Shostakovich Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (2009)

At first glance the title of Shostakovichs opera seems to speak for itself Katherina neglected and unhappy in her marriage commits the most heinous crime just like the Shakespearian Lady Macbeth But Nikolai Leskovs short novel which portrays Katherina as a monster was only the starting point for Shostakovich to elicit understanding for an oppressed woman whose pursuit for selfdetermination is suppressed by society Through combining satiric grotesque and tragic elements in his music Shostakovich succeeds in striking the balance between repulsion at Katherinas immoral acts and sympathy for her Violence eroticism and the paralysing boredom of Russian society in the 19th century are the founding elements of this composition The choir and orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by James Conlon accompany tremendous soloists such as JeanneMichèle Charbonnet Vladimir Vaneev and Vsevolod Grivnov in the original language in this live recording