Boris Godunov (opera) most part hostile. Some critics dismissed the work as "chaotic" and "a cacophony". Even his friends Mily Balakirev and César Cui, leading members of the Mighty Handful, minimized his accomplishment. Unable to overlook Mussorgsky's "trespasses against the conventional musical grammar of the time", they failed to recognize the giant step forward in musical and dramatic expression that "Boris Godunov" represented. Cui betrayed Mussorgsky in a notoriously scathing review of the premiere performance: Although he found much to admire, particularly the Inn Scene and the Song of the Parrot, he reproved the composer for a poorly constructed libretto, finding the opera
Boris Godunov Boris Godunov Boris Fyodorovich Godunov (; , ; c. 1551) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as "de facto" regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his reign Russia descended into the Time of Troubles. Boris Godunov was the most noted member of an ancient, now extinct, Russian family of Tatar origin (Chet), which came from the Horde to Kostroma in the early 14th century. This legend is written in the annals dating from early 17th century. He was descended from the Tatar Prince Chet, who went