Staatsoper Hamburg's new Boris Godunov traverses Russian history

Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Boris Godunov) and the Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper

Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Boris Godunov) and Matthias Klink (Shuisky)

Boris Godunov

Kady Evanyshyn (Feodor) and Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Boris Godunov)

By Alexander Hall, 17 September 2023

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“in purely musical terms, this new production... is a triumph for Kent Nagano”

Reviewed at Hamburgische Staatsoper: Main Hall, Hamburg on 16 September 2023

Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov (1869 version)

Staatsoper Hamburg

Kent Nagano, Conductor

Frank Castorf, Director

Aleksandar Denić, Set Designer

Adriana Braga Peretzki, Costume Designer

Rainer Casper, Lighting Designer

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper

Andreas Deinert, Video

Severin Renke, Video

Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Boris Godunov

Vitalij Kowaljow, Pimen

Dovlet Nurgeldiyev, Grigory

Matthias Klink, Prince Shuisky

Alexey Bogdanchikov, Shchelkalov

Ryan Speedo Green, Varlaam

Jürgen Sacher, Missail

Florian Panzieri, Simpleton

Kady Evanyshyn, Feodor

Olivia Boen, Xenia

Renate Spingler, Xenia's nurse

Marta Świderska, The Innkeeper

Hubert Kowalczyk, Nikitich

Julian Arsenault, Mityukha

Mateusz Ługowski, The Boyar-in-Attendance

Frauenliebe und -sterben: Kratzer’s triple bill at Staatsoper Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 15th April

Director Tobias Kratzer engineers a haunting pasticcio of Schumann, Bartók and Zemlinsky, tracing the domestic sphere’s shift from romantic surrender to the blood-soaked secrets of a century-spanning house.

****1

Vampires, Disney and Donald Trump: Monster’s Paradise in Hamburg

Kevin W Ng, 1st February

Olga Neuwirth and Elfriede Jelinek take on Donald Trump in their latest operatic collaboration.

****1

Unsuk Chin's opera Die dunkle Seite des Mondes premieres in Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 31st May

At Staatsoper Hamburg, Unsuk Chin’s new opera The Dark Side of the Moon immerses audiences in an hypnotic, introspective journey, where dreams, science and psyche collide in a rigorously crafted, thought-provoking spectacle.

****1

Franciscan virtues for a modern age: a multimedia Messiaen remix

Peter Quantrill, 2nd June

No half measures in a triple-decker Hamburg staging of Saint François d'Assise at the Elbphilharmonie.

***11

Beauty and the beast: Sciarrino's Venere e Adone premieres in Hamburg

Alexander Hall, 28th May

What does opera in the 21st century look and sound like? Streets removed from anything Mozart, Verdi or Wagner would have recognised. But Salvatore Sciarrino is his own man.

***11

Staatsoper Hamburg's new Carmen: a sumptuous theatrical experience

Alexander Hall, 17th September

“Jealous lover kills local slut” might be the tabloid headline, but Bizet's Carmen is much more than that, especially in this visually stunning new production in Hamburg, directed by Herbert Fritsch.

****1

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.