The coronation and tragedy of Boris revived at Covent Garden

By David Karlin, 20 June 2019

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“Terfel's musicality is never in question and his depth of characterisation has increased”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 19 June 2019

Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov (1869 version)

The Royal Opera

Marc Albrecht, Conductor

Richard Jones, Director

Miriam Buether, Set Designer

Nicky Gillibrand, Costume Designer

Sir Bryn Terfel, Boris Godunov

David Butt Philip, Grigory

Matthew Rose, Pimen

Sam Furness, Simpleton

Harry Nicoll, Missail

Anne Marie Gibbons, The Innkeeper

Jeremy White, Nikitich

Adrian Clarke, Mityukha

Nick Sales, The Boyar-in-Attendance

Haegee Lee, Xenia

Boris Pinkhasovich, Shchelkalov

Roger Honeywell, Prince Shuisky

Sir John Tomlinson, Varlaam

Joshua Abrams, Feodor

Royal Opera Chorus

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Gerard Jones, Director

The Turn of the Screw at RBO Linbury: Darkness and denial

Eleanor Knight, 26th March

Natalie Abrahami’s mesmerising new production of Britten’s ghostly tale of sexual abuse is very dark indeed.

*****

A riveting Rigoletto revival at the Royal Opera House

Dominic Lowe, 25th March

Sir Mark Elder celebrates 50 years at Covent Garden by returning to his first opera there in 1976 – Verdi's Rigoletto – in a revival of Oliver Mears' excellent 2021 production.

****1

Siegfried at the RBO: Kosky and Pappano surprise and delight

David Karlin, 17th March

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

*****

Terfel’s craggy Boris Godunov returns to Covent Garden

Mark Pullinger, 29th January

The second revival of Richard Jones' staging of Mussorgsky's original 1869 version of Boris Godunov once again stars the Welsh knight.

****1

Ermonela Jaho returns in triumph to The Royal Opera’s Traviata

Mark Valencia, 8th January

Richard Eyre’s 32-year-old production is rarely out of The Royal Opera’s repertoire for more than a few months at a time, but this particular revival proves very special.

*****

Turandot drowned in an orchestral tsunami at The Royal Opera

David Karlin, 15th December

Andrei Șerban’s 40 year old take on Puccini's tale of the ice princess largely stands the test of time, but Netrebko and Eyvazov are short of their best form.

***11

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David Karlin

David is a co-founder of Bachtrack. He is a musical omnivore interested in almost all types of music, but with a particular love of Italian opera. You can contact him from this link.