The opera "Boris Goudenow, oder Der durch Verschlagenheiterlangte Trohn" by Iohann Matteson in the political context of the era

Abstract

Johann Matteson’s opera «Boris Goudenow, oder Der durch Verschlagenheiterlangte Trohn» (1710) is one of the first European musical works which reflected the events of Russian history. Unfortunately opera wasn't staged during the author’s life. The score of the opera was considered lost for a long time but now it gained its second birth on the stage of the Moscow and St. Petersburg’s theaters within the framework of the Early Music Festival (2007).

The author of the opera was composer Johann Matteson, who was in the service of J. Wick, the British ambassador in Hamburg for a long time, and therefore successfully combined the qualities of a diplomat with the abilities of a musician and a librettist. Activity of the famous Hamburg State Opera (Oper am Gänsemarkt) where Matteson worked was inseparable from the political life of the free city, so Russian historical plot in the opera was interpreted as an allusion to the geopolitical situation of the Battle of Poltava. The composer involved in the opera's plot representatives of countries participating in the Northern War: Russia (represented by Boris Godunov and Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich), Sweden and Denmark (represented by the Aksinya’sfiances – Gavust and Josennah). At the same time the development of opera's plot reflects the views of England and Hamburg on the current political situation.

The article also examines possible causes that prevented the production of the opera in 1710. Most likely the changes in political circumstances made the subtext of the already written opera devoid of meaning and relevance.

Key words: Johann Mattheson, Boris Goudenow, German Baroque, Baroque
Opera, political context, Oper am Gänsemarkt, Hamburg State Opera, the history of Russia