Boris Goudenow

Johann Mattheson: "Boris Goudenow oder Der durch Verschlagenheit erlangte Thron oder Die mit der Neigung glücklich Verknüpfte Ehre" (Opera in three acts)
Hamburg, 1710
Text by the composer based on motifs from "Regni Muscowitici Sciographia" by Peter Petreus (Stockholm 1615/20)
Performance in German and Italian with German surtitles

Even the history of the origins of Johann Mattheson's political comedy “Boris Goudenow” is in large parts much more exciting than many crime thriller scripts: written in 1710 for the Hamburg Opera at the Gänsemarkt square, the work was suddenly withdrawn by the composer. The score fell into oblivion, eventually found its way into the Hamburg City Library and after the Second World War was long thought to have been lost. It was not until the end of the 20th century that the opera was tracked down in Armenia and returned to Hamburg, where it finally premiered in 2005 with a delay of almost 300 years.
The new Innsbruck production, as part of the Young Baroque Opera programme and under the musical direction of the renowned Italian harpsichordist and conductor Andrea Marchiol, will once again this summer be bringing together the finalists and prizewinners of last year's Cesti Competition. The English director Jean Renshaw, who has enjoyed great success in recent years with her lively and turbulent baroque opera interpretations, is responsible for the stage direction.