Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
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The Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich set Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk to a libretto he wrote together with Alexander Preis after the eponymous novella by Nikolai Leskov. He himself referred to the opera as a satirical tragedy. The main character, Katerina, is a murderess haunted by qualms of conscience. Yet, with a touch of bitter humour, Shostakovich also focuses on the moral decay of the inhabitants of a Russian village, revealing the omnipresent torpidity and recklessness. Life without hope and love is the very reason for the heroine’s downfall.
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk premiered to great acclaim in 1934 at the Small Opera Theatre in Leningrad (today St Petersburg). Yet it would only enjoy general popularity in Russia until January 1936, when Joseph Stalin attended a performance at the Bolshoi in Moscow, following which the official Communist Party newspaper Pravda condemned the piece in the infamous article titled “Muddle instead of music”. Subsequently, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk had to be withdrawn from the repertoire of theatres throughout the Soviet Union. (By the way, it was also banned in Nazi Germany.) Three days later when Stalin saw the production in Moscow, the opera received its premiere, for the very first time in German translation, at the Neues deutsches Theater (now the State Opera) in Prague, conducted by Georg Széll and staged by Renato Mordo. Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was prohibited in Russia until 1963, when its revised version, Katerina Izmailova, was first performed in Moscow.
After the composer’s death, the majority of opera houses worldwide returned to the original version, which is also the case of the new production to be presented at the State Opera.
WARNING: We would like to remind the audience of nudity, explicit sex scenes, violence and e-cigarette smoking during the show.
Suitable for audiences aged 15+.
Program and cast
Approximate running time: 2 hours 55 minutes, 1 intermission (20 minutes) minutes
Language: In Russian, surtitles in Czech, English
Conductor: Hermann Bäumer
Boris Timofeyevich Izmailov: František Zahradníček
Zinovy Borisovich Izmailov: Josef Moravec
Katerina Lvovna Izmailova: Alžběta Poláčková
Sergei: Denys Pivnitskyi
Aksinya: Tamara Morozová
Seedy lout: Jaroslav Březina
Priest: Ivo Hrachovec
Police sergeant: Jan Hnyk
Policeman, Sergeant, Sentry: Csaba Kotlár
Teacher: Jan M. Hájek; Benjamín Hájek
Sonetka: Kateřina Jalovcová
Old convict: Peter Mikuláš
Female convict: Lucia Bildová; Markéta Frýdová
First workman: Leonid Fokin
Second workman: Zdeněk Haas; Michael Skalický
Third workman: Sergej Smirnyj; Lukáš Frýda
Mill-hand: Sergej Smirnyj; Michael Skalický
Coachman: Nikolaj Nikolov; Leonid Fokin
Foreman: Lukáš Frýda; Dalibor Pavelka
Yard keeper: Libor Novák; Andrey Styrkul
Drunken guest: Nikolaj Nikolov; Leonid Fokin
State Opera Chorus
State Opera Orchestra
National Theatre Opera Ballet
Creative team
Stage director - Martin Čičvák
Sets - Hans Hoffer
Costumes - Georges Vafias
Light design - Jan Dörner
Choreography - Silvia Beláková
Chorus master - Adolf Melichar
Dramaturgy - Beno Blachut
Prague State Opera
The State Opera today
The State Opera (formerly the State Opera Prague, between 1948 and 1992 the Smetana Theatre, and originally the New German Theatre) has been a part of the National Theatre since 2012. The Opera and Ballet ensembles give repertory performances at the State Opera.
History
The Prague State Opera resides in the building which on January 5, 1888 was opened as a Prague German stage with the performance of Wagner’s opera, The Mastersingers of Nürnberg. In the 19th century, Prague Germans performed in the Estate’s Theater in alternation with a Czech company. Desire for their own theater led to negotiations in 1883 for the construction of a new theater building for the German Theater Association. Over the next three years, a blueprint was drawn up and handed over to the Vienna atelier of Fellner and Hellmer. Also sharing in the design was the architect of the Vienna Municipal Theater, Karl Hasenauer, while Prague architect Alfons Wertmüller took part in the construction. Financing came from private collections. With its spacious auditorium and neo-Rococo decoration, this theater building is among the most beautiful in Europe.
Access:
By car
On Wilsonova street, from the left lane close to the State Opera building take the slip road to the Slovan above-ground garage. The parking fee is 40 CZK/h.
By tram
By daytime tram No. 11 to the stop “Muzeum”, through the underpass beneath Legerova street in the direction of the NationalMuseum, at the crossroads turn right along the NewBuilding of the NationalMuseum.
By daytime trams Nos. 3, 9, 14 and 24 or night trams Nos. 51, 52, 54, 55, 56 and 58 to the stop “Václavské náměstí”, then by foot uphill on the left side of the Wenceslas Square to the traffic lights across Wilsonova and Vinohradská streets. Then turn left along the NewBuilding of the NationalMuseum.
By metro
To the “Muzeum” station, lines A and C (green and red), and then by foot along the NewBuilding of the NationalMuseum.