BORIS GODUNOV
The opera was rejected for performance by the operatic authorities in the imperial capital of Saint Petersburg, and the composer made some additions to render it more acceptable. The revised work enjoyed some modest success in Russia–it doesn’t seem to have migrated out of the country–during the lifetime of the composer, but then productions gradually died out. The ever-helpful Rimsky-Korsakov rescued the opera from neglect by toning down some of its novelty, and in this form the work became known and accepted in European theaters. But a decade or so ago Mussorgsky’s revised original score began to supplant the Rimsky-Korsakov revision, and ever since Rimsky-Korsakov has been abused for attempting to save his friend’s work: What a ham-handed clod! What a butcher!
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The role of the chorus is extremely important in this show whatever the version, and with other major roles eliminated or abbreviated it almost functions as the second principal. Under Donald Palumbo, it turned in a uniformly good performance, with the coronation scene marking the high point. The Lyric Opera Orchestra under Bruno Bartoletti gave a solid account of itself.
