Boris Godunov (opera) the repertory due to difficulty in appreciating his raw and uncompromising idiom. Therefore, Rimsky-Korsakov was justified in making improvements to keep the work alive and increase the public's awareness of Mussorgsky's melodic and dramatic genius. The Rimsky-Korsakov version remained the one usually performed in Russia, even after Mussorgsky's earthier original (1872) gained a place in Western opera houses. The Bolshoy Theatre has only recently embraced the composer's own version. Dmitriy Shostakovich worked on "Boris Godunov" in 1939–1940 on a commission from the Bolshoy Theatre for a new production of the opera. A conflation of the 1869 and 1872 versions had
Boris Godunov Skuratova-Belskaya, the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov-Belskiy, head of the oprichniks. In 1580, the Tsar chose Boris Godunov's sister Irina Godunova (1557 – 26 October/23 November 1603) to be the wife of his second son and eventual heir, the fourteen-year-old Feodor Ivanovich (1557–1598). On this occasion, Godunov was promoted to the rank of "Boyar". On 15 November 1581, Godunov was present when the Tsar murdered his own eldest son, the crown prince Ivan. Godunov tried to intervene but received blows from the Tsar's sceptre. The elder Ivan immediately repented, and Godunov rushed to get help for the Tsarevich, who died four