Guido Jentjens

Like Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Boris Godunov is capable of murder in pursuit of power. When Boris’s political opponents substitute a pretend descendant of the previous tsar, the so-called Pretender, to stage a coup d’état, Godunov, tormented by remorse, is certain that it is the reincarnation of his victim who, like an angel of vengeance, has come to take his life. Based on a play by Aleksandr Pushkin about the real-life Boris Godunov, the opera traces the life of the Russian Regent during the Time of Troubles in the late 16th century, from his coronation to his death. This sombre tragedy is about the cries of a nation, the scheming of those in power and the anguish of Boris himself. The music is richly modern, and filled with innovative harmonies based on Russian folk songs and traditional Russian Orthodox church music, and is considered the pinnacle of Russian opera.

The new General Music Director Marcus Bosch discovers the “light Wagner” at his debut in Nuremberg. Under his direction Meister-singer almost becomes a high-spirited, light-hearted comedy. This approach does not detract from the opera’s substance, this is ensured by the select ensemble of singers, the Nuremberg State Orchestra and its new conductor, who thrill the audience and critics from the start.