On 6 February (19:00), 7 February (13:00 and 19:00) and 8 February (13:00 and 19:00) the New Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre presents the first performances of one of the most eagerly awaited premieres of the season – Modest Musorgsky’s monumental opera Boris Godunov.
The new production is created by renowned Bulgarian theatre artists: stage director Orlin Anastassov and set designer Denis Ivanov. On 6 and 8 February (19:00) the title role will be sung by People’s Artist of Russia Ildar Abdrazakov. Valery Gergiev will conduct all premiere performances.
The Mariinsky Theatre hosted the world premiere of Boris Godunov on 27 January 1874, yet the opera’s journey to the stage proved long and arduous. Musorgsky submitted his first version to the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres in 1869, but officials rejected it. Refusing to abandon the work, the composer undertook major revisions: he expanded the cast, added new scenes, and reshaped existing ones. Even then acceptance came slowly. Only through the determination of leading soloists of the Russian Opera Company did Boris Godunov finally reach the Imperial stage.
The opera’s early-stage life remained turbulent. After just twenty-six performances, theatres withdrew it from the repertoire in 1882. A decisive turning point arrived in 1898, when the Moscow Private Opera staged Boris Godunov in Rimsky-Korsakov’s edition, with Feodor Chaliapin in the title role. Success followed immediately. Russian theatres embraced the opera, including the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky, and soon the world’s leading stages followed. Milan, Paris, London and New York acclaimed Chaliapin’s portrayal of the tormented tsar. Since then the opera’s international stature has only grown, securing Boris Godunov a place among the most frequently performed Russian operas.
Several versions of the score now coexist. Musorgsky continued revising the opera after its premiere; later Rimsky-Korsakov and Pavel Lamm produced their own editions, while the Kirov Theatre performed the opera for a decade in Dmitri Shostakovich’s orchestration. For this new Mariinsky Theatre production the theatre returns to Musorgsky’s original authorial version of 1869.
Gifted with exceptional literary instincts, Musorgsky wrote the libretto himself, drawing on Alexander Pushkin’s tragedy and Nikolai Karamzin’s History of the Russian State. The idea of portraying the people as a central dramatic force gripped the composer profoundly. In Boris Godunov he revealed both the rebellious energy of the narod (people/folk/nation) and the devastating solitude of a ruler abandoned by his subjects.
The Mariinsky Theatre’s new production reunites a creative team already familiar to St Petersburg audiences from their acclaimed staging of Verdi’s Ernani. Anastassov and Ivanov approach Boris Godunov on a truly monumental scale. Designers have constructed six vast scenic pavilions, each equipped with mobile modules. These elements transform before the audience’s eyes, lending the performance a striking cinematic fluidity.
The production draws on classical theatrical traditions and historical research, yet it avoids museum-like reconstruction. Architecture and costumes reinterpret historical forms through metaphor rather than literal replication. This approach invites the audience to engage actively with the drama and its meanings.
Two opposing visual motifs shape the scenography. Ice, cold and snow evoke the Little Ice Age during Boris’ reign – a time of relentless winter and catastrophic famine. In contrast, gold and brilliance symbolise power and authority. Costume workshops hand-covered the boyars’ garments with vast quantities of metal leaf, an extraordinarily demanding process. Ice and gold thus embody two colliding worlds – the people and the tsar – each carrying its own burden of tragedy.
Cast includes:
Boris Godunov: Ildar Abdrazakov, Yevgeny Nikitin, Gleb Peryazev, Stanislav Trofimov
Shuisky: Yevgeny Akimov, Dmitry Golovnin, Alexander Mangutov
Pimen: Yuri Vorobiov, Mikhail Petrenko, Oleg Sychov
Grigory Otrepyev: Gamid Abdulov, Kirill Belov, Roman Shirokikh
The Holy Fool: Andrei Zorin, Andrei Popov
Andrey Shchelkalov: Vyacheslav Vasilyev, Vladislav Kupriyanov, Pavel Yankovsky
Varlaam: Mikhail Kolelishvili, Miroslav Molchanov, Yakov Strizhak
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