05/26/12 – Boris Godunov – 1:00pm

Lyric Opera of Chicago

Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky

 

Approximate Running Time: 2 hours, 41 minutes,
sung in Russian

It’s one of the most searing lyric dramas of all time, featuring arguably the greatest bass role ever created.

The magnificent Ferruccio Furlanetto is Boris, who’s haunted by the specter of the child he murdered to become Czar, surrounded by whispers and enemies, and threatened by a pretender to his throne. And not only that — his people are starving.

The score radiates all the grief and grandeur that was Czarist Russia, with thrilling music for the huge chorus. But this masterwork is extraordinary in its intimacy, too — revealing Boris as both the public and the private man, as it peels open the psyche of a tormented ruler who succumbs to his own guilty conscience.

In a stunning fusion of singing and acting, Ferruccio Furlanetto simply is Boris. “Whether in private demonstrations of power, private fragility, or final collapse, he is the intense center of a monumental tragedy.” Der Standard, Vienna

Lyric favorites Andrea Silvestrelli and Raymond Aceto, two resplendent voices, join Mr. Furlanetto in this opera that boasts not just one but three great bass roles. The celebrated Czech tenor Štefan Margita is Shuisky, the Czar’s duplicitous advisor.

CAST/CREW:

Boris Godunov
Ferruccio Furlanetto

Shuisky
Štefan Margita

Pimen
Andrea Silvestrelli

Varlaam
Raymond Aceto

Conductor
Sir Andrew Davis

Original Production
Stein Winge

Director
Julia Pevzner

Set Designer
Göran Wassberg

Costume Designer
Kari Gravklev

Lighting Designer
Duane Schuler

Chorus Master
Michael Black