Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s one-act BORIS GODUNOV, starring the great René Pape, is a striking and oddly satisfying operatic experience

• By drediman
• October 6, 2021
• No Comments

Last night at the Metropolitan Opera, I attended a performance of Boris Godunov – a performance which has the distinction of being the first fully staged opera I’ve experienced in-person in just about 19 months (I did, however, attend the Met’s moving concert of Verdi’s Requiem in commemoration of 9/11 last month, and I’ve yet to make it to Terence Blanchard’s much publicized Fire Shut Up in My Bones). The last time the Met presented the Mussorgsky opera was more than a decade ago when director Stephen Wadsworth’s production was new. Although that run also starred the great German bass René Pape in the title role, it was in a sprawling patchwork version of the opera that necessitated a four-and-a-half hour run time and two intermissions. For the current run, the Met has – for the first time in its history – opted to use the original single act edition (before it was tampered with by Rimsky-Korsakov), thereby cutting the overall running time approximately in half.

Admittedly, Mussorgsky’s work is not one that I’d recommend bringing opera newbies to, especially without the grand opera trappings of the expanded version(s). First off, the story of a psychologically troubled tsar and his escalating paranoia during his reign makes for a relentlessly grim night at the opera. And while Mussorgsky’s score ebbs and flows organically with uncanny conversational grace, it lacks the melodic, show-stopping arias and vibrant orchestral colors that many typically associate with the art form. Nevertheless, on a number of fronts, the opera makes for fascinating viewing – particularly with respect to its prescient features. Indeed, its exploration of the psychological impact of swaying public opinion is prophetic of the times we live in. In addition, its depictions of an unstable political environment and a polarized public is likely to be instantly recognizable to most of us. Suffice to say, Boris Godunov, particularly in this form, is a striking and oddly satisfying operatic experience (despite its relative austerity).

Musically, the performance was superb, as assuredly led in the pit by conductor Sebastian Weigle. Returning to the role of Boris is Mr. Pape, whose performance was outstanding last night. Astonishingly, time has done little to diminish the luxurious timbre of his glorious bass, and his dramatic performance captured the Shakespearean dimensions of the titular tsar’s existential struggles with nuance and raw feeling (there are shades of Macbeth and Henry IV in the character). The rest of the principal cast – a lot of them are relatively new talents on the Met stage – was excellent, many of them giving distinctive performances that added rich texture to the opera (Miles Mykkanen as the Holy Fool and Ryan Speedo Green as Varlaam made especially strong impressions). And as always, the heavily-utilized Met chorus sounded as robust and wonderful as ever. The 11-year-old staging by Mr. Wadsworth (who salvaged the production when director Peter Stein unexpectedly quit) remains an ideal balance between tasteful restraint and efficient, elegant plotting.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

BORIS GODUNOV
Opera
The Metropolitan Opera
2 hours, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
In repertory through October 17