Editing Boris Godunov (opera) (section)

==Scene structure==

The distribution of scenes in the authorial versions is as follows:
{|Class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; line-height:1.2"
!style="width:40%;"|Scene
!style="width:20%;"|Short name
!style="width:20%;"|Original Version 1869
!style="width:20%;"|Revised Version 1872
|-
|The Courtyard of the Novodevichiy Monastery
|Novodevichy Scene
|Part 1, Scene 1
|Prologue, Scene 1
|-
|A Square in the Moscow Kremlin
|Coronation Scene
|Part 1, Scene 2
|Prologue, Scene 2
|-
|A Cell in the Chudov Monastery
|Cell Scene
|Part 2, Scene 1
|Act 1, Scene 1
|-
|An Inn on the Lithuanian Border
|Inn Scene
|Part 2, Scene 2
|Act 1, Scene 2
|-
|The Tsar's Terem in the Moscow Kremlin
|Kremlin Scene
|Part 3
|Act 2
|-
|Marina's Boudoir in Sandomierz
| {{center| –}}
| {{center| –}}
|Act 3, Scene 1
|-
|The Garden of Mniszech's Castle in Sandomierz
|Fountain Scene
| {{center| –}}
|Act 3, Scene 2
|-
|The Cathedral of Vasiliy the Blessed
|St. Basil's Scene
|Part 4, Scene 1
| {{center| –}}
|-
|The Faceted Palace in the Moscow Kremlin
|Death Scene
|Part 4, Scene 2
|Act 4, Scene 1
|-
|A Forest Glade near Kromï
|Revolution Scene
| {{center| –}}
|Act 4, Scene 2
|}

Upon revising the opera, Mussorgsky initially replaced the St. Basil's Scene with the Kromï Scene. However, on the suggestion of Vladimir Nikolsky, he transposed the order of the last two scenes, concluding the opera with the Kromï Scene rather than the Faceted Palace Scene. This gives the overall structure of the 1872 Revised Version the following symmetrical form:<ref name="Taruskin 1993: p. 281">Taruskin (1993: p. 281)</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; line-height:1.2"
!Act
!Scene
!Character Focus
|-
|rowspan=2|Prologue
|Novodevichy
| style="background:#FFC0CB" |People
|-
|Cathedral Square
| style="background:#B0E0E6" |Boris
|-
|rowspan=2|Act 1
|Cell
|rowspan="2" style="background:#98FB98" |Pretender
|-
|Inn
|-
|Act 2
|Terem
|style="background:#B0E0E6" |Boris
|-
|rowspan=2|Act 3
|Marina's Boudoir
|rowspan="2" style="background:#98FB98" |Pretender
|-
|Fountain
|-
|rowspan=2|Act 4
|Faceted Palace
|style="background:#B0E0E6" |Boris
|-
|Near Kromï
|style="background:#FFC0CB" |People
|}

'''Editions by other hands'''
* [[Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov]], 1896
* Rimsky-Korsakov, 1908
* [[Emilis Melngailis]], 1924
* Dmitri Shostakovich, 1940
* [[Karol Rathaus]], 1952

The Rimsky-Korsakov Version of 1908 has been the most traditional version over the last century, but has recently been almost entirely eclipsed by Mussorgsky's Revised Version (1872). It resembles the Vocal Score of 1874, but the order of the last two scenes is reversed [see [[Boris Godunov (opera)#Versions by other hands|Versions by Other Hands]] in this article for more details].