This was the first time I had seen Mtsensk. The production was gripping from the opening set - a modern office juxtaposed with what came across as a stifling traditional home - and (surprisingly) provided exactly the right backdrop for the brutality that followed. Katerina was superb with an amazing range: her emotional pain in the closing scenes was almost unbearable. The orchestra made what I feared might be inaccessible atonality into a fully integrated and stunning experience. Not a single weak performance from the rest of the cast (John Danszak especially strong). Thank you.

Not the best of Shostakovich's music. The best bits consisted of his music played over silent action on stage - he was not a native opera writer. . A work of its time with undigested expressionist overtones, a puerile investment in the crass and shocking and a disjointed and incredible plot. I cannot fault the performances.