Song of the Varangian Guest

E795915

"Song of the Varangian Guest" is a dramatic bass aria from Modest Mussorgsky’s opera *Boris Godunov*, sung by the monk Varlaam as he recounts the exploits of Varangian mercenaries.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Song of the Varangian Guest canonical 1
Song of the Viking Guest 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (29)

Predicate Object
instanceOf bass aria
dramatic aria
opera aria
associatedCharacter Grigory Otrepiev NERFINISHED
associatedWithComposer Modest Mussorgsky
basedOn historical exploits of Varangian mercenaries
characterRoleContext sung by the monk Varlaam
characterTypeOfSinger wandering monk
composer Modest Mussorgsky
countryOfOrigin Russian Empire
describes Varangian mercenaries
dramaticFunction characterization of Varlaam
comic-relief episode
firstPerformanceOpera Boris Godunov
frequentlyPerformedBy bass soloists in concert excerpts from Boris Godunov
genre opera aria
historicalContext Kievan Rus and Varangian raids
language Russian
notableFor narrative depiction of battle and plunder
use of low bass register
vigorous rhythmic writing
operaActContext early act of Boris Godunov
orchestrationBy Modest Mussorgsky
partOfOpera Boris Godunov
settingContext Russian monastery tavern scene
sungByCharacter Varlaam
textAuthor Modest Mussorgsky
voiceType bass
workPeriod Romantic era

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Varlaam singsAria Song of the Varangian Guest
Sadko notableAria Song of the Viking Guest
linked to: Song of the Varangian Guest