Shostakovich's opera as film. This opera in four acts by Dmitri Shostakovich is based on an original story by Nikolai S. Leskov written in 1865. The action takes place in Mtsensk immediately before the Revolution in October 1917. The Ismailov family are rich landowners, and the household consists of Boris, who rules the house in a typically patriarchal manner, his weak son, Zinovy, and Zinovy's wife, Katerina. When Zinovy is away on business, Katherine starts an intense affair with the new farm hand, Sergei, which threatens their entire way of life in this powerful, passionate opera. This filmed opera by director Petr Weigl features the vocals of famed Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya as Katerina, a role written by Shostakovich expressly for her, and music conducted by her husband, Mstislav Rostropovich.
