BORIS GODUNOV

Composer: Modest Mussorgsky. Text adapted from Alexander Pushkin's verse play Boris Godunov. First staged: January 27, 1874.

THE STORY OF THE OPERA

The theme of the opera is the working of remorse in the conscience of the regicide usurper, Boris Godunov, after his rise to supreme power, and his dread of another usurper, the ex-monk Grigory, who poses as the murdered Tsarevich Dimitri, and incites the people against Boris.

THE PROLOGUE

The Prologue depicts Boris accepting the crown of Russia after the people — ignorant, superstition-ridden, and apathetic— have been forced into staging demonstrations of support. At his Coronation, Boris enters upon his reign with foreboding.
ACT I

In a monastery cell the ancient monk Pimen is writing his chronicles by the light of a lamp. The young monk Grigory speaks of his desire to emulate the old chroniclers brilliant and warlike past, but is gently reminded that the pursuit of power and glory does not often bring content, as many monarchs have found. However, he does elicit from Pimen the information that had the murdered Tsarevich Dimitri lived, he would now be about Grigory's age.

Grigory determines to pose as the missing Tsarevich, Dimitri. Journeying to Poland, he enters an inn on the Lithuanian border in the company of two vagabond monks, Varlaam and Missail, who settle down to carousing. Presently guards burst in, searching for the escaped monk, Grigory, who is pursued by order of the Tsar. Grigory, who is recognized from the description in a warrant, escapes through a window, and makes his way over the border to Poland, where he raises forces to march against Boris.

ACT II

Six years have passed since Boris's accession. He is shown in the company of his children, but the workings of conscience soon put an end to the peaceful domestic scene. As it seems to him, all the evils and misfortunes of his reign can be laid at the door of his crime. In the midst of these troubled meditations the ambitious Prince Shuisky arrives to report the uprising in Lithuania of the Pretender, Dimitri, to whose cause nobles and peasants are flocking. After dismissing Shuisky, whom he has reason to suspect of complicity in the plot, Boris sinks into a chair. The chiming of a clock seems like the accusing voice of conscience and his disordered imagination conjures up before him a vision of the murdered child in all its dreadful detail. Near to collapse, Boris prays heaven for mercy on his guilty soul.

ACT III
The heart of the Princess Marina of Poland has been won by Dimitri, now Pretender to the throne of Russia, who seeks to overthrow the grim usurper, Boris. Marina longs to reign as queen in Moscow, and is persuading her countrymen to support her lover.

ACT IV

At an emergency meeting of the Council of Boyars, Boris is seized with pains which admonish him that his end is near, and sends for his young son. In impressive and touching words he bids farewell to the Tsarevich, to whose youthful hands he must resign his scepter. Then, starting from his chair with the cry, "Wait! I am still Tsar!", he suddenly feels the nearness of death, and confiding his son to the boyars whispers, "There is your Tsar.... Forgive me, forgive me!" and expires. The Pretender Grigory appears in Russia and is acclaimed by the oppressed and rebellious people as the rightful Tsar Dimitri.
Prologue
Scene 1

 The courtyard of the Monastery of Novodievich near Moscow. On the right the gate of the Monastery is seen with a tower above it. The stage is filled with people who wander about idly. A police officer enters.

POLICE OFFICER (to the people) Now then! Have you turned to idols? Quickly! On your knees! Come on! Quickly! What a lot of devils you are!
THE PEOPLE (kneeling) Why dost thou forsake us, O Father! Ah! Why dost thou forsake us, O Father? Are we not your poor defenseless orphans ? Ah! We entreat thee, our tears are falling with our prayers! Mercy! Mercy! Our master and Father! Our Father! Thou art our protector! Boyar, have mercy! Mercy! (The police officer goes out) Mitukh, say, Mitukh! What are we shouting for?
MITUKH Well, how should I know?
PEOPLE To give our Russian land a Tsar!
FIRST PEASANT WOMAN Oh dear! I am quite hoarse with shouting! Tell me, neighbor dear, have you got any water left ?
SECOND PEASANT WOMAN And who do you think you are!
WOMEN She shouted loudest of all, she should have had some with her!
SECOND PEASANT Now you women, stop this chatter!
WOMEN And who are you to give orders? Have you become a constable ?
MITUKH Oh! You witches, stop this noise!
WOMEN (amid laughter and catcalls from the men) Ah! You cursed devil! What a pagan we have here! What a rascal this man is! Come woman, let us go, let us flee in all haste from this ill- luck! (Reenters the police officer. Seeing him, the women quickly kneel, and all become motionless as before)
POLICE OFFICER (to the people) Now then! Why are you silent? Or are you saving your voices? (he threatens them) Take care now! Have you forgotten the taste of the whip on your backs.' (he approaches them) l'll teach you quickly!
WOMEN Do not be angry, Mikitich! Do not be angry, my dear!
PEASANTS Just let us get our breath back and we will yell some more! (aside) He won't even let us breathe, the devil!
POLICE OFFICER Now then! Only don't spare your voices!
PEASANTS All right.
POLICE OFFICER Well then !
PEOPLE (with all their might ) Why dost thou forsake us, O Father? Ah why dost thou leave us, O Father? Are we not your poor defenseless orphans? Our tears are falling with our prayers. Mercy! Mercy! Our boyar and Father, Our Father! Our Father! Our Protector! Our Protector! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! (Enter Shchelkalov)
POLICE OFFICER (He perceives Shchelkalov and makes a sign to the people) Enough! Stand up! The clerk of the Duma speaks! (The people rise)
SHCHELKALOV (advances towards the people and salutes them taking off his cap) Orthodox people all! The boyar will not yield! He will not heed the appeal of the Duma and Patriarchs, and will not accept the Tsar's throne. Woe unto Russia . . . Yes, woe unto us, ye Orthodox people! Our land groans for want of a ruler. Put your faith in the Lord, that He may send comfort to our troubled Russia . . . And may He guide in His wisdom Boris' weary soul ! . . .(He goes out)
(The scene is lit up by the rays of the sunrise. The singing of blind wandering pilgrims is heard in the distance)
PILGRIMS Glory to Thee, O Lord on earth! Glory unto the powers of Heaven, unto all the Saints and unto Russia! (The people whisper: 'Messengers of God') Thus spoke the Angel of the Lord: Arise, stormy clouds, travel through the heavens and cover this Russian land. (The pilgrims enter, leaning again upon the shoulders of their guides) Slay the cruel serpent the many-headed dragon, which have brought discord to our Russian land. Let all Christians hear this, for they will be saved! (They distribute amulets among the people) Dress yourselves in bright vestments uplift the sacred icons of all our holy Saints and go to meet the Tsar. (As they enter the convent the song gradually dies away) Sing praises unto the Lord and unto the holy Heaven. Glory be to God on earth our heavenly Father!

 

Scene 2

The courtyard of the Kremlin in Moscow. Facing the spectators in the background is the Grand Staircase leading to the Tsar's apartments. On the right and near the front, the people, on their knees, Occupy' the space between the two Cathedrals of the Assumption and the Archangel, the porches of which are both visible.

PRINCE SHUISKY (from the porch of the Cathedral of the Assumption) Long live Tsar Boris Feodorovich!
THE PEOPLE Long life and happiness, our Tsar, our little father!
PRINCE SHUISKY Praise him!
THE PEOPLE Like unto the bright sun in the sky Glory! Glory! is the glory of Russia's Tsar Boris! Glory!

(The Tsar's procession begins to come out of the Cathedral: the police make the people fall in line)

PEOPLE Long may you live and reign, O Tsar, our father! Long may you live and reign, O Tsar, our father! Long may you live, Tsar our father, and prosper! Rejoice, 0 people! Rejoice and be merry, 0 people! Rejoice ye Russian people! Rejoice ye Russian people! Honor and praise Tsar Boris!
BOYARS All hail Tsar Boris Feodorovich!
PEOPLE All hail!
BOYARS All hail Tsar Boris Feodorovich!
PEOPLE Glory! Glory! Like unto the bright sun in the sky, glory! Glory! Glory! Thou our Tsar, our father, thou our Tsar,
BOYARS All hail Tsar Boris Feodorovich!
PEOPLE All hail! Like unto the bright sun in the sky, Glory! Glory! All hail to Boris, Russia's tsar! Glory to the tsar, glory! Glory, glory, glory, glory!
BORIS My soul is sad! Strange, dark forebodings and evil presentiments oppress my spirit. Oh, Holy Saint, oh my Almighty Father'
Look down from heaven on the tears of thy sinful servant, and send down thy holy blessing upon my reign !
May I be honest and merciful as Thou and reign in glory over my people. Now let us go to kneel before the tombs of Russia's former monarchs. Then all the people are summoned to a feast: all, from the boyars to the blind beggars, all are invited, all shall be my honored guests.
(The Procession moves on towards the Cathedral/ of the Archangel/)
 PEOPLE Glory, glory, glory! Long may you live and reign, O tsar, our father!
(The bells ring out, and the people rush towards the Cathedral of the Archangel. The police try to establish order).
 Glory! Glory! To thee, our Tsar!
BOYARS All hail, Tsar Boris Feodorovich!
PEOPLE All hail! Like unto the bright Sun in the sky, Glory, glory! is the glory of Russia's Tsar Boris, glory, glory and long life, glory!
(General confusion. Boris appears from the Archangel/ Cathedral and goes in procession towards Tsar's s apartments) Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory!

From Act 2
6 years after the coronation; in the Moscow Kremlin; Boris has received news a pretender Dmitrii has appeared in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.


BORIS Vassily Ivanich! By God and all that is holy I adjure you honestly to tell me the whole truth. You know that I am merciful. But should you lie to me, I promise you a death so terrible, so frightful, that Tsar Ivan himself will shudder in his grave in horror! I await your answer!
SHUISKY I fear not death but fear your displeasure. In the cathedral of Uglich, before the eyes of all the people, I watched for five days the body of the child. Some thirteen bodies lay around him, disfigured, covered in blood, in filthy rags; and on them corruption had already noticeably begun. But the face of the young tsarevich was still serene, untroubled and pure. The deep wound gaped horribly, but on his lips there was a lovely smile. It seemed that he was asleep in his cradle, his hands folded together, still grasping some little toy . . .
BORIS Enough! . . .(Boris makes a sign to dismiss Shuisky and as the latter withdraws, he glances back at Boris, who sinks back into his armchair) Ouf! I suffocate! I find it hard to breathe! I felt a rush of blood, rushing to my brain, and it is still there. O, remorseless conscience, how sternly do you punish me! (It grows dark, and the clock with chiming figures begins to play).
If you are marked by one spot, by just a single spot, the soul burns, the heart is filled with poison one becomes so oppressed, so oppressed that it is as if a hammer is beating in one's ears with reproaches and curses and somehow one becomes stifled, stifled . . . and one's head spins . . . and one sees before one's eyes . . . the bloody child! . . .

There . . . over there . . . what is it! There in the corner ? It grows . . it comes near me . . . it trembles and groans . . . Away, away! Not me . . . I am not your killer . . . Away, away! Away child! 'tis not me, no, not me . . . the will of the people . . . Away child! O God, you do not wish a sinner's death; have mercy on the soul of the guilty Tsar Boris!

From the end of Act 3
In the garden of the King's court in Poland

MARINA So, it is not Marina but only the woman in me that you love? You can only tempt me with the throne of the Tsars of Moscow,
with their crown and with their scepter.
Dimitri You are breaking my heart, cruel Marina! Your words are like the icy touch of Death. See, I kneel before you I kneel before you, and beg you not to turn from my love for you!
MARINA Rise, my feeble lover, do not torture yourself any more. Rise, you poor suffering martyr, how I pity you! I pity you, my dear. You are exhausted, lost for the love of your Marina. You dream of her night and day; you have forgotten all about the throne, all about your fight against Tsar Boris. Begone, begone you miserable tramp!
DIMITRI Marina, what is the matter?
MARINA Go! You abject impostor! Begone, you slave!
DIMITRI Wait, Marina! Are you reproaching me with my life before I knew you ? You lie, insolent Pole! I am the Tsarevich! From every corner of Russia tomorrow we shall fly to battle, with me at the head of all these brave warriors, straight to the Moscow Kremlin, unto my father's throne, to which I am destined. But when I am Tsar, with all the power and greatness I shall find such pleasure in mocking you, I shall enjoy watching you, having lost a kingdom, you will be a slave kneeling in front of my throne; I shall order all to mock you, to mock this stupid Polish girl!
MARINA Mock me! . . . O Tsarevich, I beg you: forgive my cruel words I did not reproach you, I did not mock you, my words were prompted by my love for you my wish for your glory, for your greatness led me to speak thus tonight. My dearest, most desired, your Marina will not betray you! Forget her; forget your love for her; hurry unto your father's throne!
DIMITRI Marina! My very soul is tortured by the falsehoods of your love.
MARINA I love you, my dearest, you have won me!
DIMITRI Repeat those words again, Marina! Do not withhold this pleasure but delight my soul! My enchantress, dearest to my heart!
MARINA My Tsar!
DIMITRI Rise, my queen, my most beautiful one! Embrace me, rise, embrace me!
MARINA You have given me fresh hope and courage! You have won me!

(They embrace. Rangoni (a Jesuit priest) is seen watching them in the distance)

 

from Act 4 Scene 1
Crowd scene in Moscow's Kremlin. (Enter a simpleton [a yurodivyi], surrounded by a group of children)

CHILDREN Trrr . . . old saucepan head, old saucepan head! Trrr . . . old saucepan head, old saucepan head!
Oolyu!-luy-lyu-lyu-Trrr ! . . .
SIMPLETON (He sits on a stone, sings, rocking himself to and fro) The moon is shining, the kitten is crying. Simpleton, rise now, pray to God, pray to Jesus Christ. Christ is our Lord. There will be fine weather; there will be a moon. There will be fine weather, a moon . . .
CHILDREN Hello, Hello, simpleton, rise, greet us with respect and bow to us all. Take off your hat and greet us! (They tap on the iron saucepan he wears for a hat) Ding, ding, ding, it rings!
SIMPLETON I have a kopeck!
CHILDREN You are joking! You can't fool us!
SIMPLETON (searches for his coin) See!
CHILDREN(snatching it from him) Whit!
SIMPLETON Ah! Ah! Ah! They have insulted the simpleton! Ah! Ah! Ah! They have stolen his farthing! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
(Boris, with his entourage pass through the crowd to distribute alms. When he learns that the children have taken the Simpleton's coin, he orders someone in his entourage to give the Simpleton a coin.)
BORIS: What is he crying about?
SIMPLETON: The children have taken my kopeck. Give the command to slaughter them, as you slaughtered the young tsarevich.
SHUISKY: Seize the simpleton!
BORIS: Don't touch him! Pray for me, simpleton.
SIMPLETON: That's impossible. Impossible. It's impossible to pray for King Herod. The Mother of God will not let it happen.
(Boris is greatly disturbed by this sign of Heaven's disfavor, and moves on without harming the simpleton)
SIMPLETON Tears, bitter tears must fall, our holy people must weep, the enemy will soon be here and darkness will fall, terrible darkness impenetrable darkness. Woe, woe unto Russia! Weep weep Russian folk hungry folk

From Act 4 Scene 2
The Moscow Kremlin, Boris is consulting with Boyars about the Polish-Lithuanian invasion, when he is struck down.

BORIS Oh! I stifle! Give me light! (Boris falls into the arms of the boyars) Call the tsarevich quickly! Oh! This is the end! Bring my vestments!
(The boyars place him in a chair. Some of them go to fetch the tsarevich, others hasten to bring the monks of the Monastery of the Miracle. Feodor, Boris's son, comes running in)
Leave us alone! Go, all of you! Farewell, my son, I am dying. Soon you will begin your reign. Do not ask me how I obtained this crown; you need not know. You will reign by right, as my successor, as my firstborn son. My son, my dearest child! Do not trust the treacherous boyars, closely watch their secret dealings with Lithuania. Punish treachery without mercy, punish mercilessly. Render justice to your people in a fair, impartial way. Be a staunch defender of our true faith and respect the laws of God's saints! Protect your sister Xenia, the tsaryevna, my son. You will be the only defender for our Xenia, our gentle dove.
O Lord! O Lord! Look down, I pray, on the tears of a sinful father! I do not pray for myself, not for myself, O Lord! From your unassailable mountain heights, send down your blessing on my children, so innocent, helpless, pure . . . O heavens above! Guard this throne! Protect with heavenly wings my son, my dear one, from all evil, from temptation! (He folds his son in his arms and kisses kisses him. The funeral bell is heard ) The bell! The passing bell!
FEODOR Father, be comforted! The Lord will help you!
BORIS No, no, my son, my hour has come! . . . God, God above! I feel oppressed! Will my sin never be forgiven ? O cruel death, must you torture me so! Wait! I am still Tsar! I am still Tsar! . . .(Tries to climb onto the throne) My God! Death! Forgive me! (He falls dead )

The opera ends with the Pretender Grigory appearing in Russia where he is acclaimed by the oppressed and rebellious people as the rightful Tsar Dimitri. The Polish forces that accompany him murder Boris Godunov's children. The People have exchanged one flawed ruler for another.

Last updated February 14, 2001