Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was composed between 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, it is Mussorgsky's is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles, his nemesis, the False Dmitriy; the Russian-language libretto was written by the composer, is based on the drama Boris Godunov by Aleksandr Pushkin, and, in the Revised Version of 1872, on Nikolay Karamzin's History of the Russian State. Among major operas, Boris Godunov shares with Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlos the distinction of having an complex creative history, as well as a great wealth of alternative material; the composer created two versions—the Original Version of 1869, rejected for production by the Imperial Theatres, the Revised Version of 1872, which received its first performance in 1874 in Saint Petersburg. Boris Godunov has been performed in either of the two forms left by the composer being subjected to cuts, recomposition, re-orchestration, transposition of scenes, or conflation of the original and revised versions.

Several composers, chief among them Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and Dmitri Shostakovich, have created new editions of the opera to "correct" perceived technical weaknesses in the composer's original scores. Although these versions held the stage for decades, Mussorgsky's individual harmonic style and orchestration are now valued for their originality, revisions by other hands have fallen out of fashion. In the 1980s, Boris Godunov was closer to the status of a repertory piece than any other Russian opera Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, is the most recorded Russian opera. Note: Dates provided in this article for events taking place in Russia before 1918 are Old Style. By the close of 1868, Mussorgsky had started and abandoned two important opera projects—the antique, romantic tragedy Salammbô, written under the influence of Aleksandr Serov's Judith, the contemporary, anti-romantic farce Marriage, influenced by Aleksandr Dargomïzhsky's The Stone Guest. Mussorgsky's next project would be a original and successful synthesis of the opposing styles of these two experiments—the romantic-lyrical style of Salammbô, the realistic style of Marriage.

In the autumn of 1868, Vladimir Nikolsky, a professor of Russian history and language, an authority on Pushkin, suggested to Mussorgsky the idea of composing an opera on the subject of Pushkin's "dramatic chronicle" Boris Godunov. Boris the play, modelled on Shakespeare's histories, was written in 1825 and published in 1831, but was not approved for performance by the state censors until 1866 30 years after the author's death. Production was permitted on condition. Although enthusiasm for the work was high, Mussorgsky faced a insurmountable obstacle to his plans in that an Imperial ukaz of 1837 forbade the portrayal in opera of Russian Tsars. Original Version When Lyudmila Shestakova, the sister of Mikhail Glinka, learned of Mussorgsky's plans, she presented him with a volume of Pushkin's dramatic works, interleaved with blank pages and bound, using this, Mussorgsky began work in October 1868 preparing his own libretto. Pushkin's drama consists of 25 scenes, written predominantly in blank verse.

Mussorgsky adapted the most theatrically effective scenes those featuring the title character, along with a few other key scenes preserving Pushkin's verses. Mussorgsky worked composing first the vocal score in about nine months, completed the full score five months at the same time working as a civil servant. In 1870, he submitted the libretto to the state censor for examination, the score to the literary and music committees of the Imperial Theatres. However, the opera was rejected by a vote of 6 to 1, ostensibly for its lack of an important female role. Lyudmila Shestakova recalled the reply made by conductor Eduard Nápravník and stage manager Gennadiy Kondratyev of the Mariinsky Theatre in response to her question of whether Boris had been accepted for production: "'No,' they answered me,'it's impossible. How can there be an opera without the feminine element?! Mussorgsky has great talent beyond doubt. Let him add one more scene. Boris will be produced!'" Other questionable accounts, such as Rimsky-Korsakov's, allege that there were additional reasons for rejection, such as the work's novelty: "...

Mussorgsky submitted his completed Boris Godunov to the Board of Directors of the Imperial Theatres... The freshness and originality of the music nonplussed the honorable members of the committee, who reproved the composer, among other things, for the absence of a reasonably important female role." "All his closest friends, including myself, although moved to enthusiasm by the superb dramatic power and genuinely national character of the work, had been pointing out to him that it lacked many essentials. For a long time he meditations, he yielded only after Boris had been rejected, the management finding that it contained too many choruses and ensembles, whereas individual characters had too little to do. This rejection proved beneficial to Boris." Meanwhile, Pushkin's drama received its first performance in 1870 at the Mariinsky Theatre, three years in ad

Sara Mayhew is a writer and graphic artist who works predominantly in English-language manga. Mayhew studied graphic design at Canadore College in North Bay Ontario from 2002-2005; the recipient of a TED Fellowship, Mayhew has spoken on the TED Fellows stage at conference events as well as featuring at the independent TEDx event in Sudbury, Ontario. Secrets of Sorcerers, Mayhew's first published work, was a webcomic. In 2005, she redrew it for print publication; the Ontario Arts Council awarded Mayhew a Northern Arts grant to finance Secrets of Sorcerers Vol. 2. The work received an award from the International Manga and Anime Festival, a discontinued convention once held at County Hall in the UK, London by the now defunct County Hall Animation Studio. In 2006, Mayhew illustrated the children's book The First Emperor by Vicki Low, about Prince Fu Su son of Emperor Zheng, self-published the short webcomic Love Pet. In 2008 Mayhew began work on the Legend of the Ztarr, which she self-published in serial form in 2011 with the aid of a grant from the Ontario Arts Council.

In 2013, Mayhew launched a crowdfunding campaign to extend the series, but as of 2019, the project was not completed and the crowdfund was not fulfilled. In 2016 Mayhew illustrated the sketch and reference guide IDRAW MANGA, edited by Matt Marrocco, a reference with background information on the manga art industry and an introduction to character design and background effects. Mayhew has written in skeptical periodicals, spoken on podcasts and at conventions, with particular focus on how she used her art to reflect her skeptical viewpoint. 2011: Northern Arts Grant Recipient, Ontario Arts Council 2007: Northern Arts Grant Recipient, Ontario Arts Council 2005: Best Teens Comic Strip – International Manga & Anime Festival Mayhew, Sara. Legend of the Ztarr Ch. 2: The Sword of Ztarr. Amazon Digital Services. ASIN B0056KOSWK. Mayhew, Sara. Legend of the Ztarr Ch. 1: The Offworlders. Amazon Digital Services. ASIN B004URRZN4. Mayhew, Sara; the First Emperor. Steck Vaughn. ISBN 978-1419031953. Mayhew, Sara. "Love Pet".

Ztarr Manga Studio. Mayhew, Sara. Secrets of Sorcerers. Ztarr Manga Studio. ISBN 978-0973884104. "Sara E. Mayhew". – Mayhew's homepage. Sara E. Mayhew convention appearances on AnimeCons.com

See Margaret Stewart. Margaret Stewart was the younger daughter of James II of Mary of Guelders. Once engaged to the Lancastrian Prince of Wales, Margaret instead became the mistress of William Crichton, 3rd Lord Crichton, the mother of his illegitimate daughter, Margaret Crichton Countess of Rothes, his son, Sir James Crichton, progenitor of the Viscounts of Frendraught. Margaret and Lord Crichton may have been married after the death of Crichton's wife. Margaret was born between 1453 and 1460 in Scotland, the daughter of James II of Scotland and Mary of Guelders, she had five siblings, including James III, who ascended the Scottish throne in 1460 upon their father's accidental death by an exploding cannon. Margaret's mother died in 1463, leaving her an orphan at less than ten years old. During the Wars of the Roses, Margaret was engaged to Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, the only son of Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou. However, the engagement was called off by her mother due to political pressure from Edward IV of England and Philip III, Duke of Burgundy.

Mary was married to a Scot, Sir John Gordon of Aberdeenshire. With him, she had three sons, one being George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly but thoughts of an English match did not go away, Margaret's brother James III was keen to achieve one. In 1476, she was therefore proposed by James III to George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, she was afterward to have been married to Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, brother-in-law of Edward IV. William Crichton, 3rd Lord Crichton of Auchingoul is said to have "deliberately debauched Margaret", after discovering that his wife had been seduced by the king. Regardless of the truth of this story, Margaret did become Lord Crichton's mistress, which led to her disgrace and reputation for immorality and corruption, their illegitimate daughter named Margaret, was born between 1478 and 1485 and raised in the royal court. Margaret may have had a son James Crichton, who married Catherine Borthwick, the eldest daughter of William, Lord Borthwick. Lord Crichton joined Margaret's brother Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, in his rebellion against Margaret's eldest brother, the unpopular King James III.

On behalf of the duke, Lord Crichton garrisoned his "very ancient and magnificent" castle of Crichton, for which his lands and titles were forfeited by the Parliament of Scotland in 1484, when Albany was sentenced for treason. His castle was granted to a minion of Sir John Ramsay of Balmain. According to historian George Buchanan, Margaret had an incestuous relationship with her brother the king. However, James III's most recent biographer, Norman MacDougall, has rejected this on the grounds that the rumour seems only to have come about as a direct result of the political tensions of James' reign and of his descendant, Mary Queen of Scots, in an attempt to blacken the reputation of both James III and the Stewart dynasty. Though there are few contemporary references to her writers were unsympathetic in their descriptions of the princess, in particular peerage writers of the nineteenth century. John Riddell called her "a person, although young and beautiful, of depraved character, being charged with too much familiarity with her own brother."

Balfour-Paul agreed, stating that Margaret was "a Princess of great beauty, but of a reputation, more than loose."Sir Walter Scott wrote: William, the hereditary Lord of Crichton, pined in exile, from which he is said to have been recalled under the following circumstances: The Lady of Crichton, says Buchanan, died soon after her husband's flight to England. They were wedded accordingly, Crichton seems to have obtained restitution of that part of his fortune which descended to him by his mother, the Barony of Frendraught, namely, in the North, which from this time became his residence, that of his successors. Crichton was reconciled to the king, admitted to his presence at Inverness, during an expedition which James made towards the North near the conclusion of his reign, he therefore entertained hopes of obtaining a full pardon, but neither of the brothers-in-law long survived the interview. Crichton died at Inverness, according to Buchanan, his monument was extant in the time of the historian.

It seems uncertain whether the son who survived William Lord Crichton was the child of the Princess Margaret. If Scott's account is accurate, Margaret Lady Crichton, may have spent the rest of her life at Crichton's residence "in the North", at the Barony of Frendraught. However, it is known that Margaret became a resident of Elcho Priory near Perth in 1489 and remained there for some years during the reign of her nephew, James IV, whose account books show frequent disbursements for "supplies for the Lady Margaret," one, in particular, for "a new dress for the ladye in Elquo." Margaret's daughter, Margaret Crichton had four daughters by her third husband, George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes, Ambassador to Denmark, including Agnes