The Cunning Little Vixen reflection on the cycle of life and death by including the death of the vixen. As with other operas by older composers, this late opera shows a deep understanding of life leading to a return to simplicity. It was given its premiere performance on 6 November 1924 in National Theatre Brno conducted by František Neumann, with Ota Zítek as director and Eduard Milén as stage designer. The opera received its Italian premiere at La Scala in 1958 with Mariella Adani in the title role. The work was first staged in England in 1961 by the Sadler's Wells Opera Company (now
Boris Godunov (opera) finished in 1872 (vocal score, 14 December 1871; full score 23 June 1872), and submitted to the Imperial Theatres in the autumn. Most Mussorgsky biographers claim that the directorate of the Imperial Theatres also rejected the revised version of "Boris Godunov", even providing a date: 6 May 1872 (Calvocoressi), or 29 October 1872 (Lloyd-Jones). Recent researchers point out that there is insufficient evidence to support this claim, emphasizing that in his revision Mussorgsky had rectified the only objection the directorate is known to have made. In any case, Mussorgsky's friends took matters into their own hands, arranging the performance of