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Director: Petr Weigl
Conductor: Mstislav Rostropovich
Stars: Markéta Hrubesová, Galina Vishnevskaya, Michal Dlouhý, Nicolai Gedda.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104668/
#90 of the top 1000 operas performed ('09-'18).
This is a German production (the credits are about the only place that shows) by a Czech director using a Russian opera with a London orchestra and chorus.
The Lady Macbeth reference is a loose connection. No one becomes king, but murders are committed, and madness ensues.
Bought this because it was so high on the Performed list, and because an Amazon reviewer mentioned it as a good use of overt sexual scenes in an opera (contrasted with the one they were reviewing). Since this is my first viewing of this opera, I'll never be satisfied with a simple staged production; the sex was an integral part of the story. Without it, are they just mooning at each other? (Hmm, wonder if I have (Image Ent.) a censored version; someone contributed male frontal nudity to IMDb. But I watched it on the small screen, and it was probably fleeting.)
The actors were not opera singers; they lip synced to an extant recording. Every character has 2 credits: actor and voice.
The film is very well done. I'd give it a 9, but I'm not crazy about the music. The story, the settings, the performances were all excellent.
Rating 7.2 (68)
LondonPhil, cond. Rostropovich; 8+
