I saw Boris Godunov last week at Covent Garden. I thought the performance was a mixed affair really. Part of the problem is the multifarious editions of the music – this was supposedly the original, which doesn’t have a Polish Act, and doesn’t have the extra colour of Rimsky-Korsakov’s edition. It ends with Boris dying, unlike the Shostakovich version, I think, which ends with a chorus lamenting the eternal fate of the Russian people to be poor and downtrodden. The orchestration is much sparser than either the Rimsky or Shostakovich versions, and occasionally I missed touches both provide, like the multiple gongs of the Coronation scene. In this version it was an opera in 7 scenes, played without an interval, and felt, inevitably a bit episodic, as all versions of Boris probably do. I have only seen Boris once or twice live, and all those performances were a long time ago, in the early 70’s, with Boris Christoff as Boris and using the Rimsky version. This performance didn’t quite match up to my memories of 45 years ago, even though Christoff was really a terrible ham – but he was just riveting to watch!
The production had, I guess, its moments – an extremely colourful coronation scene, and a very clever iconostasis effect (see attached photo), where the noblemen plotted, and where multiple versions of Dmitri’s murder were shown, in the shadows. Less effective was the way in which Richard Jones, the Director, brigaded the chorus (enlarged) in straight lines (I suspect this is a feature of his work – I see to remember something similar happening at the ENO Mastersingers 4-5 years ago) which, in a context where different parts of the Chorus are often asking each other questions and responding to them, didn’t always make sense. The setting of the Inn scene seemed odd – a huge bare stage, a preposterously long bar, and no use of the chorus or extras. The costumes of the boyars looked more Regency than early 17th century shaggy Russian nobles– again odd – although Boris had a big bear-like furred white coat. A bit of a mixed bag then, visually.
Vocally, however, things were much better. For a start, there was John Tomlinson as the drunken monk Salaam, sounding in excellent voice, with a spoon tapping sidekick. David Butt Philip was a good False Dimitri, whose voice sounded stronger than I would have expected in a big theatre. And of course, Bryn Terfel…… Obviously he is not your standard dark -voiced Russian bass (as say Christoff was). But he has a much wider range of colours in his voice than the aforesaid Russian basses, and there was some beautifully soft and warm singing from him. He could summon up also considerable reserves of volume for the Coronation scene. The last scene, with Boris’ collapse and death, was very moving. The augmented chorus sounded magnificent. I have given up on ever hearing a warm enveloping orchestral sound at ROHCG – its acoustic is at the opposite remove to the Coliseum’s. I scarcely noted what was happening with the orchestra – not sure whether that is a good or bad thing….The conductor was Marc Albrecht (I note he’s conducting a Wagner evening at the Proms this year with Christina Goetz) who certainly didn’t do anything positively wrong, in terms of tempi etc, but whose contribution seemed somehow a bit faceless. So some good moments, but not entirely a convincing or memorable evening, I’m afraid to say…..
John's musical journey 