Austria Osterfestspiele Salzburg 2025 – Mussorgsky, Khovanshchina: Soloists, Slovak Philharmonic Choir, Bachchor Salzburg, Salzburger Festspiele and Theater Kinderchor, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor). Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, 12.4.2025. (AL-L)
Khovanshchina, Mussorgsky’s unfinished opera, has been completed and reorchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov, Ravel, Stravinsky, and for this performance, by Gerard McBurney, musicologist and brother of the director. As with Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, one never hears the same work twice. Compared to a 1994 Paris production by the Kirov, Streshnev’s role is now given to a male soprano, and notably, the opera doesn’t conclude with the ‘Old Believers’ Chorus’ but with a somewhat lengthy duet between Marfa and Prince Andrei.
These additions, though interesting, do not fundamentally enhance the drama. No one knows how Mussorgsky would have completed his opera, but while Boris Godunov stands as a compact and organic work, Khovanshchina remains a patchwork — albeit set to brilliant music—depicting crowd scenes, power struggles, a fortune-teller’s prophecies, declarations of desire rather than love and, as in many operas, the demise of virtually all its protagonists.
One characteristic of Simon McBurney’s concept (it is a co-production with New York’s Metropolitan Opera) is precisely that he doesn’t attempt to impose continuity where the work lacks it. The first part follows classical staging, but after intermission, there are undeniably beautiful inventions. Projecting the action onto a large screen works effectively, and a particularly striking moment occurs when quantities of soil fall onto the stage before the Old Believers’ collective suicide.
The action is modernised, evoking something closer to American authoritarian tendencies. The Scribe types on a laptop but doesn’t publish his text for fear of reprisals. Among the boyars appears a shaman reminiscent of the one who participated in the invasion of the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. The English surtitles deliberately include contemporary references: Prince Ivan Khovansky is called the ‘Boss’, and at the climactic point, the text literally reads ‘Make Russia Great Again’.
Yet in the following scene, even as Prince Golitsyn’s advisors use mobile phones, Marfa predicts the future in clear water. This could symbolise that from the beginning, she knows everything will end badly. However, after so much modernism, this scene seems anachronistic, even contrived.
Musically, Esa-Pekka Salonen’s lean, rhythmic leadership secures impeccable precision from the Finnish Radio Orchestra, though at times the performance prioritises momentum over lyricism. The orchestra is somewhat uneven with occasional passages becoming overly dense at full volume and some passages are indeed very loud and become saturated. The strings of the Finnish Radio Orchestra lack colour, while the wind instruments soar in contrast and are much stronger. Seeing and hearing Khovanshchina in the Grosses Festspielhaus, one cannot help recalling the lush warmth of Berlin or Vienna orchestra pits, making these moments feel a touch clinical.
In a way, the production aligns well with Esa-Pekka Salonen’s direction. The Finnish conductor’s clarity of beat is impressive, and the precision he obtains from his forces is impeccable. Yet this alert and rhythmic Mussorgsky occasionally lacks lyricism and emotion, even a certain sense of focus. We witness a sequence of remarkable moments rather than a coherent whole.
The omnipresent choruses offer broad dynamics. The voices are youthful and at times reach impressive volume. The cast is of very high calibre. The Scribe’s role perfectly suits character tenor Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke. Ain Anger portrays a deeply humanised Dosifey, finding perhaps the most moving phrasings. Thomas Atkins, as the rejected prince, discovers beautiful lyrical accents. Vitalij Kowaljow – a remarkable Pimen in Munich last season and in Geneva in 2018 – impresses with his vocal amplitude and commanding presence. As Marfa, Nadezhda Karyazina possesses considerable resources, capable of sustaining long passages with great line.
Ultimately, this is an engaging evening with some powerful moments. Yet one cannot help thinking that, even though what Mussorgsky left us is of a very high standard, the work he might have completed would have been far more homogeneous, dramatic, and convincing.
Antoine Lévy-Leboyer
Production:
Director and Choreography – Simon McBurney
Sets – Rebecca Ringst
Costumes – Christina Cunningham
Lighting – Tom Visser
Video design – Will Duke
Co-Director and Movement – Leah Hausman
Sound design – Tuomas Norvio
Dramaturgy and Advisor – Gerard McBurney, Hannah Whitley
Cast:
Prince Ivan Khovansky – Vitalij Kowaljow
Prince Andrei Khovansky – Thomas Atkins
Prince Vasily Golitsin – Matthew White
Shaklovity – Daniel Okulitch
Dosifey – Ain Anger
Marfa – Nadezhda Karyazina
Clerk – Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke
Emma – Natalia Tanasii
Varsonofyev – Rupert Grössinger
Susanna – Allison Cook
Kuzka – Theo Lebow
Streshnev – Daniel Fussek