Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Opera in four acts with prologue (revised version, 1872)
Libretto by the composer after Aleksandr Pushkin’s ‘Boris Godunov’
and Nikolay Karamzin’s ‘History of the Russian State’
Mussorgsky’s searing exploration of a tsar assailed by fear and paranoia is given special contemporary relevance in this much-admired performance of ‘Boris Godunov’. Stage director Kirill Serebrennikov has incorporated the works of photographer Dmitry Markov, who travelled throughout Russia capturing everyday life in the country, and this presents unavoidable contrasts between authoritarianism and the real Russia. Featuring an outstanding cast, the opera is conducted by Vasily Petrenko in his first appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Opera magazine wrote that ‘the premiere made for a dazzling opening to the Holland Festival’.
Boris Godunov – Tomasz Konieczny, bass-baritone
Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky – Ya-Chung Huang, tenor
Pimen – Vitalij Kowaljow, bass
Grigoriy (The Pretender) – Dumitru Mîțu, tenor
Marina Mnishek – Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-soprano
Rangoni – Gevorg Hakobyan, baritone
Yurodivy (A Simpleton) – Odin Lund Biron, actor
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor – Vasily Petrenko
Stage Director, Set Designer and Costume Design – Kirill Serebrennikov
A co-production with the Grand Théâtre de Genève
Video Director – Michael Beyer
Filmed on 17 and 23 June 2025 at Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam, Netherlands
DVD 2.110784 / Blu-ray NBD0194V
Opera in four acts with prologue (revised version, 1872)
Libretto by the composer after Aleksandr Pushkin’s ‘Boris Godunov’
and Nikolay Karamzin’s ‘History of the Russian State’
Mussorgsky’s searing exploration of a tsar assailed by fear and paranoia is given special contemporary relevance in this much-admired performance of ‘Boris Godunov’. Stage director Kirill Serebrennikov has incorporated the works of photographer Dmitry Markov, who travelled throughout Russia capturing everyday life in the country, and this presents unavoidable contrasts between authoritarianism and the real Russia. Featuring an outstanding cast, the opera is conducted by Vasily Petrenko in his first appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Opera magazine wrote that ‘the premiere made for a dazzling opening to the Holland Festival’.
Boris Godunov – Tomasz Konieczny, bass-baritone
Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky – Ya-Chung Huang, tenor
Pimen – Vitalij Kowaljow, bass
Grigoriy (The Pretender) – Dumitru Mîțu, tenor
Marina Mnishek – Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-soprano
Rangoni – Gevorg Hakobyan, baritone
Yurodivy (A Simpleton) – Odin Lund Biron, actor
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor – Vasily Petrenko
Stage Director, Set Designer and Costume Design – Kirill Serebrennikov
A co-production with the Grand Théâtre de Genève
Video Director – Michael Beyer
Filmed on 17 and 23 June 2025 at Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam, Netherlands
DVD 2.110784 / Blu-ray NBD0194V
