Boris Godunov (opera) to exhibit a lack of cohesion between scenes. He claimed that Mussorgsky was so deficient in the ability to write instrumental music that he dispensed with composing a prelude, and that he had "borrowed the cheap method of characterization by leitmotives from Wagner." Other composers were even more censorious. Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote in a letter to his brother Modest: Of the critics who evaluated the new opera, only the 19-year-old critic Vladimir Baskin defended Mussorgsky's skill as a composer. Writing under the pen name "Foma Pizzicato", Baskin wrote, Although "Boris Godunov" is usually praised for its originality, dramatic choruses, sharply
William Chapman (baritone) NYCO. At Spoleto he also appeared in the world premiere of Tennessee Williams's play "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore". In March 1962 he portrayed Horace Tabor in Douglas Moore's "The Ballad of Baby Doe" opposite Beverly Sills in the title role and the Secret Police Agent in Menotti's "The Consul". In the 1964–1965 season Chapman added four new roles to his NYCO repertoire: Rangoni in Modest Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" with Norman Treigle in the title role; Jochanaan in Richard Strauss's "Salome" with Norman Kelley as Herod, Patricia Neway as Herodias, and Curtin in the title role; Boris in