1938: Shostakovich encourages his pupil Fleischmann to write an opera based on the Chekhov story 'Rothschild's violin'. Fleischmann is killed during the siege of Leningrad. Shostakovich completes the orchestration, but in 1948 is advised to suppress the opera, during Stalin's campaign against "rootless cosmopolitans". Jewish motifs enter Shostakovich's own work.

Genres

Cast

Sergey Makovetskiy

Shostakovich

Dainius Kazlauskas

Benjamin Fleischmann

Tõnu Kark

The Minister

Tarmo Männard

Moishe Vainberg

Kaljo Kiisk

Epp Eespäev

Mme Shostakovich

Katariina Unt

Sulev Luik

Mari Törőcsik

Marfa

Székely B. Miklós

Bronza

Sándor Zsótér

Rothschild