Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 1: Orchestral Introduction - "Well, what are you waiting for?"
2. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 1: "For whom dost thou forsake us?"
3. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 1: "People of the Orthodox faith"
4. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 1: "Glory to thee, our Lord"
5. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 2: Orchestral Introduction - "Long live Tsar Boris Feodorovich"
6. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 2: "My soul is sad"
7. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 2: "Glory! Glory! Glory!"
8. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 1: "Just one more final tale"
9. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 1: "Lord, our Heavenly Father - That same dream again"
10. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 1: "You have gone on writing"
11. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 1: "Holy father, for a long time"
12. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 1: "Boris! Boris!"
13. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 2: Orchestral Introduction - "Can I bring you anything, reverent fathe
14. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 2: "It all happened in the town of Kazan"
15. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 2: "Why don't you join in the singing?"
16. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 2: "There he goes - What sort of people are you?"
17. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 2, scene 2: "I can read"

Disc 2:

1. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 3: "My dear husband"
2. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 3: "That's enough now, my precious tsarevich"
3. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 3: "I have achieved supreme power"
4. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 3: "Yesterday evening, Pushkin's servant..."
5. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 3: "No! Wait, wait, Shuisky"
6. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 3: "It is not execution that I fear"
7. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 1: Orchestral Introduction - "What? Is mass over?"
8. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 1: "Trrr, trrr, tin hat - The moon is on its travels"
9. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 1: "What is he weeping about?"
10. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 2: "Boyars of noble rank"
11. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 2: "What? Let us vote, boyars"
12. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 2: "Get away... get away!"
13. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 2: "A humble monk"
14. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 2: "Once in a deep sleep"
15. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 2: "Leave us! All of you, go!"
16. Boris Godunov, opera in 7 scenes (1869 version): Part 4, scene 2: "O Lord! Look down"

Disc 3:

1. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Prologue, scene 1: Orchestral Introduction - "Well, what are you waiti
2. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Prologue, scene 1: "For whom dost thou forsake us?"
3. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Prologue, scene 1: "People of the Orthodox faith"
4. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Prologue, scene 1: "Glory to thee, our Lord"
5. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Prologue, scene 2: Orchestral Introduction - "Long live Tsar Boris Feo
6. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Prologue, scene 2: "My soul is sad"
7. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Prologue, scene 2: "Glory! Glory! Glory!"
8. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 1: "Just one more final tale"
9. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 1: "Lord, our Heavenly Father - That same dream again"
10. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 1: "You have gone on writing"
11. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 1: "Holy father, for a long time"
12. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 1: "It is the bell for matins"
13. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 2: "I caught a grey drake"
14. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 2: "It all happened in the town of Kazan"
15. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 2: "Why don't you join in the singing?"
16. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 2: "There he goes - What sort of people are you?"
17. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 1, scene 2: "I can read"

Disc 4:

1. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "Where are you, my dear husband?"
2. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "Ah! That's enough now"
3. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "So the gnat was chopping some firewood"
4. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "Ah, nurse, nanny"
5. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "Ah! - What? Has a wild beast..."
6. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "I have achieved supreme power"
7. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "How heavily weighs the right hand of the fearful judge"
8. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "Ah, shoo!"
9. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "Our little parrot was sitting"
10. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "My son, my own dear child!"
11. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "Ah, the most illustrious orator"
12. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "Take measures immediately"
13. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 2: "At the cathedral in Uglich"
14. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 1: "On the azure Vistula"
15. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 1: "Enough!"
16. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 1: "Ruzya, I do not need you today - How tediously..."
17. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 1: "Ah! It's you, my father!"
18. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 1: "Captivate the Pretender with your beauty!"
19. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 1: "Your eyes have started to sparkle with a hellish flam
20. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "At midnight... in the garden... near the fountain"
21. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "Tsarevich!"
22. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "A humble, sinful pilgrim"
23. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "Tsarevich, conceal yourself!"
24. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "That crafty Jesuit"
25. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "The wife of that toothless debauchee"
26. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "It is she! Marina!"
27. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "But is it not for amourous conversations"
28. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "You alone, Marina I worship"
29. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "Leaders from all corners of Russia"
30. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 3, scene 2: "O, tsarevich, I beg you, do nor curse me"

Disc 5:

1. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 1: "Boyars of noble rank"
2. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 1: "What? Let us vote, boyars"
3. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 1: "It's a pity that Prince Shuisky isn't here"
4. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 1: "Get away... get away!"
5. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 1: "A humble monk"
6. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 1: "Once in a deep sleep"
7. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 1: "Leave us! All of you, go!"
8. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 1: "O Lord! Look down"
9. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 2: "Over here! Sit him down on the stump!"
10. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 2: "Trrr, trrr, tin hat! - The moon is on its travels"
11. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 2: "The sun and the moon have faded"
12. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 2: "Hurrah! Daring boldness has broken free"
13. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 2: "Domine, salvum fac Regem"
14. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 2: "Glory to you, tsarevich!"
15. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 2: "We, Dmitry Ivanovich"
16. Boris Godunov, opera in 4 acts with a prologue (1872 version): Act 4, scene 2: "Flow, flow bitter tears!"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74086 in Music
• Brand: Philips
• Released on: 1999-01-12
• Number of discs: 5
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: 1.12 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
Besides being one of the best modern recordings of this masterpiece about a Macbeth-like czar who murders his way to the top, this five-disc set (sold for the cost of three) presents the opera both in its original 1869 version and in its 1872 revision, side by side. The former is clearly not finished: it needs more scenes (key characters have little stage time), and the ones that do exist don't always make their full dramatic impact. However, there's much brilliance even in nascent form, particularly with the composer's discreet breaks with traditional, functional harmony a full 30 years before Debussy. Even passages that sound inept do so eloquently, thanks to Valery Gergiev's seemingly telepathic rapport with Moussorgsky's psychologically penetrating dramaturgy. Key roles are often double cast, which gives vocal and interpretive variety and shows off just how rich the Kirov Opera is in bass voices. I prefer the earlier Boris (the lighter-voiced, more nuanced Nikolai Putilin) to the beefier Vladimir Vaneev in the later version. The later Grigory, Vladimir Galusin, shouts a bit but in a text-attentive way; besides, his character (the pretend czar) is likely to go for bombast. Borodina's Marina is relentlessly imperious and not sufficiently seductive--the one minor problem in this fine, studio-recorded set that signals a great sonic improvement over Kirov's more fatiguing outings in the Mariinsky Theatre. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews

Outstanding performance(s) by Gergiev and his forces
Every so often, a recording comes along in which the conductor's conception of an opera sweeps even defective or unsatisfying performances by solo principals before it. Such was the case of the Tullio Serafin "Ballo in Maschera," the Toscanini "Aida," Furtwangler's "Der Freischutz," Charles Dutoit's "Les Troyens," and this recording, which is actually two complete performances for the cost of one. Philips, then, has scored twice with such a gem - both this set and the 1980 Karajan "Falstaff" were recorded for that label.

Gergiev's "Boris"(es) present an astonishing combination of fire, sweep, drama and musicality in a way I have never heard before. From first note to last in both versions, one is struck by the amount of musical and orchestral detail he is able to bring out, making each scene not only "live" in a dramatic sense, but also pulling the loose threads and uneven scenes together in a way that gives this massive, rambling opera shape and focus. I am simply spellbound by this man's abilities, though I am sure that he must use Toscanini-like rages and epithets to achieve his "miraculous" results!

The Moscow reviewer below is correct: the earlier version of the Pimen-Dmitri scene does not use the original music or words when Grigory (the false Dmitri) awakes. But what does such a niggling detail matter in the face of such an powerful, musical reading?

As for the various performers: neither Nikolai Putilin nor Vladimir Vaneev will efface memories of Boris Christoff's rich, tight-focused voice, but strictly as vocal actors they compete with Christoff and then some. Putilin has the higher voice, more of a baritone really, so that his lowest passages present some problems, and he has the archtypical Slavic "wobble" which means that some of his notes sound a bit shaky; yet he has more voice and a better "ring" on the top than Fedoseyev, the pale-voiced Boris of the early-'80s Philips set. His counterpart in the 1982 version, Vladimir Vaneev, has an altogether darker timbre, more like a Russian Gottlob Frick, and is more of a bass, which means that he comes to some grief in the high-lying passages of the Coronation Scene, but otherwise he is splendid, vocally and histrionically.

The Pimen in both sets, Nikolai Ohotnikov, is absolutely splendid: a rich, warm, well-focused low bass, reminiscent at times of the legendary Lev Sibiriakov (now, there's a name that only die-hard collectors will know!). He, too, sings with tremendous feeling, and is in fact much better than Christoff's Pimen on either set (the 1952 Dobrowen version or the stereo Cluytens version)...for all his vocal gold, Christoff could not project the warmth or humanity of Pimen because he had none in his character. (Don't take my word for it, though: talk to anyone who performed with him, or read Nicolai Gedda's account in his autobiography.)

The 1869 Grigory, Viktor Lutsuk, has a bright, ringing voice and good interpretive skills, but he suffers even worse from Slavic wobble than Putilin. The 1872 Grigory, Vladimir Galusin, is of course one of the great singing-actors of our time, caught here in his early prime with a brighter-sounding top than we are used to.

The Moscow reviewer really seems to hate Olga Borodina's Marina. She sings gloriously but, as usual, with an all-purpose tone that does not show much characterization. Evgeny Nikitin has far and away the finest voice I have ever heard in the role of Rangoni, the underhanded Jesuit, but both singers were easily topped dramatically by Mariana Lipovsek and Serge Leiferkus on the Abbado recording. In fact, this is the greatest "Polish scene" I have ever heard. But there is one detail near the end that simply astonished me: when Marina, Grigory and Rangoni come together in their trio, their voices blend perfectly. This is something I thought I would never hear in a modern opera performance, and certainly not in "Boris"!

As Varlaam, Fyodor Kuznetsov is superb in both sets: this is the best and most rhythmically accurate "Town of Kazan" aria I've ever heard from anyone. As Chaliapin pointed out, Varlaam is not a buffoon, but a wandering pilgrim, a drunk who drinks to soothe his unnamed longings, and the "Town of Kazan" song is not so much a jolly comedy piece as an outburst of this longing for the unnamed, a way of bursting out. Kuznetsov captures this perfectly.

Konstantin Pluzhnikov is a superb Shuisky both vocally and dramatically. Olga Trifonova is a wiry-voiced Xenia but characterizes well. The small roles are all sung well. Evgeny Akimov as the Simpleton will not efface memories of Ivan Kozlovsky, the finest Simpleton on records (in the old Mark Riezen set), or Andrea Velis, who sang the role so well at the Met Opera revival of 1975, but he too is quite good.

The one thing you should remember when judging this recording is that Gergiev, unlike others who have recorded the opera, only used singers from his Kirov Opera company. Galsin and Borodina have become stars, but only after the fact. This is akin to Serafin's using only the Rome Opera cast for his 1943 "Ballo in Maschera," another recording that is remarkably excellent despite the stylistic shortcomings of Beniamino Gigli.

I cannot recommend this recording highly enough. If you have no other "Boris," this is the place to start; and even if you have Christoff, this is the place to go next!

Two COMPLETE VERSIONS!!!!
I don't know where the previous reviewer got his information- but BOTH versions here are COMPLETE. I know the opera well and there is nothing missing here from the second version... and the first version is also complete- it is what Moussorgsky had completed by 1869.

These are complete as MOUSSORGSKY wrote them- not the versions with other composers orchestrations (namely Rimsky-Korsakov). Like Khovanschina- Rimsky-Korsakov's version of Boris ruins the opera. These versions are how Moussorgsky invisioned this masterpiece- and that's whose vision should be most important. The only liberty I allow is the KHOVANSCHINA with orchestrations by Shostakovich because he stayed close to what he believed Moussorgsky wanted- Rimsky-Korsakov did what he thought was right.

The Kirov Opera recordings by Philips are magnificant- and Boris fits nicely into place. Great vocals (by real RUSSIANS), great orchestra, and great conducting. The only recording that marvels this one is Abbado's but unfortunately it's the Rimsky-Korsakov version. I have both recordings and give Abbado's the orchestral edge due to the Vienna Philharmonic's presence, but Gergiev's version (and conducting) suceeds all else on the Abbado version. Both are commendable but seeing that you get two complete versions for the price of one with this set- your search should end here.

The first version is very cool to hear as it is hardly ever recorded. The St. Basil's scene is WONDERFUL and is quite possibly my favorite scene of both versions of Boris. This scene alone is worth hearing the first version... It's tighter and meaner than the second version - as Putilin's Boris interpretation shows. He is more fierce than Vaneev, which makes sense- because initially in the first version Boris was not made into a somewhat victim that Moussorgsky made him into in the second version.

I could ramble all day but this recording is simply, overall the best recordings I have heard of this- one of my most beloved operas. Boris is the one great Russian masterpiece....this allows you a glimpse into Moussorgsky's creation of love.

Thinking of buying it = do so. You can't beat getting FIVE HOURS of great and grand Russian music.

A sheer disappointment
A sheer disappointment
I have Boris Godunov conducted by Fedoseyev since 1985, and after so many years, I still find that it is superb, with excellent voices and orchestra and excellent quality of performance and recording. Reading the various reviews in this site, glorifying Gergeiev's version,I was tempted to have a newer DDD recording and performance with the famous Gergeiev, along with the opportunity to compare the first 1869 and the 1872 final version.
What a disappointment!!! I find the performance very mediocre, standard, without any spark of inspiration, so is the recording. The male voices, basses and tenor unintersting. The basses lack the grandeur and depth of the Russian basses, and do not stand any comparison with the excellent soloists of Fedoseyev. The tenor in the 1869 version is not more than adequate, while the one in the 1872 version has a very dry dull voice.
In my view, Philips should scrap this recording and keep that of Fedoseyev. My advice to listners is to stay away.( I noticed that one commentator stated that Fedoseyev's version is the worst. His statement reflects only his personal taste, and not any absolute fact. I made it clear that I am speaking from my experience only.)