One of the most striking aspects of the opera (other than the music itself, which was astonishingly beautiful and moving) was the way Christianity seemed to pervade every aspect of life.

The way the peasants treat Boris in the first scene is very similar to their relationship with God, saying that they are all his children, that they will be orphans without him. It reminded me of the combination of fear and reverence people felt for Ivan the Terrible (or awesome). In the final scene, when they turn on him, it’s through the lens of religion again, saying that he has brought hell and torture on the Christian people of Russia. This was another possible parallel with Ivan the Terrible. It reminded me specifically of Kurbsky’s epistle, where the violence and torture committed by the tsar were even more sinful and terrible because he was supposed to be beloved and representative of God.

Along these same lines, Grigory the monk abandoned his pious, monastic life to impersonate Dmitri and try to claim the throne. He too is praised and almost worshipped by the people, but is actually guilty of terrible “sin”. This too adds to the foreshadowing of dark, tumultuous times ahead for Russia. The final tableau, too, is reminiscent of the crucifixion.