To what lengths may a person to go to free themselves from terrible circumstances? The young Katerina, married into wealth yet lonely nonetheless, imprisoned in a mercilessly cold world dominated by men and controlled by its police force, is longing for something more. She is forced to hide her joie de vivre on account of her tyrannical father-in-law, and suppress her desires for love because her husband is impotent and distant. When he is away and the bravado Sergei starts working on the farm, she seems to have found a way out of this dull situation devoid of action. But in the end, four people are dead, including a murderess. Premiered in Leningrad in 1934, the acclaimed opera was intended to further fuel the promising career of the then 28-year-old Dmitri Shostakovich. But one visit to a performance by Stalin was enough for him to suspect the celebrated star of being a potential enemy of the regime. From then on, Shostakovich was forced to live and compose in oppressive fear. Yet where words are forbidden, his musical world simmers, sizzles and lies in wait to explode at the next touch.