Vladimir Jurowski presents Boris the Tsar

Maestro Vladimir Jurowski is rehearsing a unique project to be performed at the Mikhailovsky Theatre on 3 and 4 January 2015: Boris the Tsar, a musical and literary production based on Modest Mussorgsky’s first version of Boris Godunov and historical texts by Nikolay Karamzin.

“The production we are staging at the Mikhailovsky Theatre utterly resists any strict genre definitions”, says Vladimir Jurowski, Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra. “It is a combination of genres, a blend of opera and dramatic theatre production. However, the whole thing is based on Mussorgsky’s untouched original, the first version of Boris Godunov from 1869. We will be performing it for the first time on original, nineteenth-century instruments.”

The production will feature one of the most fascinating musical groups in Europe — London’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. “Not all orchestras are the same” is the motto of these musicians, whose main focus is to give authentic renditions of music from various ages. The outstanding Russian baritone Sergei Leiferkus will sing the part of Boris Godunov for the first time in his career. The literary composition has been written and adapted for the stage by Vitaly Fialkovsky.