Lady Macbeth of
Mtsenk is unquestionably one of
the greatest operas of the 20th Century.
It is good to welcome a DVD of an outstanding
stage performance from the Liceu Theatre
of Barcelona - a theatre which has had
the bad luck to have been burnt down
twice and is now in its third form.
The story of the outcome
of Stalin’s visit to see the opera is
well known. The opera was accused of
having music that was dissonant and
a plot that was crude and brutal. After
Stalin’s death a ‘toned-down’ version
of 1963 was produced by Shostakovich
– however the original version is used
for this performance.
There have been a number
of CDs of the music of this opera but
it has to be seen to appreciate fully
the power of this masterpiece. On face
value the plot is sordid in the extreme,
with a murderess as heroine. The oafish
tone of the surrounding action in some
ways softens the impact of the crimes
because of the brutal way she is treated
by her husband, father-in-law and by
all around her. Her ultimate fate in
the Siberian prison camp after betrayal
by her husband is bitingly sad. The
music reflects the action marvellously,
at times dramatic, often sardonic; incomparable
when accompanying the grotesque behaviour
of the peasants, police and even the
clergy. At other times - notably the
songs of the old convict - the music
expresses deep tragedy.
Stein Winge’s stage
direction is inspired and although he
highlights Shostakovich’s distinctive
grotesque humour the characters emerge
not as caricatures but as human beings
with all too human feelings. And never
has so much vodka flowed – sometimes
in most unusual ways!
The stage is like a
huge garret with a skylight opening
onto the outside world. The lighting
is the key to the staging and alters
to concentrate on specific areas at
any one time - such as Katerina’s bed
which is centre stage for much of the
first part. It also allows the stage
to be transformed, for example into
the police station in a very natural
way. The same staging makes a very atmospheric
Siberian prison camp. The Video Director,
Toni Bargalló, is most effective
in his transitions between close-ups
and wide angle shots so that you feel
as if you are sitting in a really good
seat and looking naturally at the action.
Although the production is very atmospheric,
everything is crystal clear and the
colours are brilliant without being
garish. If only all DVDs were like this!
The American soprano
Nadine Secunde is well known as a Wagnerian
and Straussian singer. As Katerina she
displays not only her wonderful voice
but also her formidable acting skills.
She is ably supported by - Christopher
Ventris as Sergey, her lover, - and
by Anatoli Kotcherga as Boris Ismailov,
her father-in-law. Yevgeny Nesterenko
is in good voice as the Old Convict;
Graham Clark plays the part of the shabby
peasant and uses his formidable acting
ability to illustrate the orchestral
interludes. Alexander Anissimov conducts
the music in an exemplary fashion weaving
well between the different moods of
the music, and producing, when needed,
some very strange noises from the orchestra.
The orchestral playing and choral singing
are both good throughout.
The digital recording
sounds very natural, especially when
heard in surround sound. The presentation
consists of two DVDs in a normal plastic
library box which also hold a four page
booklet giving details of the cast etc
together with the breakdown of the Acts
and Scenes and their division into DVD
Chapters. A useful short essay about
the opera and this particular performance
is also available but this must be accessed
as a pdf file via a computer equipped
with a CD-ROM disk drive and an Adobe
Acrobat reader.
This set is highly
recommended as an exceptionally good
performance of a very important opera
that so seldom appears on the stage.
Arthur Baker
BUY
NOW AmazonUK
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Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre
del Liceu, Barcelona/Alexander Anissimov 
EMI
CLASSICS 5 99730 9 [2 DVDs: 187:15] 
