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Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Dmitri Shostakovich
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A masterpiece of the 20th century, a real "thriller"

"In the forest, in the deep forest, there is a lake, round and deep. The water of the lake is completely black. Black like my conscience. And when the wind whistles in the forest, the lake makes waves, great waves of fear."

Katerina Ismaliova, Acte IV

Shostakovich's initial idea was to write a trilogy of operas about the tragic fates of Russian women over the centuries; he only succeeded in writing one: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.

A masterpiece of the 20th century, it is a bleak, existential drama based on a story by Nikolai Leskov from 1865, a time when Russian literature was making its way into the world through authors such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. The score was a critical success and immediately became popular in the Soviet Union, but fell out of favour dramatically after Stalin attended one of the performances in Moscow in 1936. An anonymous article in "Pravda" denouncing the play caused Shostakovich to fear for his life. 

It did not return to the stage until 1970. Since that time, it has regained its rightful place.

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is a piece that, both musically and narratively, is very cinematic, while politically it is a bizarre aesthetic anomaly during Stalinism. Aside from the glorification of the proletariat to the taste of the ideologists of the time, this is a real "thriller". The story takes place deep in the Russian countryside in the 19th century (Mtsensk, about 300 km from Moscow, is the region to which criminals have traditionally been banished throughout history). 

The main character is Katerina, a merchant's wife who, psychologically wiped out, bored with her husband and subjected to the tyranny of her father-in-law, is seduced by a depraved worker in the family factory, and ends up murdering first her father-in-law and then her husband, believing that by doing so she can achieve freedom. The new couple live together until a peasant accidentally discovers the crime, and reports it to the corrupt police of the time. The story ends with the murderous couple's deportation to Siberia. The pursuit of a dream that is short-lived: betrayed in the poverty of the escape that ends tragically. 

In Àlex Ollé's new production, Katerina, imprisoned in her bedroom, represents the ideal of a woman turned into a metaphor for an unattainable future of someone who is supposed to give life, but ends up being the source of death. A woman subjected to the traditional patriarchal system and trapped in an immutable family structure with female sexuality reduced to childbearing. We are talking, then, of an erotic rebellion as the first step in the search for a dream: individual freedom against the tyranny of the family. 

But this carnal passion is confused with love, love with surrender, surrender with submission and, finally, submission with sacrifice and the acceptance of suffering. Katerina is alone! With her wounded gaze and an identity to build, she shows herself through violence; killing is the only way out!

Opera in four acts

Libretto by Aleksandr Preis and Dmitri Shostakovich based on the Nikolai Leskov homonymous text.
 

  • World premiere: 22/01/1934 at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in Leningrad.

  • Barcelona premiere: 13/05/2002 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

  • Last Liceu performance: 26/05/2002.

  • Total number of Liceu performances: 9

With the support of:

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Approximate running time
3h 25min
Actes i mitges parts
  • First part 1h 45min
  • Interval 30min
  • Second part 1h 06min

Artistic profile

Stage director
Àlex Ollé
Set design
Alfons Flores
Costume design
Lluc Castells
Lighting
Urs Schönebaum
Production
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu (Pablo Assante, conductor)
Assistant musical director
Josep Planells
Conductor
Josep Pons

Cast changes

  • Tenor David Alegret will not be participating in this production due to acute bronchitis, which prevents him from starting rehearsals. His role as the "Worker" will be taken over by tenor José Manuel Montero.
  • Tenor Ilya Selivanov sings the role of Zinovi Ismailov, replacing Daniel Kirsch, who ultimately will not participate in the production for artistic reasons.
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Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
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Hand program

Cover Lectura Facil es

Plot summary

Més informació

Llibre Òpera Manual d'Instruccions

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Òpera manual d’instruccions 

Account of the creative process of staging an opera through the production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, led by Àlex Ollé and Pablo Ley.

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Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Dmitri Shostakovich
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