Of Shostakovich’s initial undertaking – a trilogy on the tragic destinies of Russian women through the ages – only one opera was ever written: the hard-hitting Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Although one of the mainsprings of the work, the Shakespearean parallel is here bitterly ironic: unlike Lady Macbeth, Katerina Ismaïlova who, in the remote reaches of rural 19th century Russia, falls in love with one of her husband’s employees and is finally forced to commit suicide, is less a manipulator than a victim of a violent and patriarchal society.Krzysztof Warlikowski liberates all the subversive power of this scorching and scandalous work, which marked the early years of the Opéra Bastille. Orchestre et Chœurs de l’Opéra national de Paris.A co-production of the Opéra national de Paris, Telmondis and Mezzo With the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the Centre national du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée.Director: Stéphane Metge © Opéra national de Paris – Telmondis – Mezzo - 2019Picture: © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

<ul><li>Boris Timofeyevich Izmailov: Owner of an industrial slaughterhouse</li><li>Zinoviy Borisovich Izmailov: Son of Boris and heir to the business</li><li>Katerina Lvovna Ismailova: Zinoviy’s wife</li><li>Sergei: An employee of the Izmailovs and Katerina’s lover</li><li>Aksinya: A young girl in the Izmailovs’ service</li><li>A shabby peasant: A worker in the Izmailovs’ service who is drunk most of the time</li><li>The orthodox priest</li><li>The police commissioner</li><li>Sonietka: A young prisoner</li></ul>

Lady Macbeth de Mzensk

fr / en

Of Shostakovich’s initial undertaking – a trilogy on the tragic destinies of Russian women through the ages – only one opera was ever written: the hard-hitting Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Although one of the mainsprings of the work, the Shakespearean pa