Clock Scene

E226547

The "Clock Scene" is a famous dramatic episode from Modest Mussorgsky's opera *Boris Godunov* in which the tormented Tsar Boris is haunted by guilt and hallucinations as a clock ominously marks the passage of time.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Clock Scene canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (42)

Predicate Object
instanceOf dramatic scene
opera scene
artisticMovement 19th-century Russian nationalism in music
associatedCharacterTrait Boris’s moral anguish
Boris’s paranoia
associatedWork Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
surface form: Boris Godunov (opera)
composer Modest Mussorgsky
countryOfOrigin Russia
dramaticClimaxOf Boris’s inner conflict in Boris Godunov
dramaticDevice hallucination of the murdered Tsarevich
dramaticFunction depicts Boris haunted by guilt over the murder of the Tsarevich Dmitry
emotionalTone claustrophobic
ominous
tragic
featuredCharacter Boris Godunov
Tsar Boris
genre Russian opera
language Russian
musicalFeature intense vocal declamation for Boris
orchestral depiction of a ticking clock
use of ostinato to suggest the passage of time
narrativeFunction psychological breakdown of Boris Godunov
notableFor expressionistic portrayal of guilt and terror
symbolic use of the clock as a reminder of crime and fate
operaActRole occurs in the later part of the opera Boris Godunov
operaStructureRole key psychological scene for the title character
partOf Boris Godunov
performanceTradition often highlighted as a showcase for bass voice singing Boris
relatedConcept Russian historical opera
musical depiction of time
psychological realism in opera
setting Tsar Boris’s chamber
symbol clock as symbol of divine judgment
clock as symbol of inescapable time
theme conscience
guilt
hallucination
madness
remorse
time
timePeriodDepicted early 17th century Russia
workBasedOn Boris Godunov
surface form: historical figure Boris Godunov

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

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

Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky notableAriaOrScene Clock Scene
subject surface form: Boris Godunov