Organization

Stage director

Georgy Isaakyan

Conductor

Alexander Anisimov

Lighting designer

Irina Vtornikova

Set designer

Vyacheslav Okunev

Samara Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet

Russian

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Op. 29

Samara

Russia

Main stage

Ledi Makbet Mtsenskogo uezda Shostakovich

Public

Approved

The plot of the opera was based on an essay by Leskov, one of the most terrible pages of Russian literature, exposing the "dark kingdom" of pre-reform merchant Russia. The librettist of the opera Alexander Preis and the composer Dmitri Shostakovich who supervised the work significantly rethought the plot of the essay.

Almost without changing anything in the actions of Katerina Lvovna, they changed their motives. The main character appeared not only as a product, but also as a victim of the Domostroy way of merchant life. Her protest against lawlessness and bullying, for the assertion of her own human dignity, took on the ugly and cruel forms of the environment in which she developed. Katerina is the only character in the opera who is able to feel, who knows strong spiritual impulses, who strives to escape from the provincial life.

Shostakovich called his work a "tragic satire". In contrast to Leskov's everyday essay, the grotesque beginning is highly developed here, especially in the depiction of the society surrounding the main characters. Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District is an opera with a truly tragic sound. Its action is full of events in which the characters of numerous characters are deeply revealed. She is characterized by a rare conciseness and power of expression. Musical sketches amaze with psychological accuracy and insight.

The opera has a difficult fate. The first production of the play in 1934 was severely criticized and did not go on stage until the 1960s. In 1956, the composer made a new edition with the title "Katerina Izmailova". In this form, the opera was first shown in Moscow in December 1962. The name "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" was assigned to the first edition. It was this version that was presented on the stage of the Samara Opera and Ballet Theater on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the composer's birth.

English

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Op. 29 by Shostakovich, From (2021/2021), Directed by Georgy Isaakyan,, Conductor Alexander Anisimov, Samara Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, Samara, Russia

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Crew

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues