Seminar "" Boris Godunov " as a drama and model of human destiny and the nation"

On Friday, September 23, at 19.00 at White Hall of Russian Institute for Art History will be held the first meeting on the theme “” Boris Godunov ” as a drama and model of human destiny and the nation” in the series of seminars «Alexander Pushkin and Nowadays».

July 13, 1825 Pushkin, being in his estate Mikhailovskoe under the supervision, wrote to Peter Vyazemsky in Tsarskoye Selo: “Thats a tragedy before me. I cannot tolerate, so as not to write its title: Comedy of the real trouble to Moscow State, of Tsar Boris and Grishka Otrepiev writen by servant of God Alexander the son of Sergiy Pushkin, summer of 7333, on the Voronich site. What do you think?”. Four months later, November the 7th, the poet has wrote to Vyazemsky the following lines: “I congratulate you, my dear, with a romantic tragedy, in which Boris Godunov is a first person! The tragedy is over; I reread it aloud, applaud myself clap my hands and shout, Oh yes, Pushkin, oh yes, me – son of a bitch!” The author genuine rapture in a face of his creation indicates that from the pen of a genius came something more than just a historical chronicle “in Shakespeare’s spirit.” Having published only in 1866, Pushkin’s tragedy still causes a lot of controversy and accusations of “unactable”. Well known Pushkinist Valentin Nepomnyashchiy believes that Pushkin presenting in his drama with a special type of theater that is different from the European tradition. “Boris Godunov”, indeed intertwined numerous allusions and hints of chronicles, church, folk and literary sources, which Pushkin was familiar with. However, the most important thing – author put to the very core basis of a drama a dialogue between man and his destiny with a indissoluble connection, establishing between them as a fundamental principle of a text. Such a detailed analysis of “Boris Godunov” drama will focus during the several evenings of a seminar.

Leading the meeting – George Kovalevsky, PhD, research scientist, department of music, RIAH.