Boris Godunov
Samuel Ramey's Boris is "Grand and Deeply Moving!"
        –San Francisco Chronicle
        (Click here to read more)


Discover


Scenes from the production


Photo Gallery


Introduction

Pronunciation

Excerpts

In this Mussorgsky masterpiece, a Russian ruler is haunted by a horrible act he committed years earlier. The concise original version of the opera, focusing on the emotional disintegration of the title character, creates a theatrical experience of searing intensity. Samuel Ramey, recipient of the 2003 San Francisco Opera Medal, returns in the title role. The Washington Post raved: "His electrical presence, his bounding athleticism, his keen intelligence, his dark and chimerically versatile bass voice were all put to the noblest of purposes: a fully fleshed-out, highly complicated portrayal of the flawed Czar."

  • Approximate running time: 2 hours 50 minutes including one intermission
  • Sung in Russian with English supertitles

  • Originally produced by the Grand Théâtre de Genève
  • Company Sponsor Mrs. Edmund W. Littlefield is proud to support this production. This production is made possible, in part, by The Bernard Osher Endowment Fund.
  • Production photo: Ted Washington, courtesy of Houston Grand Opera
  • Cast, program and schedule are subject to change

Broadcasts

    Listen Sunday, April 5 at 8 pm on Classical 102.1 KDFC

    Recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House during the 2008-09 season.

    This broadcast was produced by San Francisco Opera, with technical production by the San Francisco Opera Sound Department.
    Producer: Marilyn Mercur
    Broadcast Host: Elaine Warner

Cast

Production

*San Francisco Opera debut
Privacy Directions Box Office: (415) 864-3330 Season Sponsor