Boris Godunov Is Met Opera's Feb. 19, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Boris Godunov is Met Opera's Feb. 19, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as ninth of 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in 2021-2022.

American opera and theater director Stephen Wadsworth debuted his new Met Opera production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in the 2010-2011 season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Sept. 22, 2010

Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov is Met Opera's Feb. 19, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as the ninth of the 2021-2022 season's 24 Saturday matinee opera broadcasts.

Boris Godunov by Russian Romantic Era composer Modest Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839-March 28, 1881) received five performances in the 2021-2022 season. The season's first performance of Boris Godunov took place Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Boris Godunov's second through fifth, closing performances were held Saturday, Oct. 2, at 8:00 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 5, at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 9, at 1:00 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 14, at 7:00 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 17, at 3:00 p.m. The Saturday, Oct. 9, performance airs as the Feb. 19, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast.

The 2021-2022 season's staging of Boris Godunov marks the first revival of the new production debuted by Stephen Wadsworth in the 2010-2011 season. Stephen Wadsworth (born April 3, 1953, as Stephen Wadsworth Zinsser) had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004, in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Rodelinda by German-British baroque composer George Frideric Handel (Feb. 23, 1685-April 14, 1759).

Sebastian Weigle is the opera's conductor. The German conductor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 6, 2000, in the opera house's 333rd performance of Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

René Pape (born Sept. 4, 1964) makes his first reprisal of the title role in the 2021-2022 season. The German operatic bass had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Dec. 2, 1995, as the Speaker in the opera house's 311th performance of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

Maxim Paster sings Shuisky, who informs Boris about his rival for tsarship, Chudov Monastery novice Grigori, who pretends to be dead Tsarevich Dimitri. The Ukrainian tenor's appearance in the opera's first 2021-2022 season performance, Tuesday, Sept. 28, marked his Met Opera debut.

Ain Anger (born June 17, 1971) sings Chudov Monastery monk Pimen, who profiles dead Tsarevich Dimitri for novice Grigori. The Estonian operatic bass's appearance in the season's first performance of Boris Godunov marked his Met Opera debut.

Boris Godunov is the first of two of the season's Saturday matinee opera broadcasts for Ain Anger. He sings Prince Gremin in the April 2 Saturday matinee broadcast of Eugene Onegin by Russian late Romantic Era composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893).

David Butt Philip (March 12, 1980) sings Grigori / pretender Dimitri. The British operatic tenor's appearance in the season's opening performance of Boris Godunov marked his Met Opera debut.

Boris Godunov is the first of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts in which David Butt Philip performs in the 2021-2022 season. He sings Laertes in the June 4 Saturday matinee broadcast of Shakespeare's Hamlet by contemporary Australian composer, violist and conduct Brett Dean (born Oct. 23, 1961).

Stanislav Trofimov sings vagrant monk Varlaam, who ultimately supports Grigori's pretender Dimitri against Boris Godunov. The Russian operatic bass's appearance in the opera's first 2021-2022 season performance marked his Met Opera debut.

Alexey Markov sings Shchelkalov, who supports Boris Godunov as tsar. The Russian operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Dec. 10, 2007, as Prince Andrey Bolkonsky in the opera house’s 11th performance of War and Peace by Russian-Soviet composer, conductor and pianist Sergei Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953).

The 2021-2022 season's first performance of Boris Godunov numbered as the opera's 274th performance at the opera house. The Metropolitan Opera House's United States premiere of Boris Godunov preceded the 2021-2022 season's first Boris Godunov performance by 108 years six months. The opera's United States premiere, which had taken place Wednesday, March 19, 1913, was sung with an Italian libretto instead of the opera's original Russian libretto.

The takeaways for Boris Godunov as Met Opera's Feb. 19, 2022, Saturday matinee broadcast are that Mussorgsky's historical opera schedules as ninth of the season's 24 Saturday matinee broadcasts; that the 2021-2022 season's presentation of Boris Godunov marks the first revival of the new production that Stephen Wadsworth debuted in the 2010-2011 season and René Pape's first reprisal of the title role; and that Boris Godunov numbers as the first of two Saturday matinee opera broadcasts for Ain Anger and David Butt Philip in the 2021-2022 season.

American opera and theater director Stephen Wadsworth's productivity at Met Opera dates back to the 2004-2005 season's debut of his first Met Opera production, Handel's Rodelinda, which receives its third revival in the 2021-2022 season: Sarah schinasi @SarahSchinasi7, via Twitter Jan. 1, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

American opera and theater director Stephen Wadsworth debuted his new Met Opera production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in the 2010-2011 season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Sept. 22, 2010, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/videos/1448808823722/

American opera and theater director Stephen Wadsworth's productivity at Met Opera dates back to the 2004-2005 season's debut of his first Met Opera production, Handel's Rodelinda, which receives its third revival in the 2021-2022 season: Sarah schinasi @SarahSchinasi7, via Twitter Jan. 1, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/SarahSchinasi7/status/550778533140631552

For further information:

“Debuts: Aleksei Markov, Lucas Meachem . . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352228 War and Peace {11} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/10/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352228

"Debuts: Angela Maria Blasi, Zachary Bernhard, Luca Mannarino, Edward Crafts, Gregory Keller, Sebastian Weigle." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 333132 Die Zauberflöte {333} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/6/2000.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=333132

"Debuts: Joan Rodgers, René Pape." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 322610 Die Zauberflöte {311} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 12/2/1995.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=322610

"Debuts: Kobie van Rensburg, Zachary Vail Elkind, Harry Bicket, Stephen Wadsworth, Thomas Lynch, Peter Kaczorowski." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351094 Rodelinda {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/02/2004.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351094

Marriner, Derdriu. "Kathleen Howard Began, Ended Met Opera Career as Boris Godunov's Nurse." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 21, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/kathleen-howard-began-ended-met-opera.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Kathleen Howard Sang Boris Godunov With Adamo Didur and Fyodor Chaliapin." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 28, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/kathleen-howard-sang-boris-godunov-with.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Has Tallied 21 Borises in 273 Performances of Boris Godunov." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sept. 20, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/09/met-opera-has-tallied-21-borises-in-273.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera's 2021-2022 Season Has 28 Saturday Matinee Broadcasts." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 22, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/11/met-operas-2021-2022-season-has-28.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "René Pape Added Boris Godunov to His Met Opera Portfolio Oct. 11, 2010." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sept. 27, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/09/rene-pape-added-boris-godunov-to-his.html

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Check out a sneak preview of BORIS GODUNOV! Director Stephen Wadsworth discusses his new production, which opens on October 11 and stars René Pape in the title role. http://www.metoperafamily.org/metop…/season/production.aspx. . . ." Facebook. Sept. 22, 2010.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/videos/1448808823722/

"New Production: Boris Godunov." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353590 New Production Boris Godunov {265} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/11/2010. Sirius and XM Broadcast live Streamed at metopera.org.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353590

Sarah schinasi @SarahSchinasi7. "Metropolitan Opera Dress Reharsal Sarah and Stephen Wadsworth." Twitter. Jan. 1, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/SarahSchinasi7/status/550778533140631552

"United States Premiere Boris Godunov." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 54660 United States Premiere Boris Godunov {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/19/1913.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=54660