Opera Bites: Murder, madness and mayhem in Met's production of 'Boris Gudunov'

With new software and a complete schedule, AMC Town Plaza 5 will continue its high-definition broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera for the season.

The next opera will be Modest Mussorgsky's monumental work, "Boris Godunov," at 11 a.m. Saturday with an encore broadcast Nov. 10.

"Boris Godunov" is a series of scenes depicting the events in the life of the title character. In the prologue the people are bemoaning the fate of Russia, which is in the grip of a reign of terror and brutality. One of the boyars tells the people that Boris Godunov has been chosen as the new czar but has refused the crown. In the second scene, which is set near the Kremlin, one of the princes of the state invites the people to pay homage to the new czar. Boris appears and kneels to show his humility before God.

Scene I of Act 1 takes place in a monastery. The monk Pimen is writing a chronicle of Russia. His pupil, Grigory, has had a bad dream. Pimen warns him about the temptations of secular life, but Grigory wants to know about the murder of the tsarevitch by Boris Godunov. The young man would now be the same age as Grigory.

Scene 2 takes place in an inn. Grigory has run away from the monastery; he is with two itinerant monks. The police arrive looking for Grigory, but he escapes by jumping out of the window.

Act 2 takes place in the czar's palace in the Kremlin. Boris has been on the throne for six years but has not brought happiness to his people. He is plagued by guilt over the murder of the tsarevitch. A messenger arrives to tell Boris that a pretender named Dimitri has claimed the Russian throne. A vision of the murdered child preys on Boris' mind.

Scene 1 of Act 3 takes place in Marina's dressing room; she is an ambitious woman who wants to become the czarina of Russia.

In the second scene Marina tells Grigory that if he becomes czar she will return his love.

Scene 1 of Act 4 takes place in front of a cathedral in Moscow. Russia is blighted by misfortune and as the czar leaves the church the people beg for alms. The next scene is in the Kremlin.

The boyars have sentenced the pretender to death. Boris is going mad because of his guilt over the murder of the tsarevitch (this is one of only a few mad scenes for a bass in all of opera). As he is dying he makes his son his heir.

The final scene is in a forest. There is anarchy in Russia; the people are revolting, but the new czar appears and leads them back to Moscow.

The role of Boris will be sung by the German bass Rene Pape. He is one of the greatest singers on the operatic stage today; the music critic for The Wall Street Journal gave his performance a rave review. I have seen Pape at the Met, and he is mesmerizing.

Barbara Herbert is an opera lover and host of KRCU's "Sunday Night at the Opera."