The idea of ​​this "Prima" (Premiere) had germinated three years ago, well before the war: after the Russian invasion in February, doubts arose, but La Scala maintained its program, despite the consul's protests Ukrainian in Milan, Andrii Kartysh.

If the diplomat feared a propaganda coup for Vladimir Putin, the mythical theater is formal: "we are not apologizing for anyone, we are playing an opera which is a masterpiece of art history", its director Dominique Meyer told AFP.

A highlight of Italian cultural life, the "Prima" will be followed from the palco reale, the prestigious "royal box", by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella.

The general manager of La Scala, Dominique Meyer, in the premises of the theater in Milan, May 7, 2021 © MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP

Mussorgsky's opera (1839-1881), inspired by the eponymous drama by Alexander Pushkin, tells of the rupture between an autocratic ruler and his people and was censored several times under the Russian Empire, then the Soviet Union.

The first version dating from 1869, considered too avant-garde, had been rejected by the artistic commission of the imperial theaters of Saint Petersburg.

An amended version performed in 1874 was a flop, criticized for its "bad taste and musical ignorance".

loneliness in power

It is the original version ("Ur-Boris") sung in Russian that the musical director of La Scala, Riccardo Chailly, chose to remain faithful to the spirit of Mussorgsky, even if it is "bitter and harsher “, according to Mr. Meyer.

"+ Boris Godounov + is an absolute masterpiece, whose modernity surprises" and which reserves "moments of great poetry of timbre and musical beauty", considers Mr. Chailly.

A production of this opera at the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg in 2012 struck people by drawing a parallel between the reign of Boris Godunov, tsar from 1598 to 1605, and Vladimir Putin, who was then facing an unprecedented protest movement. .

Ten years later, it's the right time to play "Boris Godunov", because "Mussorgsky was himself an artist who fought the system, it would be totally wrong to censor his opera which unmasks power", believes the director stage, Kasper Holten.

A rehearsal of Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov" at La Scala in Milan, November 17, 2022 © Brescia-Amisano / TEATRO ALLA SCALA/AFP

Solitude in power, madness, violence, remorse... the complex and tormented character of Boris Godounov, who came to power after having the legitimate heir to the throne assassinated, seems straight out of a tragedy by William Shakespeare (1564-1616 ), from which Pushkin drew inspiration.

A small departure from the original version of "Boris Godunov", an intermission separates the first part, where the spectator follows the drama seen from the outside, from the second, which allows him to slip into the mind of the tsar, in the grip of to hallucinations and haunted by ghosts.

Chronicle of a Murder

In the title role, the famous Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov evokes a "Boris with a soul and a heart, but consumed by remorse for having killed a child".

Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov during a rehearsal of "Boris Godounov" at La Scala in Milan, November 17, 2022 © Brescia-Amisano / TEATRO ALLA SCALA/AFP

“This thought is constant, there is always an anguish which grows slowly and becomes more and more heavy, until it becomes mad and ends up dying”, he says.

A gigantic white parchment is unrolled over a large part of the stage, symbolizing the manuscript of the chronicler monk Pimene, witness to the murder of the child heir, who seeks to restore the truth in the face of the regime's censorship.

"This giant roll of paper turns into a river of time and history on which we build our palaces and our dreams and which in the end carries us away", explains Kasper Holten.

The monk Pimen is embodied by the Estonian Ain Anger, considered one of the best Wagnerian basses in the world.

A gigantic parchment covers part of the stage, during a rehearsal of "Boris Godounov" at La Scala in Milan, November 17, 2022 © Brescia-Amisano / TEATRO ALLA SCALA/AFP

Female roles are rare, given to Russian soprano Anna Denisova as the Tsar's daughter, Xenia, and mezzo-soprano Lilly Jørstad, who plays her young son, Fédor.

© 2022 AFP