The prestigious Teatro alla Scala in Milan opened its new season not with a classic Italian work, but with a powerful Russian melodrama, Dmitry Shostakovich's 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'. The gala premiere on Sunday, December 7, was met with an overwhelming 12-minute standing ovation from the elite audience, a testament to the production's impact. This marks only the second time since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine that the iconic theatre has chosen a Russian opera for its season opener.
A Bold Production and Stellar Performances
Stage director Vasily Barkhatov's bold interpretation, set against the backdrop of Stalin's Soviet Union, was fully embraced by the crowd. The story follows merchant wife Katerina Izmajilova's descent into a murderous love triangle, culminating in a jarring final scene where a Soviet truck crashes into a wedding party. U.S. soprano Sara Jakubiak, in her tireless portrayal of the title character over two hours and forty minutes, was showered with carnations and cheers. The audience also showed deep appreciation for conductor Riccardo Chailly, who made his final December 7 gala premiere as the theatre's music director.
"No one ever expects this," a thrilled Jakubiak said backstage about the enthusiastic reception. The 47-year-old singer, best known for Strauss and Wagner, made her La Scala debut in this demanding role, which requires her to sing 47 high B flats in one night.
Protests and Politics: Art in a Time of Conflict
While the 2022 season opener, 'Boris Godunov,' drew protests from the Ukrainian community, the premiere of 'Lady Macbeth' inspired a flash mob demonstrating for peace. A dozen activists from a liberal Italian party held up Ukrainian and European flags in a quiet demonstration, aiming to support the Ukrainian people and defend liberty against President Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Another larger demonstration near city hall called for Palestinian freedom and an end to colonialism, but was kept away from arriving dignitaries by police. These actions continued a long tradition where demonstrations against war and inequality counter the glitz of the La Scala gala, which attracted figures like Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli and Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala.
Defending Artistic Choice Amidst Ideological Conflict
La Scala's new general manager, Fortunato Ortombina, defended the choice to stage Shostakovich's work, following last season's 'Boris Godunov.' "Music is fundamentally superior to any ideological conflict," Ortombina stated. He emphasized that Shostakovich and Russian music hold an authority over the Russian people that exceeds Putin's own.
Conductor Riccardo Chailly, who began working with Barkhatov on this production about two years ago, called staging 'Lady Macbeth' at La Scala for just the fourth time "a must." He described it as an opera that has "suffered and needs to make up for lost time," referencing its 1936 blacklisting by Stalin after he attended a performance.
Barkhatov, 42, who set the opera in a 1950s cosmopolitan Russian city instead of its original 19th-century village setting, sees the story as a personal tragedy defined by Stalin's regime. Despite the grim setting and tragic arc, he described Katerina's journey as "a weird ... breakthrough to happiness and freedom," albeit one with a heavy cost.
