Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto, a fixture at San Diego Opera, is in fine fettle in the title role of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov,” which opens the opera season at the Civic Theatre. It plays through Feb. 4 only. With English text projections, the opera is performed in Mussorgsky’s original version and orchestration dating from 1869.
A feather in San Diego Opera’s cap, Furlanetto’s performance is his first U.S. performance as Boris, which he sang at the Mariinsky Opera in St. Petersburg. The role allows patrons to hear and marvel at the full range of the great bass’ voice.
Those accustomed to Mussorgsky’s later revisioning and Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestration may feel something is missing ” for instance, Rimsky’s flash and Mussorgsky’s addition of a love interest. However, this listener enjoys Mussorgsky’s spare orchestration, the Shakespearean dramatic arc and the relative simplicity of the plot despite the libretto’s many characters (sung authoritatively by an impressive array of American and Russian singers). Mussorgsky’s libretto was taken from Alexander Pushkin’s historical drama of the same name.
Boris attains the throne of Russia through the murder of Ivan the Terrible’s 7-year-old son, Dmitri. In a monastery removed from the Kremlin, an older monk named Pimen (excellent Ukrainian bass Vitalij Kowaljow) is recording Russian history. His protégé is Grigori (American tenor Jay Hunger Morris), who later pretends to be Dmitri and threatens Boris’s rule and sanity.
Dramatically viable, American mezzo-soprano Lisa Agazzi portrays Feodor, Boris’s pubescent son and heir, with just the right amount of swagger, filial adoration and pathos. Judith Christin provides comic relief as hostess of the inn where Grigori/Dmitri stops on his way to Lithuania to enlist support in his plot to oust Boris. Having left the monastery, he is in company with two renegade priests, Varlaam (Russian bass Mikhail Svetlov) and Missail (American tenor Joseph Frank).
One of the opera’s most effective scenes, musically and dramatically, takes place in Boris’s apartments at the Kremlin. While Feodor studies a huge map of the kingdom he will one day rule, his older sister, Xenia (American soprano Inna Dukach) laments the death of her fiancé. Boris, left alone, soliloquizes.
Boris is tortured by his assassination of Dmitri, whom he believes did not perish and who appears to him in dreams. A report from Shuisky (American tenor Alan Glassman) seems to confirm Boris’ fears, indicating that even though other corpses rotted, Dmitri’s did not. Boris begins to lose both health and sanity, and in one final, impressive scene prays to God to protect his children. Then he dies (Furlanetto is unbelievably physical here). Feodor, 14, prepares to take the mantle and ascend the throne, and in this staging by Lotfi Mansouri, is shoved aside by Shuisky. Historically, Feodor reigned for a few months and then was murdered by his father’s enemies.
The company, which includes American tenor Doug Jones as the Simpleton, is deeply talented ” truly the A Team.
Whether portraying Boyars or peasants, the San Diego Opera chorus is always in character, making the crowd scenes ” so beautifully lit by Todd Hensley ” truly memorable. Scenic design by Robert Dahlstrom and Wolfram Skalicki (originally for Canadian Opera Company) allows for facile changes, and the opera clocks in at approximately three hours. Valery Ryvkin conducts the San Diego Symphony.
Remaining performances are at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4.
For tickets and information, visit www.sdopera.com or call (619) 533-7000.