Alexander Anisimov won Artist of the Year in 1999/00 for his performance as Boris Godunov. Anisimov returned in 2002 to sing Prince Gremin in “Eugene Onegin.” In his famous monologue, Boris—who became Tsar only by having the young Tsarevitch Dimitri murdered—shares with the empty stage the sorrows that plague him: “Invested with power and glory, Tsar of Russia, I begged for tears that might console me. But then I’m told of plots against me, of a revolt begun in Lithuania. Plague, famine, fear and devastation make my people roam like beasts. In hunger and poverty, Russia groans. For these afflictions that God sent upon us to punish the sins I committed, they blame their Tsar. Beset by misfortune, they call Boris by name—only to curse me. I cannot sleep at night, for there in the darkness a child appears to me, a bloodstained child. Eyes red with weeping, clenching his fists, he begs me for mercy...but he was shown no mercy. Bleeding, his wound gapes before me. And then he shrieks like one who’s dying. O Lord above, God, my Lord...” George Manahan conducts the orchestra of Seattle Opera.