# Mahler/Shostakovich and Opera



## KRoad (Jun 1, 2012)

I listened to Shostakovich's _Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk _this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it - musically brash, bombastic, raunchy and satirical in equal measure with a straight-ahead libretto.

As this was written in and around the time S. was completing Symphony No. 4, a symphony which, more than others, has parallels with Mahler and in particular Mahler No. 3, in a reverse engineering kind of a way I found myself wondering if, had Mahler turned his hand to opera, would it too have shared similiar musical attributes to Shostakovich? (Libretto not withstanding of course).


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I don't know, because I am totally unfamiliar with Shostakovich, but a Mahler opera would be awesome! I wonder if he ever considered it, and if so, what topics might have crossed his mind?


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