Khovanshchina
M.Mussorgsky
Opera in 2 acts
Librettoby M.Mussorgsky
Production – State Prize Laureate, People Artist of Russia S. GAUDASSINSKY
Conductor -,A.ANIKHANOV, Honoured Artist of Russia M.Kukushkin.
Set Designer-S.PASTUKH
Chorus master-Honoured artist of Russia A.CHERNOV
Choreographer- V.Firsov.
Costume Designer- E.Rapay.
Director-Honoured artist of Russia A.Bashlovkin
CAST
Prince Ivan Khovansky
Prince Andrew Khovansky
Prince Vasily Golitsin.
Boyar Shaklovity
Dosifey, head of raskolniks
Marfa
Podjachy
Varsanofiev
Kuzma
Act I
Scene 1
Moscow awakes.
Streltsy come back from their night bloody amusements. Boyar Shaklovity dictates a letter with charges against Princes of Khovansky who supposedly intend to seize power. Ivan Khovansky, commander of the streltsy regiment, makes a round of Moscow.
Andrew, Ivan's son, chases Emma, a girl from a German settlement in Moscow. He wants to take her by brute force. Emma resists making Andrew even more furious. Marfa, Andrew's former lover, interferes and saves the girl.
Ivan Khovansky accompanied by streltsy appears. He orders them to take Emma away. Father and son start quarrelling and only Dosifey, the head of raskolniks, stops their quarrel.
Scene 2
Prince Golitsin, Princess Sofia's favourite, is full of doubts. Future worries him. He asks Marfa to tell him his fortunes.
Marfa foretells him disfavour. After her departure Prince orders his servant to follow Marfa and drown her.
Adversaries of Peter the First's reforms gather at Golitsin's. Prince Golitsin and Prince Khovansky start quarrelling. Dosifey stops it calling for unity in the struggle for salvation of the ancient structure of Russia. Suddenly Marfa who was rescued by Peter's adherents from the murderer's hands comes back. Shaklovity appears and says that Peter got a letter with the information against Princes Khovanskys and ordered to find them.
Raskolniks go through Streltsy settlement. Marfa is among them. She suffers from Audrey's faithlessness. Dosifey comforts her. Drunken streltsy make a wild amusement. Their wives try to calm they down. Only after the news about the arrival of reiters makes streltsy sober. They ask Khovansky to lead them against the enemy but the Prince orders them to go home.
Act II
Scene 3
Housemaids try to entertain Prince Khovansky. Varsonofiev, his servant, breaks the news of the coming danger. Prince refuses to believe it.
He got a false invitation to a secret meeting at Sofia's passed to him by Shaklovity.
But just as he crossed the threshold of his house he falls dead from the hands of a murder.
Scene 4
Marfa's prediction comes true: Golitsin is sent to exile. Moscovites watch his departure in deep sorrow.
Marfa breaks Dosifey the news of the decision of the Great Council to liquidate raskolniks.
Marfa tells Andrew about his father's death and the tsar's disfavour but the young Prince doesn't believe her words. It is only when he sees Streltsy going to the place of their execution that he realizes the inevitability of death. Marfa takes the Prince to a raskolniks monastery.
Scene 5
Dosifey leads raskolniks to a place of self-immolation. Marfa tries to revive in Andrew former affections of love gone. Dosifey blesses raskolniks to self-immolation.
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