Due to the pandemic, the new production of “Khovanshchina” planned for 2020 could only be realized this season at the Staatsoper unter den Linden. Now, Modest Mussorgsky’s monumental, melancholy music unfolds in all its splendour, not least thanks to the phenomenal performance of the chorus. “Khovanshchina” is an unfinished opera in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky, which thematizes the historical drama surrounding the Khovanchy conspiracy in 17th century Russia, when political intrigues and religious tensions within the Orthodox Church shook Russia.
Mussorgsky himself wrote the libretto, which is based on actual historical events. The opera begins during the time when the conflict between the reformed and the old-faith Russians is brewing. Vasily Golitsyn, a progressive duke, and duke Khovansky, leader of the Old Believers, are the two central figures in this conflict.
Khovansky uses the dissatisfaction of the people and the Strelitz, an elite military unit, to expand his power. Marfa, the former lover of Khovansky’s son and a supporter of the Old Believers, prophesies doom for Russia. In the course of the opera, intrigues and power struggles are fought out.
Golitsyn plots to undermine Khovansky’s influence, while Khovansky attempts to secure his position through violence and terror. The plot culminates in a dramatic climax when Khovansky is murdered by the tsar’s troops. The Strelitz are suppressed and the power vacuum leads to further political and religious .
