Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina

Opera in 5 Acts

Kent Nagano superbly masters the challenges presented by this score, shapes the dynamics with subtle intensity, and casts the score in a mellow glow. As Marfa, the spurned lover of Ivan Khovansky‘s son Andrei, Doris Soffel unfolds such a rich palette of sonorities, from the pathos of the lower ranges to shaded discant heights, that “one is tempted to speak of a Russian mezzo”. The final chorus, which Mussorgsky did not compose, is played in the orchestrally transparent version of Igor Stravinsky – the third great Russian composer who contributed to making “Khovanshchina“ a timeless, gripping stage work. With his stripped-down sets and historicising costumes, director Dmitri Tcherniakov, one of the new voices of contemporary Russian theatre, builds a bridge to the political present. A lesson in history and music!

Cast

Paata Burchuladze

Ivan Khovansky

Klaus Florian Vogt

Andrei Khovansky

John Daszak

Golitsin

Valeri Alexejev

Shaklovity

Anatoli Kotscherga

Dosifey

Doris Soffel

Marfa

Ilrich Reß

Scrivener

Camilla Nylund

Emma

Kent Nagano

Conductor