from Act II of the Russian opera Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky

Libretto: Modest Mussorgsky

Role: An Old Nurse, the caretaker for the children of Boris Godunov

Voice Part: contralto

Setting: a room in the Tsar's chambers in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, 1603

Synopsis: The Nurse sings a song about a gnat that is killed by a marauding dragonfly. She sings the song to cheer up Xenia, whose fiance has recently died. It doesn't really make her feel any better though.