The 2008 Maggio Musicale Fiorentino opera festival mounted this production of Dmitri Shostakovich's four-act 1934 opera +Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk. The work itself, while not particularly a staple of the operatic canon, attained recognition over the years for the censorship to which it is frequently subjected. The story tells of an emotionally isolated woman in 19th century Russia, who falls hard for one of her husband's workers, and commits a heinous act of murder. This particular production stars Vladimir Vaneev as Boris Izmailov, Vsevolod Grivnov as Zinoviy Izmailov, Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet as Katerina Izmailova and Sergej Kunaev as Sergei. It features musical accompaniment by The Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, under the direction of maestro James Conlon and choral director Piero Monti. Lev Dodin directs for the stage.