Although the opera Boris Gudonov is now regarded as one of, if not the greatest, in the Russian canon, it was initially panned. Although the drama is a remarkable, complex tale of opportunism and the failings of human political systems, and has long been acknowledged as such, the opera’s score has come under harsh criticism since Gudonov‘s premier. Originally written and composed by Modest Mussorgsky, noted member of the “Mighty Handful” group of nationalistic Russian composers, the score was torn apart by critics for its “weak harmonies”. Incredibly, it was later re-worked by another member of the “Mighty Handful”, Nicholai Rimsky-Korsakov, in a fairly successful attempt to right the thinly-orchestrated areas of Gudonov‘s original Mussorgsky score. Some of the errors in Mussorgsky original work are plainly evident, even to the relatively untrained ear. One minute into Act 4, Scene 2 (second excerpt), the harmony is stark and ugly, not aiding or benefiting the soloist’s melody line.

Shostakovich also reworked Gudonov, completing a veritable who’s who of Russian classical composers (with Tchaikovsky the notable exception). Although Mussorgsky has many musical accomplishments, including Night on Bald Mountain, Boris Gudonov is clearly not within that number. The success of the opera is solely based on Pushkin’s drama, which was the framework for the plot. Although a fantastic opera, it may be very well best absorbed with a score that is not original.