Modest Mussorgsky

Boris Godunow. Modest Mussorgsky

Modest Mussorgsky's 'Boris Godunov', based on Pushkin's eponymous Demetrius drama, is one of the operas raising the question about their definitive version. After the 'first Boris' was rejected in 1868-69, the work was revised into the 'original Boris' with the help of Mussorgsky's friend Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, which is the version on which the present book is based. Apart from the libretto, this edition contains introductory commentaries of Kurt Pahlen who also adds information on the compositional structure and context to the musical as well as external and internal dramatic action of the opera. A synopsis and a brief outline of the genesis bring the work into relation with the composer's entire oeuvre and life, thus offering a comprehensive, richly illustrated introduction.