Mussorgsky, Modest - Boris Godunov (Overture ENO Guide)

• Expert Aricles on the opera and its performance history.
• Original text of the libretto facing a literal English translation.
• Black and white pictures
• Thematic guide to the score
• Bibliography & discography

• New Paperback | 166 pp.
• ISBN: 9780714544151
• Published: 2011

This famous opera has had a chequered performance history, and Professor Laurel E. Fay points out that the interpretation of the opera depends on which edition is used. Robert Oldani introduces the “Boris problem”: Pushkin’s play was not an obvious choice for a young composer, since it had been banned for forty years, and it is the Russian people, rather than any single character, who is the protagonist. Alex de Jonge examines its uniquely Russian character and notes the unsettling parallels of the history of old Russia with today. Nigel Osborne’s comparison of the Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky versions highlights their individual qualities.

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'Brilliantly produced and superb value.' Sunday Times

'All these will provide the new opera-goer with food for thought.' Daily Telegraph

'Wholehearted recommendation of this valuable new series.' TLS

English National Opera Guide Number 11