Items of Note

• Correction to last week’s Nota: Dress rehearsal dates are May 13 (Tuesday) at St. Paul’s Church, 114 Montecito, Oakland, and May 16 (Friday), The Crowden School, Rose@Sacramento, Berkeley
• Small group sectional for “Belle Nuit” at Jody Ames’ house tomorrow (Wed., 4/23), 7:30 PM.

Background of the Week: Boris Godunov (first performed 1874)

Although Boris Godunov was a real Russian Tsar (1598-1605), Mussorgsky’s opera was based on a fictionalized play by Alexander Pushkin (1825). The opera has been described as “a drama of conscience wrapped in a crime thriller, inside an historical epic.”

Synopsis The opera begins as Boris Godunov, longtime regent, is about to assume the throne as Tsar. Under the strong encouragement of the police, the peasants praise Boris and beg him to accept the crown (“Coronation Scene”). Boris accepts, but his heart is heavy; many years earlier he had plotted the death of the rightful heir, Dmitri; the guilt weighs on his conscience. Boris prays that he will be a good leader of his people. A young monk named Grigory is unhappy with Boris’ ascension. Suspicious about Dmitri’s death, he also realizes he is the same age that the child Dmitri would have been by now. With this in mind, he leaves the cloister.

Boris tries to rule wisely, but his reign is marked by famine and poverty. The nobles plot against him, and whispers of the slain Dmitri continue to haunt him. Meanwhile, Grigory goes to Poland pretending to be Dmitri, the true heir. The Polish king, eager for an excuse to invade, agrees to help him.

Boris receives word that the Polish army, led by the alleged heir, is approaching. Tormented by guilt, he veers between obsession over his complicity in the murder and fear that somehow Dmitri could still be alive. A “Holy Fool” appears and Boris asks the man to pray for him; the Fool replies that he will not intercede for a murderer.

Grigory’s army is aided the starving peasants, who cheer him as the rightful heir. Realizing he will soon die, Boris names his son as successor and succumbs to despair. As the Pretender and his army draw near and the peasants cry for Boris’ death, the Holy Fool laments for Russia’s uncertain future.

Shameless Plugs:

• a/k/a Fweeter in Concert. Local women’s ensemble a/k/a Fweeter (including sometime Bella-ites Katharine Gale, Erica Grevemeyer, Christiane Khan, Laura Louis, Alison Thomas, and Cristin Williams; as directed by Marcelle Dronkers and accompanied by Matthew Edwards) performs two concerts Saturday, April 26 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, April 27 at 3:00 pm. Loper Chapel at First Congregational Church, Berkeley (on Dana between Durant and Channing). Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Brahms, Bach, Schubert. Suggested donation $12 ($8 seniors/students).
• Summer Workshop with John Poole. Choral conductor John Poole (of the BBC Orchestra and Indiana University) will offer a choral workshop June 22-29 at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco, with a concert at the end. Tuition is $150 for the week and includes all music. Please let Arlene or Helene Whitson know by May 23 if you’re interested in this opportunity to work with an internationally known conductor!
• SF Lyric Chorus. Messe des Mortes: Requiems from France. Requiem masses by Maurice Duruflé and André Campra. April 26, 8 pm, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Oakland; April 27, 5 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, San Francisco. Tickets $17 in advance; $20 at the door.