So Resonant: Russian Historical Operas Strike a Chord in Europe Once More

Russian political leaders are singing about the war with Ukrainians and the need for a "durable peace." The political elite are arguing over whether they should pursue closer ties with Europe or embrace Russian traditions.

- Shaun Walker

The plot of Modest Mussorgsky's opera Khovanshchina was written in the 1870s and set in the 1680s. But, as the characters lament their homeland being mired in an endless cycle of violence and unhappiness, this dark and brooding work feels alarmingly contemporary.

That might explain why productions of this long and complicated opera, which covers a period of political unrest unfamiliar to those outside Russia and which used to be rarely performed in the West, are now springing up across Europe.

Last summer, a staging at the Staatsoper in Berlin opened with a scene set in the modern-day Kremlin, with the entire action recast as a contemporary political reenactment for propaganda purposes. Another production premiered in Geneva last month with plenty of modern overtones: giant screens showed video footage of the main characters debating, as if on state television political talk shows.

Next week, another production of Khovanshchina will premiere at the Salzburg Easter festival, staged by British director Simon McBurney. He said his production would be "very much about today" rather than a historical recreation, and described the opera as "hauntingly beautiful, and sometimes terrifying."