Boris Godunov (opera) fought an often losing battle against the conservatism of conductors and singers, who, raised on the plush Rimsky-Korsakov edition, found it impossible to adapt to Mussorgsky's comparatively unrefined and bleak original scores. Recently, however, a new appreciation for the rugged individuality of Mussorgsky's style has resulted in increasing performances and recording of his original versions. Musicologist Gerald Abraham wrote: For many, "Boris Godunov" is the greatest of all Russian operas because of its originality, drama, and characterization, regardless of any cosmetic imperfections it may possess. Models and influences A conflation of the 1869 and 1872 versions is often made when
Boris Godunov (opera) – First performance of the Shostakovich orchestration The premiere of the Shostakovich orchestration of 1940 of Pavel Lamm's vocal score took place on 4 November 1959 at the Kirov Theatre. Sergey Yeltsin conducted. The cast included Boris Shtokolov (Boris). "Note: Musicologists are often not in agreement on the terms used to refer to the two authorial versions of "Boris Godunov". Editors Pavel Lamm and Boris Asafyev used "preliminary redaction" and "principal redaction" for the 1st and 2nd versions, respectively, and David Lloyd-Jones designated them "initial" and "definitive." This article, aiming for utmost objectivity, uses "original" and "revised."" The differences in