Shostakovich's operatic adaptation of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk deviated from Nikolai Leskov's moralistic approach and sought to understand the motives that drive a high-status woman to the abyss of degradation. Conceived as a social opera, Katerina is portrayed as a victim of collective moral corruption and the patriarchal system.
Act I: Katerina “Akh, ne spítsya ból’se, popróbuyy”
Shostakovich wrote several lyrical moments for the character of Katerina that were not exactly arias but clearly showed her agitated emotions and conflicted soul. This complexity of the character is evident from the first lines: without an overture or preamble, right after the curtain rises, Katerina reflects in her bedroom on her boring life. Sleepless and dissatisfied, she dreams of escaping the physical and mental prison her life has become. From there, she will do whatever it takes to find a way out.
Act I, Scene III: Katerina, Sergey “Ya poydù…Proshcháy”
Katerina notices Sergey, a new worker on the estate. He perceives her interest and goes to her room at night. After a moment of mutual study, Sergey eventually forces Katerina into a sexual relationship, and she quickly succumbs to her desires. The music Shostakovich wrote to illustrate the first erotic contact between the future lovers is unusually violent, a kind of military fanfare that sums up the constant tension that will mark the relationship between these two characters, for whom sex and death are two sides of the same coin.
Act II, Scene IV. Interlude “Passacaglia”
To articulate the scenes, Shostakovich composed several instrumental passages: some are brief interludes, others are long symphonic movements, all amplifying the opera's emotions. One of the most brilliant and representative is what happens after the death of Boris — whom Katerina poisons with a plate of mushrooms — and her reunion with Sergey, who had been locked up after their infidelity was discovered. This tense moment, exploding in a nervous fanfare, also leads to the imminent murder of Zinovy, Katerina's husband.
