A Russian ruler accused of ‘probable’ involvement in murder? That was the outcome of the recent British inquest into the death of whistleblower Alexander Litvinenko. It’s also the motor which drives Musorgsky’s historical opera “Boris Godunov” at the Royal Opera until April 5. Director Richard Jones gives us a new Covent Garden production which mashes up periods of Russian history without (thank heavens) being clunkily specific.The opera, here performed in its earliest 1869 version, tells the story of Tsar Boris (1551-1605) who is accused of murdering a young heir to the throne to clear his own way to power. Years later, a wily Pretender claims to be the murdered child in order to seize the crown for himself. The conflict pushes the unstable, guilt-ridden Boris to his death.Nicky Gillibrand’s witty costumes draw upon the shapes of traditional Russian cloaks, hats and boots, but mix them up with more recent anoraks, trousers and jackets. There’s more than a hint of seventeenth-century psychedelia too: one senior Orthodox priest looks rather like Demis Roussos in an electric-blue velvet kaftan.Miriam Buether’s split-level set shows a low Kremlin-like room hovering over a dark open space. The lack of a set-change is a disappointment, but Jones uses the two levels to create a clear and unfussy telling of the story.‘Clear’ and ‘unfussy’ aren’t quite enough, however, in an opera about monomaniacal guilt. You need soul-searing terror and pathos too, and in this respect the drama falls unfortunately flat. Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel (in the title role) sings with a beautifully rich and soaring sound, but seems foxed by the demands of the Russian language. His performance, hard-working as it is, sounds rote-learned and lacking in crucial nuances.There’s compensation from the superb John Tomlinson as the drunken and comical beggar Varlaam, Ain Anger as the visionary scribe Pimen, and fresh-voiced David Butt Philip as Grigory the Pretender. All carry a weight of vocal and dramatic authority which gives their scenes a welcome jolt. The chorus sounds terrific, and the ensemble scenes of wailing and praising rattle the rafters just as they should.In the pit, Antonio Pappano’s conducting feels rather like Terfel’s singing: polished and well-crafted, but lacking the animating sparks of spontaneity and pathos which others have brought to the score.Some good singing in a dutiful staging: is this “Boris” good enough? Just about.“Boris Godunov” is in repertoire at the Royal Opera until April 5, and will be broadcast live to cinemas worldwide on March 21.
↧