Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District

Dmitri Shostakovich's four act opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District was first performed in Leningrad on 22 January 1934, and then two days later in Moscow. Criticised in Pravda for its morality, the opera became the butt of the Communist Party's displeasure with Shostakovich's music, and was banned in the Soviet Union until 1961.

The opera tells the story of a bored, unhappy nineteenth century Russian woman who has an affair with one of her husband's workers, and kills her husband's father, her husband and later, her boyfriend's new girlfriend.

 

A selection of articles about Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District

Ensemble. Blood and Orgasms - Dmitri Shostakovich's 'Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District' in Naples, heard by Giuseppe Pennisi

Ensemble. Sex and Violence in Salzburg - Giuseppe Pennisi reports on Shostakovich's 'Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District'

Record Box. Fundamentals of Censorship - Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony, reviewed by Robert Anderson

DVD Spotlight. Shostakovich's Shocker - 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk', reviewed by Robert Anderson. '... fully appropriate disorder ...'