Nagano conducts Castorf’s expert Boris Godunov in Hamburg

Germany Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov: Soloists and Choruses of Hamburg State Opera, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Kent Nagano (conductor). Hamburg State Opera, Hamburg, 11.10.2024. (DM-D)

Mark Berry wrote about the opening of this production almost exactly a year ago, in October 2023 (review here). I hope to add to his perspective with my observations about this revival.

New productions of opera and theatre in particular by long-established, renowned, potentially controversial or Regietheater directors are always greeted with excited expectation – will the alleged, assumed, or indeed genuine trademarks of a director’s work be recognisable? Are we in for controversy and a scandal? Franks Castorf’s production of Boris Godunov, in a way similar to that of Das Rheingold by Peter Konwitschny (see my review here), was first and foremost a production created by a very experienced director. There was an overarching concept, which was complex and cannot be described in only a few words, let alone one word (which may indeed be possible for productions by less experienced directors!). With age comes wisdom (or wisdom is finally permitted with age), and in ways difficult to pinpoint, Castorf’s Boris Godunov came with the pace and the feeling of wisdom.

History was presented, a story told, thoughts about the characters and the events of history, of that story, were related to the audience in strong images. References to the present were provided almost as hints, ever so gently, rather than foregrounded with explosive impact. Images lingered in the mind, and thus the production became thought-provoking not merely in the moment, but for long afterwards. Regular operagoers would have been additionally intrigued by the director’s references to his working methods. Castorf has been known for his use of film in his theatre productions, using a combination of material previously filmed and screened during a performance, as well as live video. At some moments, what looked like live images was in fact pre-recorded with a different singer. The assuredness of the directorial choices provided a framework of safety and security, no matter what was in store, but if nothing shocking happened there is no disappointment either. This secure framework allowed for a much deeper merging with the details of plot and characterisation, and indeed with the music, than a more superficial, less experienced Regietheater approach.

Kent Nagano matched Castorf’s directorial experience with his experience as a conductor. From the opening bars, it was obvious that the music intended to tell a story, full of that story’s arcs, breaking points, multiple characters major and minor, the individuals, the masses, with all the facets a novel can present in much depth. The music served as a multi-layered tapestry but underlined the underlying idea of unity in diversity also characteristic of Castorf’s directorial approach. The frame set by Castorf’s direction and Nagano’s conducting offered and provided the basis for relishing the story, the plot, the events narrated. The frame created the necessary distance to enable such an experience.

The choice of the 1868/69 version, which ran for just over two hours without an interval, meant a dominance of male characters and voices. The cast was in part the same as for the 2023 opening run. Alexander Tsymbalyuk may not have as huge a voice as Kurt Moll or Martti Talvela; however, as Boris Godunov he impressed with a very warm tonal quality of voice, which was particularly well-suited to express his character’s torn feelings. Tigran Martirossian was a powerful Pimen, Alexander Roslavets equally strong as Varlaam. Dovlet Nurgeldiyev was convincing as Grigory with a finely chiselled lyrical tenor, while Evgeny Akimov as Shuisky acted his character’s deviousness believably and still managed to make his music sound beautiful, with a voice somewhere in between lyrical and character tenor, equally suitable for both. Florian Panzieri was striking as the Holy Fool, and Marie Maidowski (Xenia), Renate Spingler (Xenia’s Nurse) and Ida Aldrian (Fyodor) added appropriate colour to the kaleidoscope of this production.

Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe

Production:
Director – Frank Castorf
Assistant Director – Wolfgang Gruber
Set designs – Aleksandar Denić
Costumes – Adriana Braga Peretzki
Lighting – Rainer Casper
Video, Live camera – Andreas Deinert, Severin Renke
Live editing – Maryvonne Riedelsheimer
Dramaturgy – Patric Seibert
Hamburg Opera Chorus director – Eberhard Friedrich
Children’s and Youth Chorus director – Luiz de Goday

Cast:
Boris Godunov – Alexander Tsymbalyuk
Andrey Schchelkalov – Lauri Vasar
Nikitch (Police Officer) – David Minseok Kang
Mityukha – Nicholas Mogg
Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky – Evgeny Akimov
Pimen – Tigran Martirossian
Grigory Otrepiev – Dovlet Nurgeldiyev
Hostess of the Inn – Aebh Kelly
Varlaam – Alexander Roslavets
Missail – Jürgen Sacher
Xenia – Marie Maidowski
Xenia’s Nurse – Renate Spingler
Fyodor – Ida Aldrian
Holy Fool – Florian Panzieri