Khovanshchina (, sometimes rendered The Khovansky Affair) is an opera (subtitled a 'national music drama') in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was written between 1872 and 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The composer wrote the libretto based on historical sources. The opera was almost finished in piano score when the composer died in 1881, but the orchestration was almost entirely lacking.
Like Mussorgsky's earlier Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina deals with an episode in Russian history, first brought to the composer's attention by his friend the critic Vladimir Stasov. It concerns the rebellion of Prince Ivan Khovansky, the Old Believers, and the Muscovite Streltsy against the regent Sofia Alekseyevna and the two young Tsars Peter the Great and Ivan V, who were attempting to institute Westernizing reforms in Russia. Khovansky had helped to foment the Moscow Uprising of 1682, which resulted in Sofia becoming regent on behalf of her younger brother Ivan and half-brother Peter, who were crowned joint Tsars. In the fall of 1682 Prince Ivan Khovansky turned against Sofia. Supported by the Old Believers and the Streltsy, Khovansky – who supposedly wanted to install himself as the new regent – demanded the reversal of Patriarch Nikon's reforms. Sofia and her court were forced to flee Moscow. Eventually, Sofia managed to suppress the so-called Khovanshchina (Khovansky affair) with the help of the diplomat Fyodor Shaklovity, who succeeded Khovansky as leader of the Muscovite Streltsy. With the rebellion crushed, the Old Believers committed mass suicide (in the opera, at least).
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov completed, revised, and orchestrated Khovanshchina in 1881–1882. In 1958, Dmitri Shostakovich was commissioned to revise and reorchestrate the opera for a film version released the following year. It is the Shostakovich version which is now usually performed. In 1913, Igor Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel made their own arrangement at Sergei Diaghilev's request. When Feodor Chaliapin refused to sing the part of Dosifey in any other orchestration than Rimsky-Korsakov's, Diaghilev's company employed a mixture of orchestrations which did not prove successful. The Stravinsky-Ravel orchestration was forgotten, except for Stravinsky's finale, which is still sometimes used.
Although the background of the opera comprises the Moscow Uprising of 1682 and the Khovansky affair a few months later, its main themes are the struggle between progressive and reactionary political factions during the minority of Tsar Peter the Great and the passing of old Muscovy before Peter's westernizing reforms. It received its first performance in the Rimsky-Korsakov edition in 1886.
History Compositional history
ActionCompletion date (latest)Remarks Act 1 1. Prelude: Dawn over the Moscow River 4 September 1874 First mentioned to Dmitry Stasov on 2 August 1873 2. Streltsy talk, Kuzka sings 2 August 1873 Mentioned to Stasov on 2 August 1873 3. Scribe arrives; Shaklovity dictates his denunciation 23 July 1873 First mentioned to Stasov on 23 July 1873 4. The crowd enters and forces the Scribe to read the proclamation 2 January 1875 Omitted from Rimsky-Korsakov's version. Begun 1873. 5. Ivan Khovansky enters with Streltsy 18 May 1876 6. Emma, Andrey, and Marfa 18 May 1876 Shortened in Rimsky-Korsakov's version, but not according to Mussorgsky's final 1879 libretto 7. Return of Ivan Khovansky, who desires Emma for himself; entry of Dosifey, who berates everyone 18 May 1876 Shortened in Rimsky-Korsakov's version 8. Dosifey's lament 30 July 1875 Act 2 1. Golitsin reads Sophia's letter 7 August 1875 2. Golitsin reads his mother's letter 7 August 1875 Omitted from Rimsky-Korsakov's version 3. Golitsin with the Pastor 2 August 1875 Omitted from Rimsky-Korsakov's version, and Mussorgsky's final plan 4. Marfa's fortune-telling 20 August 1870 Originally written for the projected opera Bobyl. Final version from 24 July 1878. 5. Ivan Khovansky arrives; quarrel ensues 16 August 1876 Shortened in Rimsky-Korsakov's version 6. Arrival of Dosifey 14 October 1875 Shortened in Rimsky-Korsakov's version 7. Marfa returns; Shaklovity's entry 12 September 1876 8. [Unwritten ending] Rimsky-Korsakov reprises the Dawn theme, while Shostakovich adds a foreshadowing of the Preobrazhensky March. Mussorgsky first intended to close with a single chord, but later decided on a final quintet. Act 3 1. Chorus of Old Believers 31 December 1875 2. Marfa's song 18 August 1873 Orchestrated by Mussorgsky, 24–25 November 1879. Originally written in F major; Mussorgsky later transposed it to G major, allowing the Old Believer's chorus to connect to it. 3. Confrontation between Marfa and Susanna 5 September 1873 In Rimsky-Korsakov's version, connecting bars are written to make it possible to cut this scene. Mussorgsky later shortened this scene. 4. Intervention of Dosifey and Marfa's confession 13 February 1876 Mussorgsky later shortened this scene. 5. Shaklovity's aria 6 January 1876 6. Streltsy enter 30 May 1876 Orchestrated by Mussorgsky 7. Streltsy's wives scold them about their drinking 30 May 1876 8. Kuzka's celebration 22 September 1876 Omitted from Rimsky-Korsakov's version 9. Scribe arrives with news of Tsar Peter's attack on the Streltsy 10 June 1880 10. Appeal to Ivan Khovansky, who decides against fighting Tsar Peter 10 June 1880 Act 4, scene 1 1. Ivan Khovansky at home, being entertained 5 August 1880 2. Dance of the Persian Slaves 16 April 1876 Orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov, with Mussorgsky's approval, within his lifetime 3. Shaklovity arrives; song in honor of Ivan Khovansky; Khovansky murdered 5 August 1880 Act 4, scene 2 1. Golitsin's exile 23 May 1880 Based on Marfa's fortune-telling, which had predicted this event 2. Dosifey with Marfa 23 May 1880 First mentioned to Stasov on 25 December 1876 3. Andrey confronts Marfa about Emma 7–8 July 1879 First mentioned by Stasov to Mussorgsky on 15 August 1873 4. Streltsy enter 23 May 1880 5. Streltsy's wives plead that their husbands not be pardoned 23 May 1880 6. Preobrazhensky March; Streshnev relates Peter's pardon of the Streltsy 23 May 1880 Act 5 1. Dosifey's aria 14 April 1880 Mentioned to Stasov on 14 August 1873. Expanded by Rimsky-Korsakov with material from Dosifey's act 1 lament 2. Andrey searches for Emma; Marfa sings to him 10 September 1879 Mentioned in letters as early as 23 July 1873, but complete manuscript lost: only vocal parts survive 3. Dosifey returns 28 August 1880 4. Love Requiem 10 September 1879 Composed, but not written down. Reconstructed by Rimsky-Korsakov in his version: this reconstruction is also used by Shostakovich 5. Final chorus 17 August 1880 Based on an Old Believer melody, and not finished by Mussorgsky (or lost). Rimsky-Korsakov uses this tune and reprises Preobrazhensky march. Shostakovich keeps Rimsky-Korsakov's chorus and adds a reprise of the Dawn. Stravinsky bases his chorus on Mussorgsky's designated melody, as well as two other themes related to the Old Believers (their act 3 chorus and the orchestral motive that opens act 5).
The libretto was written out by 1879, and shows some inconsistencies with the actual text set to music. The above table is based on those of Richard Taruskin (in Musorgsky: Eight Essays and an Epilogue) and (in the preface to his edition of the vocal score).
Performance history
The St. Petersburg and world premiere took place on 21 February (9 February O.S.), 1886 using the Rimsky-Korsakov edition. Also in St. Petersburg on 27 October 1893 the opera was presented by artists of the Russian Opera Society.
The Russian Private Opera presented the Moscow premiere at the Solodovnikov Theater on 12 November 1897 conducted by Michele Esposito, with scene designs by Konstantin Korovin, Apollinary Vasnetsov, and Sergey Malyutin. There were 1910 and 1911 productions in the two cities, the first by the Zimin Opera in Moscow and conducted by Palitsīn scenes by Matorin, while the second was at St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre and conducted by Albert Coates.
Khovanshchina reached the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris in 1913, where Emil Cooper (Kuper) conducted a Diaghilev production, in a new orchestration written collaboratively by Igor Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel. Because Feodor Chaliapin was unwilling to sing Dosifei in any orchestration other than Rimsky-Korsakov's, the Parisians heard a hybrid version which proved unsuccessful, and this orchestration was forgotten. Only the finale, which was composed by Stravinsky, has survived and was published in 1914. It occasionally replaces Dmitri Shostakovich's finale in some productions, such as Claudio Abbado's 1989 production in Vienna.
Also in 1913, it was presented in London at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. It was produced in New York for the first time in 1931.
The Shostakovich version, in Pavel Lamm's edition, was first presented on 25 November 1960 at the Kirov Theater, conducted by Sergey Yeltsin with sets designed by Fedorovsky.
Khovanshchina was not staged by New York's Metropolitan Opera until 1950, although excerpts were performed by the Met as early as 1919. The 1950 production was sung in English and featured Risë Stevens as Marfa, Lawrence Tibbett as Prince Ivan and Jerome Hines as Dosifei. The sets and costumes were designed by the Russo-Lithuanian artist Mstislav Dobuzhinsky.Source: Metropolitan Opera archives That production received only four performances in 1950, and the Met did not stage Khovanshchina again until 1985, this time in Russian.
The new production was staged by August Everding, designed by Ming Cho Lee, and used the Shostakovich orchestration, with Martti Talvela as Dosifei and Natalia Rom as Emma. It has since been revived several times at the Met, most recently in a 2012 run, during which Stravinsky's final scene was employed there for the first time.Met History: Khovanshchina Performances of Khovanshchina by visiting Russian companies have also appeared at the Met. More recently, it was performed by Welsh National Opera in both Wales and England as well as at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich under Kent Nagano in 2007.
Khovanshchina is not seen on stage often outside Russia, but it has been recorded complete 23 times, including seven videos.
Roles RoleVoice typeMoscow castRussian Private Opera12 November 1897Moscow(Conductor: Michele Esposito) Moscow castZimin Opera 1910(Conductor: Palitsyn)St. Petersburg castMariinsky Theatre, 1911(Conductor: Albert Coates)Prince Ivan Khovansky, head of the StreltsybassAnton BedlevichKapiton ZaporozhetsVasily SharonovPrince Andrey Khovansky, his sontenorPyotr InozemtsevAndrey LabinskyPrince Vasily GolitsintenorYekab KarklinAnton Sekar-RozhanskyIvan YershovDosifey, head of the schismatics (Old Believers)bassFyodor ShalyapinVasily PetrovFyodor ShalyapinBoyar Fyodor ShaklovitybaritoneI. SokolovNikolay ShevelyovPavel AndreyevMarfa, a schismaticmezzo-sopranoSerafima Selyuk-RoznatovskayaVera Petrova-ZvantsevaYevgeniya ZbruyevaSusanna, an old schismaticsopranoAnastasya RubinskayaYelena NikolayevaScrivenertenorGrigiriy KassilovGrigoriy UgrinovichEmma, a maiden from the German quartersopranoVarvara AntonovaMarya KovalenkoPastorbaritoneNikolay KedrovVarsonofyev, a retainer of GolitsinbaritoneMikhail Malinin (father of Boris Malinin and Marina Raskova) Kuzka, a strelets (musketeer)tenorMikhail Levandovsky Vladimir LosevStreshnev, a BoyartenorChorus: Streltsy, schismatics, serving girls and Persian slaves of Prince Ivan Khovansky, people
Mussorgsky refers to Marfa as a contralto in a letter to Vladimir Stasov on 16 January 1876. Varsonofyev's part is written in the bass clef in his act 2 appearance, as expected for a bass or baritone; but it is written in the treble clef (presumably meant to sound an octave lower) in his act 4 appearance, as expected for a tenor.
Instrumentation Rimsky-Korsakov Edition: Strings: violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, double basses