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.

Leonid Fokin

Events

Past events

4 - 23 Oct, 2026

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk · Národní divadlo

Future and recently performed repertoire

Coachman in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Shostakovich

Národní divadlo

Drunken guest in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Shostakovich

Národní divadlo

First workman in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Shostakovich

Národní divadlo

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