Mussorgsky to be played in S. Petersburg) . But I would know how it were a soft version of Tristan and Wozzeck . Now that we can hear the opera as the composer wrote . we are happy to hear the two versions that Mussorgsky wrote of his opera. For the first time in disc we can hear the first version of the Kremlin act and the beginning of the Scene that end the end of the First act of the last version ( the end of the second act in the primitive version).
This recording is really important for the accuracy of the difference of versions , and I think very intelligent not make the cuts in the second version.
Gergiev is with this opera one fantastic conductor. As we can hear in the fantastic DVD with Lloyd, he conducts formidably and convince us that the orchestration original is very good.
The two versions in one album resolve one important problem : the scene of the simpleton normally is omitted from the last scene .The solution of Abbado cutting the end of the scene of Saint Basil is very bad ( but I love this recording too).
The singers are very good, the chorus and the orchestra are fantastic . This is one album that I really recommend, and it is one of the discs that I would bring to a desert island....

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review by: I love classical music date: 2006-12-22 rating:
Boris...Boris?
3 versions, what for! Bad versions, bad singers. You have Fedoseyev (original), Ermler and Melik Pashayev...It sounds much better. Great singers and orchestration

Martin


review by: Eyes that see the *dark things* date: 2006-01-13 rating:
Good for Chorus and libretto
This is a great recording in the chorus section, main casting is less effective vs the Abbado recording. Also this set offers M's "origianl score" which is the 1st 2 cds here. Makes no sense to include the bare sketch of the opera when Rimsky finished the opera. M's original is dull in comparison to Rimsky's. So actually the opera 's authorship is misleading. The opera's ture author's are Mussorgsky-RIMSKY KOR SAKOV. . Lets get this fact straight after all these years of misleading info.
Abbado is really the only one you need, but this recording offers the libretto...One last note I am more than confident that Shostakovich's finished Boris from M, is superior to Rimsky's. But since the russian authorities have Shosty's under lock and key, never to be relaesed, we will never hear it. and why does russia do this dastardly deed of supressing Shosty?
Because they want imsky to live on in fame, they must keep to long standing traditions. Russian's love to death their traditions. Rimsky was first, and thats that.
Also really we should clear up the issue about the overall quality of this opera. Honestly only the 1st half "works". the second part has a few highlights, but mostly is a dud. Falls far short of the masterful 1st half.
Man that ought to get this review alot of no votes. Honesty hurts now doesn't it?

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