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Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Clive Barda

Royal Opera | July 24, 2021, 1:00 pm

Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is one of the twentieth century’s masterpieces, acclaimed at its premiere in 1934 but then banned two years later by Stalin. It tells a tragic tale of adultery and murder as the bored and lonely heroine Katerina, sung by  Eva-Maria Westbroek, falls in love with one of her husband’s workers, the manipulative Sergey, Brandon Jovanovich. Their treachery leads to a gruesome series of murders – and ultimately to her own devastating end. Antonio Pappano leads the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House.