Tsar Boris
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| Title: | Tsar Boris |
| Original title: | Царь Борис (Car 'Boris) |
| Genus: | tragedy |
| Original language: | Russian |
| Author: | Alexei Tolstoy |
| Publishing year: | 1870 |
| Premiere: | 1881 |
| Place of premiere: | Moscow |
| Place and time of the action: | Moscow and the surrounding area at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries |
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Tsar Boris ( Russian Царь Борис ) is a historical tragedy in five acts by Alexei Tolstoy . It is set around 1600, when Boris Godunov was the Russian Tsar. The play was first printed in 1870 and first performed in 1881. Tsar Boris is the final part of Alexei Tolstoy's dramatic trilogy, which began with The Death of Ivan the Terrible in 1866 and was continued in 1868 with Tsar Fedor Ivanovich .
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first act
A few months after the death of Tsar Fjodor and after the successful defense of Kütschüm Khan and his Tatar troops , Boris Godunov was crowned the new Tsar. The people cheered, because compared to the time after the death of Ivan the Terrible, the situation has improved, external enemies have been repulsed, and the food situation is good. This is conveyed in a conversation between the boyar Saltikow and the general Wojeikow. Accordingly, Boris is said to have gone to the monastery with his widow (Godunov's sister Irina ) after Fjodor's death and for a long time allowed himself to be asked to accept the crown - this is in contrast to the rumors about his ambition and his involvement in the death of the underage heir to the throne Dimitri .
On the occasion of the coronation ceremony, many international ambassadors appear to congratulate Boris, but also to start politics straight away: the English ambassador, the papal nuncio , the ambassadors from Austria, Lithuania, Sweden, Florence, representatives of the Hanseatic League (led by the Lübeck Mayor Conrad Garmers , in the translation called Hermers ), the Persian envoy, the envoy of the Turkish sultan and an envoy from Georgia. The round of introductions provides a precise picture of the political landscape at the time Boris came to power, about friendships and hostilities between the various empires, but also about economic and cultural connections.
In his monologue, which closes the opening scene, Boris once again admits his guilt for Dimitri's death, but weighs this act off with his services to Russia and decides to forget the past and now think ahead:
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While Boris is waiting in the Novodevichy Convent for his sister Irina to finish her prayer, his relative Semyon persuades him: There are some people who are working against Boris, above all the Romanovs . He also calls Vasily Schuiski. He finally appears and in turn reports public insults against Boris. But Boris ignores all warnings. He wants to rule as a mild tsar.
This is followed by a conversation between Boris and his sister Irina (who lives as a nun under the assumed name Alexandra in the monastery). The result is that Irina found out at some point that her brother was to blame for the death of Tsarevich Dimitri. She warns him never to forget his guilt and to try to redeem his injustice. Boris also intends to do this. He insists on his line that his crime helped Russia and is now better off.
Second act
Duke Christian, the Danish Crown Prince (historically Johann, son of Frederick II , the King of Denmark and Norway), has recently been engaged to Xenia, Boris Godunov's daughter. He tells of his lonely childhood in Norway, where his father had sent him for unknown reasons, and of his participation in the fight against the Spaniards in Flanders. Godunov's son Fyodor is also present. The three swear an alliance of loyalty.
Shortly after Boris joined the group, Semyon Godunov also appears. He reports that there are rumors that Tsarevich Dimitri is still alive. This is spread among others by the Romanovs. He asks Semyon to get to the bottom of the matter. Boris also admits that he has tried to be good, but will act harshly if the people don't respect him.
In conversation with the clerk Vlasjew, the tsarina wanted to find out how the reputation of her future son-in-law was going. Wlassjew had been sent to Denmark as a freelance contractor and reports rumors that Duke Christian was not the rightful son of the former king and was therefore sent away from court in his childhood. In addition to these doubts about his parentage, the Tsarina bothers the fact that Christian is not “orthodox”, i.e. not orthodox , and that her husband, Tsar Boris, wants to pass her daughter on to marry her. Together with the unscrupulous Wolochowa, who was already responsible for the death of Tsarevich Dimitri (see the previous drama Tsar Fedor Ivanovich ), she plans to prevent the wedding between Xenia and Christian.
Meanwhile, peasants who had fled find themselves in a robber camp in the forest and report to the robber chief Chlopko-Kossolap. They want to serve him if he receives them and protects them from their old masters. In addition, a mysterious stranger arrives who reports that the rumors that Tsarevich Dimitri is still alive and that Godunov had not killed him are true. Dimitri had sent the stranger to Chlopko to command him to come to the Lithuanian border. With his assembled supporters, Dimitri wants to move to Moscow to overthrow the usurper Boris.
Meanwhile, the runaway monks Grigorij and Missael have arrived at the camp and join the robbers (with Tolstoy, Grigorij Otrepjew is not identical with the fake Dimitri). Meanwhile, the stranger challenges the strongest of the robbers, Mitjka, to a duel. With skill he succeeds in defeating Mitjka. He then reconciles with him and calls on all those present to come to Dimitri and support him in his claim to the throne. He holds out the prospect of Boris' cash register as prey and sets off a lavish party among the robbers, but immediately disappears unnoticed.
Third act
The rumors that Dimitri escaped the murder plot and is alive are increasing and are finding more and more supporters among the people. Nothing can be found out about the identity of the fake Dimitri, but since one would have to assign him an identity in order to be able to discredit him, Semjon and Boris make a decision. They want to claim that it is the former monk Grigory Otrepjew, who escaped from the Chudov monastery .
In view of the growing threat, Godunov wants to take extreme measures and punish anyone who says the late Dimitri's name. He finds himself forced to refrain from his mild reign as long as the false Dimitri claims the throne, much to the chagrin of his children Fyodor and Xenia.
The tsarina sows Boris distrust Christian, his future son-in-law. He was investigating Dimitri's death in Uglich. Boris doesn't believe this, but trusts Christian.
Semyon brings the news that some cities have already surrendered to the wrong Dimitri and his army. Vasily Shuisky appears and proposes that Dimitri's mother, the old tsarina, be brought to Moscow to have her testify that Dimitri is dead.
During a drink in the house of Prince Fyodor Nikititsch Romanov, some boyars (besides the Romanovs also Sitzkij, Repnin, Tscherkasskij) make fun of Boris. When Vasily Shuisky turns up, they ask him again whether he actually saw the dead boy Dimitri in Uglich back then (Shuisky had been sent by Boris to investigate the case). Schuiski only admits to having seen a dead boy, but since he did not know Dimitri, this could have been someone else.
Semyon enters and has the boyars arrested, except for Shuisky, who immediately disguises himself and pays homage to the gracious Tsar Boris. Shuisky is supposed to lead the interrogation against his friends.
His advisors Holk and Brage try to convince Christian that Boris is no longer to be expected and that he should therefore not marry Xenia as planned. Christian holds on to his love for Xenia. But he is clearly battered and delirious. In a delusional state, he tells Xenia and her brother Fyodor that he thinks Boris is a murderer and that they must now divorce forever. However, he recovers and suggests instead to flee together. At the end of the third act, he is led from the stage, weakly (it is insinuated that the Tsarina and Volochowa may have poisoned him).
Fourth act
Boris has ordered a soul mass for Dimitri to make it clear that he is really dead. The people pour out of the church and are watched by henchmen in disguise. Two men are arrested because of a leaflet they found. On the paper, Dimitri announced that he had survived and called on the people to take his side. Some merchants complain about the high taxes and are also attacked by the hunters.
As ordered by Boris, Shuisky gives a speech in which he testifies to having seen the dead Dimitri at the time. However, his speech is cleverly designed and peppered with promises that the false Dimitri, who is rushing to Moscow, makes the people, so that the people think out loud whether they should not hurry towards Dimitri.
Dimitri's biological mother, the ex-Tsarina Marfa, who now lives in the monastery, arrives in Moscow. In the monologue she vows to authenticate the false Dimitri, whoever he is, in order to get revenge on Godunov, the murderer of her son. Godunov considers torturing Marfa to find out the truth, but the tsarina uses a trick to confirm that Dimitri died in another way. She has Volochowa brought in, who at the time had taken care of Dimitri's death on behalf of Boris. At the sight of her, Dimitri's mother gets angry - proof enough that Dimitri is really dead. But Marfa swears again to recognize the self-declared Dimitri.
Christian's health remains in poor shape. Boris offers the doctors high rewards for his recovery, but there is nothing to be done, he dies. When she receives the news, Xenia collapses.
Dimitri has meanwhile written to Boris: If he voluntarily lay down his crown, his life will be given and he can atone for his sins in the monastery. The wrong Dimitri does not appear in the play itself, unlike in Pushkin's drama Boris Godunov, for example .
Despite the evidence of Dimitri's death from Marfa's reaction to the Wolochowa, Boris himself now doubts that Dimitri is dead. To be on the safe side, he has Kleschnin called, who was also in Uglich at the time.
Fifth act
While Boris is wandering around in the castle, Kleschnin arrives. As a monk, he atones for his help in the murder of Dimitri and confirms to Boris that Dimitri really did perish. In addition, he prophesies Boris that his time is over and that he should either drop the crown and atone or go under.
Boris prepares his son Fyodor to soon take over the tsar's crown, but he rejects it. He admits that he cannot be sure whether Dimitri is really still alive. Boris swears to him that he has irrefutable evidence. He insists once again that he wanted only the best for Russia.
Boris' general Basmanov successfully throws himself against the troops of the false Dimitri once again. But while Basmanov is now in Moscow (a ruse by Shuiski to weaken the tsarist troops), Dimitri manages to regroup. Basmanov also finds words of praise for the enemy's courage to fight.
Boris turns up for a banquet where he praises Basmanov beyond measure. In addition, he appoints his son Fyodor as the future tsar and demands that all boyars present swear allegiance to them, although they are all just waiting for Dimitri to arrive. Then Boris collapses, the curtain falls.
Full text
- the drama in the original Russian on Wikisource
German translations
- Tsar Boris. Tragedy in five acts , German by Rudolf Seuberlich, Berlin 1909