Composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky Librettist Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky Based On the historical tragedy by Alexander Pushkin and "History of the Russian State" by Nikolai Karamzin Company San Francisco Opera Association Location San Francisco, CA Venue War Memorial Opera House Season 1956 Language Russian Creative/Crew Conductor William Steinberg Stage Director(s) Paul Hager Designer Leo Kerz Chorus Director Gianni Lazzari Choreographer Willam Christensen Costumers Goldstein & Co. Cast Boris Godunov, Regent of Russia Boris Christoff Fyodor, his son Rosalind Nadell Xenia, his daughter Jeannine Crader Nurse June Wilkins Shuisky Caesar Curzi Shchelkalov George Cehanovsky Brother Pimen Nicola Moscona Dimitri/Grigori Richard Lewis Marina Oralia Dominguez Rangoni Hans Hotter Varlaam Lorenzo Alvary Missail Chris Lachona Innkeeper Katherine Hilgenberg Simpleton Raymond Manton Police Officer Carl Palangi Frontier Guard Desire Ligeti Chernikovsky Louis Quilico Lavitsky Murray Kenig Khrushchev, a Boyar Virginio Assandri First Peasant Peggy Covington Second Peasant Eloise Farrell Third Peasant Edward Lovasich Show Dates Tue, Sep 25 1956, 8pm Sat, Sep 29 1956, 8pm Time and Place About 1600; Moscow and Lithuanian Frontier Scenes Act I, Scene 1 -- Outside a Monastery near Moscow Scene 2 -- Cathedral Square, Moscow Scene 3 -- Cell in Monastery of the Miracle at Night, six years later Scene 4 -- Inn on the Lithuanian Frontier Scene 5 -- In the Kremlin Act II, Scene 1 -- In Marina's Palace, Poland Scene 2 -- Near Marina's Palace Act III, Scene 1 -- Forest of Kromy near Moscow Scene 2 -- Duma in the Kremlin Media Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Lorenzo Alvary (Varlaam), Katherine Hilgenberg (Innkeeper) Credit Lackenbach Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Boris Kristoff (Boris) Credit Lackenbach Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Boris Kristoff (Boris) Credit Lackenbach Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Cesare Curzi (Shuisky), Nicola Moscona (Br. Piemen), Boris Christoff (Boris) Credit Lackenbach Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Ensemble Credit Lackenbach Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Hans Hotter (Rangoni), Oralia Dominguez (Marina) Credit Lackenbach Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Katherine Hilgenberg (Innkeeper), Richard Lewis (Dimitri) Credit Lackenbach Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Rosalind Nadell (Fyodor) Credit Lackenbach Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Katherine Hilgenberg (Innkeeper) Credit Lackenbach Document SFO_PUB_01_SFO_1956_03_compressed.pdf (9.84 MB) Notes To access the full production program, click the PDF link above. --------------------- Rimsky-Korsakov version San Francisco Opera Boys Chorus Phonetic transliteration by Mme. Seraphima Strelova "Newly Revised Production" These performances represented San Francisco Opera's first "Boris" in its original Russian. It also includes an interesting statistic: the only time Hans Hotter ever sang a role in Russian.
Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Lorenzo Alvary (Varlaam), Katherine Hilgenberg (Innkeeper) Credit Lackenbach
Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Boris Kristoff (Boris) Credit Lackenbach
Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Boris Kristoff (Boris) Credit Lackenbach
Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Cesare Curzi (Shuisky), Nicola Moscona (Br. Piemen), Boris Christoff (Boris) Credit Lackenbach
Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Ensemble Credit Lackenbach
Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Hans Hotter (Rangoni), Oralia Dominguez (Marina) Credit Lackenbach
Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Katherine Hilgenberg (Innkeeper), Richard Lewis (Dimitri) Credit Lackenbach
Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Rosalind Nadell (Fyodor) Credit Lackenbach
Image Boris Godunov, Modest Mussorgsky. San Francisco Opera, 1956. Photographer: Robert Lackenbach/San Francisco Opera. Katherine Hilgenberg (Innkeeper) Credit Lackenbach