An opera so vividly sensual it was banned from Shostakovich’s homeland for 30 years, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk follows the downward spiral of the young bride, Katerina, and her tale of unfulfilled love. Caught between a loveless marriage and Sergei, her manipulative lover, Katerina is driven to kill—first her father-in-law, then her husband. She confesses to the crimes in a fit of passion, and she and Sergei are banished to Siberia where Katerina realises that she has been flagrantly exploited by her lover. Katerina is betrayed by the man for whom she has sacrificed everything, and her remarkable fate comes full circle.