21 March 2016 at 9.59pm | 73 Comments
#ROHboris Bryn Terfel is really a great actor. And he sings as well! This first version of Boris Godunov is more coherent
— Jose Manuel (@joselechiguero) March 21, 2016
#ROHboris nicely shows craziness and cruelty of Russian history. I was also impressed by the excellent Russian diction of most of the cast!
— Roman Kislov (@RomanKislov) March 21, 2016
Fantastic really enjoyed #ROHBoris the replaying the murder to contrast Boris emotions was chilling
— Renee (@Renee_Gillan) March 21, 2016
#ROHBoris great scene between Boris & Schuiski. Bryn Terfel so expressive & real #opera pic.twitter.com/LTpRmrNzyh
— Zenaida des Aubris (@zenaidasworld) March 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/Andrea_46_96/status/712035184321937410
#ROHBoris Bryn Terfel is simply grand! #opera pic.twitter.com/yPxu91VoRt — Zenaida des Aubris (@zenaidasworld) March 21, 2016
Bravi tutti, @Bryn_Terfel @TheRoyalOpera ! A magnificent live cinema performance of #ROHboris, thank you! pic.twitter.com/EFTYEjcu3E
— Gunvald Ottesen (@gottesen) March 21, 2016
#ROHBoris was amazing. Beautiful score. @Bryn_Terfel incredible. @JohnGrahamHall weird and wonderful.
— Rebecca Caine (@RebeccaCaine) March 21, 2016
Powerful performance from Bryn Terfel as Boris Godunov! Magnificent for his first time singing the role #ROHBoris
— James Taylor (@Wagnerian1979) March 21, 2016
What did you think of Boris Godunov live in cinemas?
Add your review below.
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21 March 2016 at 9.59pm
This article has been categorised Opera and tagged Boris Godunov, by Richard Jones, cinema, Movie, Production, Social Media, your reaction
This article has 73 comments
Brilliant singing. Brilliant staging. Brilliant music. Brilliant Bryn. Watched in Plymouth.
Breathtakingly stupid that this performance didn't carry subtitles. Katie Dereham might have spent a bit more time explaining the plot rather than holding an irrelevant interview with a singer from the up-coming production of Lucia di Lamamoor. It took me half an hour to get over my anger at the lack of subtitles and then I started focussing on the music and the acting. Of course it is a great work and it was well done by Covent Garden but nearly ruined for many thousands of cinema-goers by the absence of the subtitles. Did the audience in the House have surtitles? I bet they did!
Dear Peter,
All of our operas are broadcast with subtitles, including Boris Godunov last night. Please may I ask where you saw the screening and I will find out why the cinema weren't showing them? Sometimes it is a simple matter of switching the subtitles on and this can be rectified immediately by cinema staff.
Best wishes,
Sarah
Magnificent performance from Bryn Terfel and cast. Would have liked sub titles , not much Russian spoken in these parts!
Dear Elizabeth,
Please may I ask which cinema you saw Boris at last night? All our live screenings are broadcast with subtitles so I'd like to follow up with the cinema you attended and find out what went amiss.
Kind regards,
Sarah
Very nice evening of quality singing and yet again a classic performance by Bryn Terfel. He is the correct person for the part.
Beautiful production. Much enjoyed. Great cast. Good singing. Some of the Russian accents were suspect. It's a harsh sounding language. Not a good idea to soften it too much.
The music, acting/singing all fantastic as was the set and production. Only downside is that being a complex pschological plot with all sorts of subtle nuances conveyed both linguistically and musically - the linguistics got lost - unless one was a Russian speaker. Why no subtext?
Dear Henry,
There were indeed subtitles broadcast for Boris Godunov last night (as there always is for our operas). If you let me know which cinema you were at I will follow up with them directly and find out why they weren't showing them.
Kind regards,
Sarah
Wonderful production. Bryan Terfel was superb particularly in the death scene. Ain Anger sent shivers down my spine, what a marvellous voice. The chorus and other members of the cast where faultless. It was great to see Antonio Pappano receive a well deserved ovation. Well done to everyone. Can't wait for the next production.
Transmission difficulties at Cineworld Chesterfield meant that we were unable to see the live transmission. We and many others left very disappointed. Booked months ago 25 mile round trip wasted and we were so looking forward to the occasion.
Dear Alison,
I'm terribly sorry for what happened at Cineworld Chesterfield last night and for your disappointment. I know that they were having problems with their equipment during Boris but have no further information just yet. I'll be following up with them today to find out what went wrong and how we can prevent a similar situation happening again in future.
Best wishes,
Sarah
A magnificent production. Singing and staging were fantastic. But why were there no subtitles? - was this a deliberate "artistic choice" or the result of a technical glitch? I understand that ROH audiences get surtitles. Poor old Boris had a torrid time for more than two hours and so did I trying to keep up with the story. I'm thinking of asking for my money back.
Dear Stephen,
All of our operas are broadcast with subtitles in numerous languages, so yes, there should definitely have been subtitles playing last night. Please can you let me know which cinema you were at and I'll find out what went wrong?
Kind regards,
Sarah
I was at the same venue. I spoke to front of house staff after 30 minutes. They checked with the technician who claimed there was nothing he could do, citing no instructions from ROH. Complained today to theatre manager and she is investigating. I will be given a refund.
Brilliant dramatic performance by Bryn Terfil - amazing production. Feel quite drained!
What I saw of the production was good, but the cinema relay broke down about 6 times, so we lost crucial scenes and also lost the sub-titles for the first 45 minutes. The cinema manager advised that as the satellite connection was not going to improve we could leave (a complementary ticket was issued). Very disappointing and this is not the first time it has happened with opera from ROH. (e.g.there were no sub-titles for the first act of La Traviata)
Good morning Angela,
I'm very sorry for your disappointment last night. May I ask which cinema you were at? Please do let me know and I'll contact the cinema directly to establish what went wrong and how we can go about rectifying for the next time.
Kind regards,
Sarah
Great singing and acting of all ! Ain Anger is one of the best basses of our time and it would be intersting to hear him as Boris.
Hi Wolfgang, I also thought that Ain Anger was absolutely sensational. You may be interested to learn that he'll be singing the role of Boris when this production opens at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2017. Good for him.
Powerful and concise. Wonderful staging and performances, especially from Bryn Terfel.
A fabulous evening, spell binding performance from Bryn and the Monk.
Thank you from Street, Somerset
A wonderful experience - but one quibble. Please make the subtitles more legible on the screen. Those you used were often difficult to see against the background.
Great singing and I couldn't positively object to anything about the production, but it seemed a little underwhelming somehow. Too much like a semi-staged performance, too static. Part of the problem is that in Mussorgsky's original version, let's face it, nothing much happens. It's all monologues and no dramatic tension, Boris is doomed from the start and even the opera's 'conscience', the monk Pimen, is bigoted and unforgiving. Anyone with me in preferring Rimsky?
PS For me the highlight was John Tomlinson's turn as the drunk monk Varlaam: terrific!
So very disappointed to find that we could not see the transmission. It appears that other parts of the country could see it so I am so sad to miss it. Especially as it sounds so good.
Wonderful to be able to be at a cinema, while the opera is being sung for real at ROH, but please, please can we do without the ads for forthcoming programmes.Sur titles were fine in Harrogate. Perhaps the staff turned them on!
Bryn Terfel was great singing and acting.It was so emotional.
Did Russians really look and react like that?
viewed 21 Mar. Subtitling inadequate, mostly unreadable and not displayed long enough. Ludicrous to have whole of drunken song lost against white background and most of Terfels final scene lost against a white chair or his white robe. When will 'techies' learn to put white letters on small black backboard?
I enjoyed the performance but wished I had been at the royal opera house rather than in a cinema. There were two problems. The sound quality was disappointing and, more importantly, the sound was lost on several occasions. On one occasion it was lost for at least a minute. Afterwards the cinema said the loss of sound was a problem at the ROH's end. The cinema was the Vue at Cheshire Oaks. Kind regards.
Hi John,
Sorry to hear about the sound issue that occurred at Vue Cheshire Oaks. The feed leaving the ROH was without problem so we'll contact the cinema directly to find out what happened here.
Best wishes,
Bethan
Having not seen this version before I was interested a great deal. I felt that it was only a sketch of the later versions, however I must admit the storytelling was very clear. I missed the grandeur of the Boris scenes and the Polish act, the important Kromy Forest scene and the reduced role of the Fool. Richard Jones presented it only as a personal tragedy of Boris, but I feel the other characters are also very important to understand it more.
All in all, a great opera well presented and superbly sung. Bryn's acting is great but I was particularly impressed by Ain Anger as Pimen.(He would make a good Boris!!!!)
The more I read about the comments about the production, the more upset I am about missing it!! Wasted a couple of hours of my time, and petrol and did not even get any compensation. We saw absolutely nothing!!
Hi Florence,
Sorry to hear about the disappointment you experienced. Please could you let me know which cinema you attended? The feed leaving the ROH was without issue so we'll investigate with the cinema to find out what happened and ensure this doesn't happen in future.
Best wishes,
Bethan
For the attention of Sarah Walsh
Re No Subtitles and my earlier comment and your reply: the problems with no subtitles were at Leighton Buzzard Library. The audio and video quality were excellent throughout. I hope the problems can be resolved for Lucia di Lammermoor
Thank you Stephen.
I'm sure there's a simple explanation for this and that all will be well for the Lucia di Lammermoor screening.
All the best,
Sarah
The cinema was Cineworld Chesterfield. It was a very busy cinema so there will be many disappointed people. The manager was blaming it on the satallite connection Whatever it was still so disappointing.
Thanks.
Superb acting from Bryn Terfel but production irrevocably spoilt by the absence of surtitles at Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre. In order to follow the plot we had to keep trying to read the synopsis in the gloom of the theatre - not always possible.
Dear Valerie,
My apologies that there were no subtitles at your cinema last night. They were broadcast by us (as they always are) and I'll be following up with the cinema today to ascertain what went amiss.
Kind regards,
Sarah
Musically I thought it was wonderful. Bryn Terfel was astounding in the main part and Ain Anger and John Tomlinson were also outstanding. I have seen the longer version many times so it was good to see the original version, though I missed the Kromy Forest scene. (I am aware that it contains some of the material from the penultimate scene of the original version). Perhaps those who didn't manage to see last night's showing can catch the Encore showing on Easter Sunday evening - I hope so, because it is so well worth seeing.
Absolutely loved the performance. It was my first time at a live screening and I was astonished at how completely one forgets the cinema surroundings and feels that one is actually in the opera house auditorium - an illusion only broken when the (cinema) lights went up at the end. Very interested to see all the comments about the lack of surtitles. I was surprised that there were none in my venue. I didn't find this spoiled the experience but as stated, was surprised at the absence. To save anyone getting back in touch, here are the details: venue was IMC Enniskillen, address Raceview, Factory Road, Enniskillen, BT74 6DP, website http://www.imccinemas.ie and I'll hope that at my next visit (maybe Lucia!) this glitch will have been sorted out.
Watched in Brittany.French subtitles.
Thought audience reaction at end,slightly
subdued!
Taunton Brewhouse had to cancel as the transmission was full of buzzing. So disappointing as we had rearranged life so we could enjoy the spectacle
Moussorsky's opera demonstrates the power of repeated (probably untrue) stories in the hands of wily politicians in stirring up the public mood. The comparison with the harrying of Richard III is uncanny (especially with regard to the character and administrations of the two rulers). Jones's production was pungent given the libretto he was setting, though I grew tired of the repeated showings of the murder of the Tsarevich Dimity the heir - the point was well made the first time round and it was clear (without repetition ) that the thought of that young man's death played havoc in Boris's mind. The performances by Terfel, Graham-Hall (brilliantly sinister as Shuiski) and Tomlinson were superb, though I have no means of knowing how well the singers' Russian was.
Am I the only person who didn't enjoy this opera? Bryan Terfel brought emotion to the part and the acting was very good but for me it was too dark and in parts very boring. It is a matter of personal preference but I prefer opera sung in Italian. Thank goodness for the synopsis or I wouldn't have had a clue what was going on. Not an enjoyable performance at all.
Perhaps if you ask the ROH really nicely they might perform Boris Godunov translated into Italian the next time round?
All you had to do was ask the staff to turn the subtitles on. Someone in our cinema did. Lincoln.
Saw the performance at the Everyman cinema in Winchester and the technical aspects of the transmission and reception, including the subtitles, was all I could have wished for. Feel sorry for all those who missed this experience because of the incompetence of their local cinema staff or management.
I endorse all the comments about the individual performances, particularly Terfel (superb voice and very moving portrayal through a range of emotions), Graham-Hall (difficult but convincing characterisation), Anger (great voice), and Tomlinson (well acted). This was my first encounter with this opera so I took the time to read the Wikipedia article on the historical background, the synopsis and the history of the evolution of the opera through the 1869, 1872 and Rimsky Korsakov versions before leaving for the cinema. Last night's production was very close to the original 1869 version (no Polish Act). I recommend that strategy to all those who had difficulty with the plot or felt the need for subtitles. I was surprised that the opera had been restructured into seven scenes played consecutively with no interval. That must have been difficult for the performers, but for me it worked well and I was surprised to find that 2½ hours had passed when the curtains descended.
This was my first experience of live transmission of opera to a cinema sized screen - 70 years after my first experience of staged opera. I thought the photography and sound were superb and enhanced the experience. Going back to watch a live performance in a theatre will probably be disappointing. Thanks ROH and Everyman Cinemas for a memorable experience.
I too was greatly disappointed at the lack of subtitles, which meant that we hadn't the faintest idea of what was going on - the synopsis was no help in the dark! For future performances, how do we find out whether subtitles wiil be shown? We saw the performance at the Odeon cinema in Preston.
Hi John,
Sorry to hear this, we'll certainly look into it with Odeon Preston. Our cinema relays will always be broadcast with English subtitles so this was a local issue with the site.
Best wishes,
Bethan
My first experience of live screened opera, and I was hugely impressed. Rushed to get there from work, joining a small crowd at Hereford Odeon - no problems with subtitles there. It was a marvellous production and I was transfixed. My one PLEA to the ROH audience (and audiences elsewhere) - why ruin the drama and magic of the finale with early clapping? Can they be asked to refrain until it seems right to break the spell?
Watched / listened / experienced ROH Boris Godunov yesterday.
It was lovely.
HOWEVER.
As linguists (only as linguists, mind you) - dare we comment on a few things?
Like a "Rasputin" glass (?!) vodka bottle in the tavern? Is it clever brand placement, or just (ahem) sloppiness by the props department? Eh, Rasputin was an early XX century phenomenon. Another easy shot at "Oh, those Russians?". No comment.
And - why is the Holy Roman Empire on the map of Europe translated as Святая Римская Империя? Not by its proper name of Священная Римская Импария? Who was the translator, pray?
We hope that the English painter, who prepped the texts underneath the three Tzars' portraits, got distracted and mixed up the word order in one of the captions... with hilarious results... and it is fixed for the next performance.
Otherwise - a good introduction to the Russian opera, if you live far away from London . Please do go and watch, it is so worth it!
As has been said before, a magnificent production. My first real experience of live opera: I will be sure to come back for more! Can't wait for the next production. Bryn was brilliant, the staging was fantastic and the chorus and supporting cast were perfect in their roles. Truly a worthy performance.
So disappointed last night - no transmission in Cineworld Wakefield - ! Was really looking forward to a fantastic evening !
Hi Ann,
We're aware of the fault at Cineworld Wakefield, please be assured we are currently investigating what happened.
Best wishes,
Bethan
Boris Godunov has a few great musical moments. Especially the choir-pieces. Otherwise great performers do not make a great opera and, let's face it, the long monologues are quiet boring. We were relieved that after an hour and a half the connection timed out so we could quietly leave the theater.
The sound-quality was not brilliant. Most disappointing however was that at no time we experienced that this was a live registration. No shots of the orchestra, no pictures of the audience, no sounds of the public. It could have been filmed anywhere and anytime. Any opera on DVD played on a good television is just as good so why go to a cinema?
Hi Thomas,
Sorry to hear there was an issue at your screening- please could you let me know which cinema you attended and we'll investigate why the transmission ceased?
Best wishes,
Bethan
No technical problems in Cineworld Hull to spoil my first experience of Boris Godunov. I am no great opera buff, but went specifically to hear Bryn Terfel. Superb! And no weak performances to detract from a magnificent production. I do enjoy these live performances, but I wish we could join in the applause. There is a project for the 'techies' : devise a means of transmitting our applause back to the ROH.
I saw this at the Vue, Southport, and had no complaints about screening, complete with subtitles and good sound quality. I'm a beginner in Russian so was interested in this darkly passionate enactment, and the dominance of religious and patriot emotions. The double-tier staging recalled images of Russian art and the costumes combined realism with a touch of fantasy. The chorus were magnificently individualised peasant masses, united by suffering and duty, in the lead-in to the coronation scene. Given the gloomy subject matter I can't imagine a better performance than that of Bryn Terfyl, a tortured Macbeth who achieved a Lear-like like status at the end. The repeated 'dumb-show' slaughter of the boy was an effective way of showing his guilt. The very welcome comic relief of the tavern scene could have been augmented, in my opinion, by a stronger female presence, given Boris's touching farewell scene with his young son. `
In reply to Sarah Walsh, the cinema is in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh N. Ireland
Third time to see Boris and the first to see the original version - which I vastly prefer, wonderful music and singing. Not that keen on costumes however to say the least. bizarre mix . Tavern scene was particularly good. All in all, a great night and thank you, but why dress people up the way you did
Another mundane and banal production which fails to capture the sinister nature of the opera.Bryn Terfel adequate but his voice has not matured into a great voice for this role.My memories of Christoff and Ghiaurov in the role make it rather tame in comparison.Tomlinson and Ainger very good however.The latter I have heard in Continental Houses and he is in for a sound career especially in these days of mediocratisation and proleteriatisation in the opera house when performances are usually very average at best.
Great production. Wonderful to be able to experience the performance in Enniskillen. Sadly, we too had the sur/sub title issues. Thoroughly enjoyed it though!
I loved it: it was, for me, a cathartic experience, especially sung in Russian. The mixture of excellent voices worked so well. It was beautiful and I hope CG will record it as a lasting souvenir.
I was unable to attend the live screening so was looking forward to todays encore at the Odeon, George St, Oxford, especially after reading the positive comments.
The cinema was having difficulties with the DVD player with other players being brought in from another screen. the screening was late starting and when we were the introduction was already playing, but the picture was compressed vertically so people were short and wide. Ispoke to a member of staff who said it was being sorted. The quality of the picture was so poor that I left after 20mins and had a refund on my ticket.
I am very sorry to have missed what promised to be a good production and hope that technical difficulties like this can be rectified before the show starts.
So disappointed as took my son(Fyodor) to see Boris Godunov Encore at Kingston Odeon. The video cut off right at the end missing the top half stage ending and the curtain calls. The cinema says it was a technical problem with the satellite (?) from your end and will not consider refund. Saw it successfully at Curzon Richmond on 21 March so not sure what happened. Test of audience very confused.
Dear Jo,
Unless there was particularly poor weather then this sounds like a local issue at the cinema to me. The satellite feed was without flaw on Sunday afternoon. I'm very sorry for you and your son's disappointment.
Best wishes,
Sarah
I saw the live relay at the Vue, Oxford, and for a while it was shown the wrong size, so the top and bottom 10% or so of the picture were missing, and the only subtitles we could see were the first lines when there were two lines at a time, which wasn't often, and which didn't help much on their own. I nipped out to tell a member of staff towards the end of the introduction (which was also subtitled, for the information of those who never saw any!), and, after the opera has started, the picture vanished briefly three times, before the size was finally corrected about 20 minutes into the opera. We got our money back. The sound was also too loud, and strangely, at the last relay I saw, the Met Manon Lescaut at the Phoenix, Oxford, I had actually gone out of my way to comment to the manager on the way out that "the volume was not too loud, as it sometimes is".
I went to see Boris Godunov Encore at Beckenham Odeon. There were no technical problems of any kind.
Bryn Terfel was wonderful, great acting as well as singing. His Russian was not bad either - particularly as it was his first role in Russian. I am a native Russian speaker and I could understand Bryn quite easily which I could not say about the chorus.
Kostas Smoriginas and Ain Anger were quite outstanding and their Russian was perfect.
As for costumes, they were absolutely ridiculous, silly in fact.
Saw the encore in Winnersh yesterday. Absolutely brilliant performances by all.
Wonderful, moving production. I do hope the ROH will release it on dvd.
I too hope Boris will be released on DVD. I thought it was wonderful and Bryn as Boris was great!
Pushkin's great drama well adapted to opera. Moussorsky's music and the dramatic action perfectly integrated. The play not just a pretext for the music. The performances stunning; the Royal Opera takes acting seriously. Terfel unforgettable as Boris. Amazing how he learned to sing and enunciate Russian. Even with my rusty Russian, I understood him much of the time. The direction as brilliant and well thought through as the individual performances. Quite the most powerful operatic production I have ever seen anywhere -- in this instance at my local non-profit cinema here in Princeton, N.J. Getting to see filmed Covent Garden productions here is a privilege. I have recommended this Boris to all my former fellow-students of Russian in the government's 1950s national service language programme. I hope a DVD will be made available in the near future. Congratulations and thanks to all who made this great production possible.
A really terrific production -- just not as terrific as Covent Garden's previous production of the piece (in the super-sized, 1874 edition of the piece) conducted by Gergiev and directed and designed by Tarkovsky.