Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov

Boris Godunov’s premiere, at the Mariinsky Theatre of Saint Petersburg was undeniably a milestone of Russian opera, Shakespearean tragedy about power struggles in tsarist Russia from the “Time of Troubles”, had a highly controversial debut: partial censorship, criticism due to its rawness and innovative character… Time has finally made it a pivotal work in lyrical history.

Boris was the signature role of the amazing Bulgarian bass Boris Christoff, who put it six times on record. Here is the first version from 1952, made available to digital partners for the first time, featuring Nicolai Gedda as the throne usurper Dmitriy and Eugenia Zareska as Fyodor, the beloved son of Boris.