Boris Godunov (opera) Boris Godunov (opera) Boris Godunov (, "Borís Godunóv") is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar (1598 to 1605) during the Time of Troubles, and his nemesis, the False Dmitriy (reigned 1605 to 1606). The Russian-language libretto was written by the composer, and is based on the drama "Boris Godunov" by Aleksandr Pushkin, and, in the Revised Version of 1872, on Nikolay Karamzin's "History of the
Boris Godunov (1986 film) of Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov takes the throne, by the decision of the Zemsky Sobor, with the help of intrigues, alliances and the arrangement of his sister Irina's marriage to Tsarevich Feodor, gains great influence and power in the court. But suddenly there is a new contender for the throne – a man posing as Dmitri, the younger son of Ivan the Terrible, who officially died in Uglich in 1591. The pretender shows up in Poland and after he receives the support of Prince Vishnevetzky, Sandomierz voivode Mniszech and his daughter, the beautiful Marina, returns to Russia. Despite the