Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk - Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya (2 CDs)

Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
Galina Vishnevskaya (Katerina), Nicolai Gedda (Sergey), Dimiter Petkov (Boris), Werner Krenn (Zinovi), Robert Tear (Shabby Peasant), Taru Valjakka (Aksinya), Birgit Finnilä (Sonyetka)
Ambrosian Opera Chorus & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich

Two years after its triumphant 1934 premiere, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was condemned by Joseph Stalin. Nearly four decades later, Mstislav Rostropovich – Shostakovich’s student and friend – and his wife Galina Vishnevskaya became political exiles from the Soviet Union. It was in London that the celebrated conductor and soprano made this world premiere recording of the original, controversial version of the opera, unleashing all its passion, brutality and dark, cynical humour.