Eva-Maria Westbroek sang and played the sexually frustrated, bored merchant’s wife, Katerina Ismailova, at the 2006 revival, but now she incarnates the part with a searing intensity.

Shostakovich’s tumultuous score is played with relish by the orchestra of the Royal Opera under music director Antonio Pappano, with the brass section to the fore around the auditorium.

This production will stay in the repertoire for years to come.

Hallelujah! This is a production that enhances rather than detracts from the opera.

Last seen over a decade ago, this Lady Macbeth may have returned with many of the same cast, meticulously revived by Elaine Kidd, but after the watershed of #MeToo its perspective seems altered.