On this CD we offer you practically all existing records of the scenes from “Boris Godunov” performed by one of the greatest Russian singers of the last century ever to appear in Western opera houses - Fyodor Chaliapin.
“Boris Godunov” is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky to a Russian libretto by the composer, based on the drama of the same name by Aleksandr Pushkin and on Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin's 'History of the Russian State'. The music is written in a uniquely Russian style, drawing on the composer's knowledge of Russian folk music, and rejecting the influence of German and Italian opera. Pushkin based his play on the historical figure Boris Godunov, and was inspired by Shakespeare's Macbeth. In the story (which is not historically acccurate) Boris becomes Tsar after brutally murdering the child Dmitri, the rightful heir. Though Boris is a humane ruler, the land falls into chaos and poverty. A young runaway monk, Grigory, claims to be the living Dmitri and succeeds in marrying Marina, a Polish noblewoman whose lust for power is disguised as passionate love. Having convinced the Polish king of his claim to the throne, the False Dmitri leads the Poles in an invasion of Russia. Boris, guilt-stricken and haunted by hallucinations, falls into madness and dies.
The CD was written without any digital prossesing keeping the genuine sound of the old gramophone discs.
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