After the deaths of Ivan the Terrible and his son Fyodor, Boris Godunov becomes Regent, as Ivan's surviving son Dmitry, the Tsarevitch, is still a child. When Dmitry dies in mysterious circumstances, politicians urge Boris to become Tsar. Boris reluctantly agrees, hoping that no one will discover the secret that troubles him. During the years that follow, Boris proves himself a good ruler.

Boris Godunov is one of the most dramatically rewarding bass-baritone roles: a noble ruler who loves his children and his people, but whose thirst for power has led him to commit a terrible crime. Musorgsky traces the Tsar's downfall with psychological acuity, from the nobility of his Coronation to his tragic end in one of opera's most affecting death scenes. Other highlights include the stirring chorus that opens and closes the Coronation Scene (based on a Russian folksong), Pimen's austere monologue in Scene 7 and the comic interlude with the monks Varlaam and Missail in Scene 4. Richard Jones's insightful production reflects the conflict between Boris's public persona and his private guilt through a set in which the murder of the Tsarevitch Dmitry is ritually re-enacted in a high vaulted room.