Dmitri Shostakovich

Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District

Леди Макбет Мценского уезда

Katerina Izmailova is the name of the heroine in Nikolai Leskov's novella and Dmitry Shostakovich's opera; a name that has become synonymous with her character. A strong, commanding, and beautiful woman who commits a terrible crime for the sake of her lover: a heart-wrenching story based on real events that took place in Imperial Russia.

In Chernyakov's "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District," there is no trace of antiquity. On the stage, we see a typical office, a familiar environment for both the Russian and the 21st-century German and French characters. But Katerina is an outsider here, a guest from the "third world" that both the Russian and the French observe with equal trepidation and desire. The Katerina in this production may be a distant relative of the ancient Medea. The performance is about the power of fate and the power of passion, forces that cannot be hidden behind the façade of Euro-renovation.

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Actors

Boris Timofeyevich Izmailov, a Merchant

Vladimir Ognovenko

Zinoviy Borisovich Izmailov, his son

Peter Hoare

Katerina Izmailova

Ausrine Stundyte

Sergei

John Daszak

Crew

Director

Dmitri Tcherniakov

Conductor

Kazushi Ōno

Set designer

Dmitri Tcherniakov

Costume Designer

Elena Zaiceva

Lighting Designer

Gleb Filshtinsky

About

The opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" was written by Shostakovich in 1932, and its premiere took place on January 22, 1934, at the Small Opera Theater in Leningrad (the second version, "Katerina Izmailova," was unveiled in 1963). Dmitry Chernyakov first staged "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" in 2008 at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, which combines Duisburg and Düsseldorf. The revival of the production took place in Lyon in 2016.

It is the video recording of the French version, featuring Ausrine Stundyte in the lead role, that became part of the project "Dmitry Chernyakov: Russian Opera." Prior to the online premiere in Russia, only selected critics had seen this rare work by the director.

Through detailed psychological exploration of individual relationships (Chernyakov is an unrivaled intimist; his characters in the most famous operas become living, recognizable people), the production acquires a mythical dimension. Leskov dedicated his essay to one of the "typical female characters of our region (Oka and part of the Volga)," which evolves into a parable of a clash of civilizations. Chernyakov speaks of the clash of civilizations and worlds, following the impassioned genius of Shostakovich.