cover from film by Peter Weigl, 1992
Please respond in comments to the film or the libretto in the HCC Reader, and you can also consider the Pravda article. Here are some questions to think about:
- Professor Moeller's question is why would Shostakovich think that Lady Macbeth is socialist realism?
- He seems to find that Kusej's film stages "orgasm and murder" as the film's theme, but suggests that he [professor Moeller] would make other choices. How would a different staging communicate a different message?
- PM writes: "Shostakovich intended for Katerina to be a sympathetic character. Do you think she came across as sympathetic in the production video you saw? How would you alter the staging to make her sympathetic?"
10 comments:
Honestly, I thought the film was boring only because it was way too long, but overall it was intense. The opera was taken from the story in an old book. The opera was very modern, and the scenes were more sensual than the original story.
The stage was mysterious, dark, and set up purely for drama. The fog intensified each scene, especially the murder scene where they buried the body. Changing the scene to a "happy" area, where it is bright and shiny, would definitely take the surprise and suspense out of the original opera.
I don't think Katerina is a sympathetic character, she comes off as a slut. This opera is modern enough to call Katerina a slut, because she could have waited for her husband, but she ended up sleeping with another man. However, towards the end of the opera, maybe some of the viewers do feel bad for her, because she was used by her ex-lover to get her stockings. And she also commits suicide, which does draw some sympathy. I wouldn't change the stage to make her more sympathetic, because the stage is already dark and depressing, and this shows Katerina as a sad and lonely person when she has no one left.
PM writes: "Shostakovich intended for Katerina to be a sympathetic character.
^ What?!? Kat was everything FAR from being luxuriously sympathetic. If you consider the killing of your father in law, your husband, and a stocking fetish skanky woman, as sympathetic acts, then well... com'on, seriously?
However, trying to develop both sides of the argument, Katerina could be shown as the sympathetic character, since she does show compassion for super hot Sergey. Her actions were done out of frustration to get closer to him, and to remove any possible conflicting elements in her life. In another viewpoint, "sympathy" could be developed by the audience's emotions. We may possibly feel bad, and "sympathize" with Kat, since we have observed all the loneliness in her life, her sexual solitude, and her f'up psychological turmoil as a result from all those killings. Kat was also lovingly deceived, charmed, and used to relinquish her stockings for her man hunk, only to be tossed back down by Sergey-poo.
So maybe it was deemed right for her to kill all those people. We have seen what kind of situations she has been through. Though her actions may have been absolutely brash, we can at least come up with a reason with the decisions that she made.
Maybe she should've killed Sergey as well. He was a jerk too. After all, a lot of people die after eating mushrooms...
<3
I thought that the film was very strong and ....strong. The opera aspect of it took the Shakespeare drama to a whole different level. Because it was an opera, the deep singing added the the climatic air of the story. The body language, alongside the dramatic music, made the story hyped, breathtaking, and farcical.
I believe that the director intended to make Katerina a sympathetic character because it was apparent in many instances, however, as an overall evaluation, Katerina did not come off as a character whom I would sympathize with. Rather she came off as needy character that was not thankful for what she had.
However, the director did do a good job depicting realism, because I did feel sympathetic with the characters at times. However, it felt like the opera attributed too much to human nature.
The excessive sexuality and barbaric nature of the opera seemed like it attributed too much to the reason why Katerina and her "lover" were so depressed.
Instead, if it wanted to depict social realism, the director should have taken a direction that included depicting the harsh realities of the Soviet Union.
I will add more thoughts.....
I found the film to be long and monotonous, and seemingly overly dramatic. It also seems that by attempting to modernize the play some of the original elements were lost in translation, and some more minor elements were promoted more than they were in the original work, and more than they should have been in context to the work as a whole.
The stage seemed very stereotypical in the sense that it was typical for the type of film that it was, and it seemed that the gothic-romantic elements of the play were exaggerated such that it seemed to take away from the actual plot and character activity.
Katerina to me did not seem like a very sympathetic character because although her character lacks companionship which is a basic need of the human psyche (as described by maslow), it still does not excuse her less than model behavior. It seems that although it is sad that she is so immensely lonely that she eventually kills herself, it does not warrant her taking the lives of others or her adulteress like ways. Thus rather than developing Katerina as a sympathetic character, it seems that she is more deserving of her ending than deserving of sympathy.
I thought the film was ok...it did arouse a lot of awkward moments, but it was entertaining for the most part. I agree with Sarah, it did come off a bit strong. I think the music helped a lot; if it wasn't for that, I think the film would have lost a lot of character and drama. I'm glad that it was an opera; if it was just a regular film, I don't think I could stand watching 3 hours worth.
As for the staging, it did get a bit repetitive with the glass box, but I liked how the director made a distinct change when the setting moved to Siberia; it didn't look at all the same which was a nice change. I like the intensity of certain scenes, such as when Zinovy returns as well as the police scence because it adds comic relief.
I think Katerina can be seen as somewhat a sympathetic character because of the predicaments she was in, but I think she knew what she was doing and the consequences of her actions, so I don't think she deserves as much empathy. But seriously, murdering your father in law with rat poison and then sleeping with another man and then killing your husband, I mean really? That's just way way out there. I think the modern take on it, with Katerina being so bored with her life, is pretty interesting. The modernity of the opera allows for these crude and barabaric events to occur, even if they are a bit scandalous.
Towards the end, I guess we can feel a bit for her considering that she's in jail and her ex-lover doesn't want her anymore. The director does portray a sense of realism and I think she does what she does in the end because she finally realizes the extent to which she destroyed her present and future reality.
I agree that social realism is a good term to use for this opera because it shows the reality and ugliness of life. Of course, in this opera, it is highly exaggerated, but it does not show an ideal and perfect life. It shows the flaws of a loveless marriage and how one is driven to adultery. I believe that Katerina is portrayed as the victim here because she was looking for love, and had to find it somewhere. However, her over sexuality and her aggressiveness shows her almost as a prostitute. If Shostakavich portrayed Katarina as more of an innocent women who does not become so devoted and attached to Sergei, it might have been more convincing to the audience that she was innocent. However, her devotion for Sergei shows how naive she is and how she really does believe in true love, which in a sense does show her innocence. By cutting out the sex scenes and the incredible violence and blood in the opera, it might have shown Katerina in a more respectable and victimized light. Also, maybe if she wore more clothes, she would not be looked upon as a "lose woman" who is easily won.
Sacha Morales is anonymous.
some really vivid responses; i'm enjoying reading. it's funny that katerina's big problem (and this is true in the leskov short story too) is boredom. This, first of all, does not seem like much of a socialist realist problem. But is it? First, it raises the question of what "socialist realism" is. So, what is "socialist realism"? (grove art online, anyone?) It is different from both Brecht's realism and from the Nazi's kind of idealized "return" to realism. What are the differences? And then, to make things more complicated, Shostakovich's opera (even without this more current production) is NOT EVEN socialist realism. Why not? or why?
He seems to find that Kusej's film stages "orgasm and murder" as the film's theme, but suggests that he [professor Moeller] would make other choices. How would a different staging communicate a different message?
Upon reading this the first thing that came to mind is, "A Clockwork Orange" - paralleling Macbeth, the themes for Clockwork Orange were Sex and Ultraviolence (Rape + Murder).
It didn't hit me at first, but it took a while to connect the two. Macbeth in a way mirrors the main character from Clockwork Orange, Alex, in a sense that the both main characters must cope with sexual rages and the attempts for violence. As apparent in both Macbeth and Clockwork, both main characters must overcome their problems and must try to solve it (Macbeth: dependence, sexual frustration -- Clockwork: violence, rape, murder)but in the end, end up back to where they began - Macbeth as the heartless, senseless woman she is, and Alex as the sex-crazed murder he will always be.
Just though I'd point that out.
And if you haven't seen Clockwork, I highly recommend it.
Shannan's post:
Why would Shostakoch think that Lady Macbeth is socialist realism?
Shostakovich believed that he illustrated the hard life of the Russian countryside depicted in Lekov’s original novel. He also believes that he brought a modern outlook to Leskov’s story. Shostrakovich belives that his opera belongs to the genre of social realism as it shows Katerina’s suffering and expresses her feelings of guilt, love, and happiness. By doing these things, Shostakovich believes that he is capturing the spirit of the people that is part of the definition for social realism. Shostakovich believed that he was following the genre when he shows the harsh reality of the characters in a story that is straightforward.
How would a different staging communicate a different message?
A more traditional staging with a mood like the book “Lady Macbeth” would emphasize the more important themes of social realism, love, and law, and power. A staging that did not have any nudity, sex, or rape would more clearly convey the themes to the audience. Although Shostakovich meant for the play to be a modern take on the original story, a restaging in conservative locations like the white house or a puritan society would help to illustrate the themes from Leskov’s novel. In the white house setting, the president could (not a particular one) could be the husband who is always off on errands and the lonely first lady could be Katerina who falls in love with one of the secret service agents and so on.
How would you alter the staging to make her sympathetic?
Katerina was not easy to sympathize with in the movie because she had sex with Sergey the same day that she met him. The love between them did not grow. The lack of romance made Katerina look like a lonlely slut instead of a woman who found love while her husband was away. By making Katerina so raunchy Despite Shostakovich's efforts, I do not believe that he showed Katerina as a sypathetic character. In order to make Katerina more sympathetic I would have her wait a much longer time before she accepts Sergey. I would also create more romance between Katerina and Sergey so that when they kill Keterina’s husband, the audience knows that is out of love and not just so that the couple can have eachother for sex. In order to create more romance, the couple should show more affection (other than sex) and should proclaim their love more often.
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