F. I. Chaliapin and V. E. Meyerhold in the work on the production of “Boris Godunov” (Mariinsky Theatre, 1911)

Abstract

The aim of the historical and theoretical study is to find an answer to the question of the place that the 1911 production of M. P. Mussorgsky’s opera “Boris Godunov” in the Mariinsky Theatre occupies in the creative work of the director V. E. Meyerhold and the role that it plays. The paper clarifies the meaning and content of the productions present in the opera’s 1911 staging, i.e. Chaliapin’s production and Meyerhold’s production; reveals the structure of the stage image of Tsar Boris played by F. I. Chaliapin and the method for creating the actor’s presence on stage that underlies the work on the main role; the primary characteristics of Meyerhold’s production are formulated. The scientific novelty of this study is not connected with the discovery of new sources, but lies in the promotion of scientific hypotheses that can pose new questions to long-existing sources and extract from them new knowledge about Meyerhold’s 1911 production of “Boris Godunov” on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, which is considered in the existing literature to be the director’s failure. As a result, it has been determined that Chaliapin’s production and Meyerhold’s production did not contradict each other, but were arranged by Meyerhold into an integral stage composition. In addition, this production cannot be considered the director’s failure, it represents one of the stages of mastering a new area of activities – opera directing.