Chorus & Orchestra of the Shevchenko Opera and Ballet Theatre, Kiev
Konstantion Simeonov

A Lenfilm Production
Directed by Mikhail Shapiro
Libretto & screenplay by Dmitri Shostakovich after the novel ‘Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk’ by Nikolay Leskov

Duration: 112 minutes
Disc Format: NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope) anamorphic
Region: 0 (all)
Sound: LPCM: 2.0 'Enhanced Mono'
Color: Color
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese

Following Stalin’s displeasure at Shostakovich’s first major opera ‘Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk’, the composer’s revised the work after Stalin’s death, relocating it to the countryside and renaming it ‘Katerina Izmailova’. Mikhail Shapiro’s official 1966 film of this ‘dark and deadly’ drama features the great Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya as the murderous Katerina, who despatches her merchant husband and his father, only to be abandoned in turn by Sergei, her seedy young lover.

This DVD represents the first availability on any home video format of this seminal Soviet opera film, and is released to co-incide with the Shostakovich Centenary celebrations in 2006. It will also be the only available version of the opera on DVD.

The newly-restored film is accompanied by several bonus features: An excerpt from Shostakovich's satirical musical 'Cheryomushki' (due for release in 2007) An excerpt from 'Shostakovich against Stalin' documentary DVD Shostakovich Chronology.

R E V I E W S

"...the power of the music and the performance of the peerless Galina Vishnevskaya, singing and playing the title role to the hilt …is extraordinary." -- The New York Times, 1969