When Mussorgsky died in 1881, very few of his compositions were in a presentable state; yet the personality and rough genius of his music vexed and enchanted his peers to such an extent that they devoted considerable effort bringing it to publishable completion. Among the works left unfinished were two operas, of which Khovanshchina, later completed and orchestrated by Shostakovich, became the more well-known. The other opera, Sorochyntsi Fair, has had a more problematic afterlife. Despite no fewer than three completion attempts, it has remained an obscurity, and the new production at the Komische Oper, directed by Barrie Kosky, represents the first time it has been staged in Berlin for nearly seventy years.
It is not difficult to understand why the opera has had difficulty finding its place in the repertoire. Despite the best efforts of…
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