Product Description

Shostakovich's musically brilliant and ingeniously panoramic opera about love, lust, power and oppression is fabulously well played by the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons in this authoritative production. Stage director Martin Kusej builds on formidable musical strengths to forge a relentless drama that explores with emotional conviction the shadowy, layered boundaries between victims and perpetrators. First-rate protagonist Eva-Maria Westbroek is phenomenal in her gripping interpretation of Katarina, compelling the entire cast, including the choir, to almost unbearable realism in their portrayal of timeless human weaknesses.

"Mariss Jansons, an inspired interpreter of Shostakovich, conducts a searingly dramatic performance of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk...with the glorious sounds of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra bringing beauty as well as power. The casting is strong, with Eva-Maria Westbroek in the title-role bringing out the poignancy of her situation, as her love for the workman, Sergei, turns sour and finally tragic, a role well sung and acted by Christopher Ventris." (The Penguin Guide)

"This is a wonderful production. It goes right to the spirit of the opera without dishonesty and pretence. After all it's hypocrisy that created the situation in the first place. " (Musicweb International)

Production
Company: De Nederlandse Opera
Stage Director: Martin Kušej

Disc Information
Catalogue Number: OABD7031D
Date of Performance: 2006
Running Time: 236 minutes
Sound: 2.0 & 5.0 PCM
Aspect Ratio: 1080i High Definition / 16:9
Subtitles: EN, FR, DE, ES, IT, NL
Label: Opus Arte

Amazon.com

Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, a lurid tale of sex, murder, and corruption, premiered in 1934 and was a success until Stalin saw it two years later, resulting in a Pravda review that viciously condemned it. It was later replaced by an expurgated version, now called Katerina Ismailova after the work's principal character. The original version has now reclaimed its place on international stages. The heroine is the daughter-in-law of Boris, a greedy, lecherous merchant, and the frustrated wife of his impotent son. Katerina poisons Boris and when her husband returns she and her lover, Sergei, kill him too, burying him in the cellar. The body is discovered during their wedding party. Haunted by guilt, Katerina confesses and the newlyweds are consigned to Siberia. When Sergei takes up with another woman, Katerina pushes her into the river and then jumps in herself.

Director Martin Kusej keeps the narrative moving inexorably to its fatal ending while indulging in broad satirical portraits of the symbols of society's power to crush the individual. Katerina is a tragic heroine trapped in a cage-like structure that serves as the merchant's house, her bedroom (bare but with a collection of shoes that would satisfy Imelda Marcos), and later the prison transport where she meets her end. Some of the satire is broad--the policemen are out of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. And there's abundant acreage of human flesh on display, along with a near-rape and enough consensual sex to warrant an "X" rating. But it all fits a tale where the orchestra is often in porno territory, as in the famous trombone glissandos so prominent in Katerina and Sergei's first coupling. Kusej's only serious flaw is at the end, where he has Katerina lynched by her fellow-prisoners though the text clearly has her committing suicide by drowning.

This production has the advantage of one of the world's great orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw, and its conductor, Mariss Jansons. They do everything brilliantly, whether it's a yearning string passage or a coarse depiction of on-stage brutality. As Katerina, Eva-Marie Westbrook is compelling, singing well and acting with convincing authority. Christopher Ventris' Sergei looks, acts, and sings like a burly seducer should. Boris, the dirty old man, is Vladimir Vaneev, whose ample bass and acting present a fully-rounded figure that goes beyond the part's stage villain aspects. Video director Thomas Grimm makes it all lucid on disc, the cameras rarely venturing away from what must be seen. It all adds up to a powerful performance of a powerful opera. --Dan Davis

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.77:1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.81 x 5.39 x 0.39 inches; 2.82 ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ Grimm
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Subtitled, Color, Widescreen, Blu-ray, Classical, Multiple Formats
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 3 hours and 56 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ June 30, 2009
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Shostakovich, Jansons, Kusej, Westbroek
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
• Language ‏ : ‎ Russian, Russian (PCM Surround)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Opus Arte
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2