I liked Lady Macbeth of Mnesk District from the very beginning but didn't place it on par with Shostakovich's symphonies and quartet. Lately, I have revisited this opera, with visual element added, in the form of the film version with Galina Vishnevskaya, and the the production from Barcelona. The latter one I loved, and gave me new appreciation of the opera. In fact, I detect more of a link to Mussorgsky in my recent listening/viewing than before, particularly after watching the Shostakovich version of Mussorgsky's Khovaschina produced by Vienna/Abbado on LD.

Shostakovich's earlier opera, the Nose, is full of life and energy too. I cannot stop wondering the course of music history if the Pravda article "Muddle instead of Music" were never written under the direction of the "great leader and teacher". 20th century opera would be drastically different, just as 20th century symphonic/quartet literature bearing the impressive imprint of Shostakovich. Who knows, without such suffering, we might not get the great symphonies and quartets, but the opera world would be enriched to a significant degree. To me, Shostakovich is a natural dramatist. Not only the two operas bear witness to this assertion, but also the many wonderful film music.

One of the highlight of the 2009/2010 season at the MET is their premier of the Nose, which, I consider a "chance of a lifetime" for me to attend. So, I made every effort, and did get into one of the performances, but was keenly disappointed. Although I didn't get the worst seat (it cost me more than $100!), but it felt like the worst seat I ever had in opera houses. The production is interesting, and generated a lot of positive reviews in New York media and elsewhere, but I don't think it worked musically. As a true Shostakovich love, I doubted myself, and went back to the CDs I have. What surprise, and what relief! I still love the opera enormously! So, I guess it's the transplantation of a "chamber opera", as the Nose is intended to be, into a "grand opera" or a "chamber opera in a grand opera house" (I'd say monstrous opera house for this occasion) that completely failed.

Shostakovich as opera orchestrator/completer did great service to his spiritual predecessor Mussorgsky. I truly love the Shostakovich orchestration/completion of Mussorgsky's Khovaschina, and missed getting my hand on a performance of Boris Godunov to compare to Mussorgsky's "original" version. The Mussorgsky/Shostakovich Khovaschina is a unique masterpiece unparalleled in music history. Although it's hard to say what percentage is Mussorgsky, and what percentage is Shostakovich, the end result works marvels! I'd nominate this as the supreme collaboration between two composers.

Shostakovich the opera composer also influenced my taste of operas, particularly 20th century opera. His praise of Berg and Britten led to my deep appreciation of Berg's Wozzeck and Lulu, and to a lesser degree Britten's operas and other works.