January 22, 2024

Shostakovich’s opera, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.” It made its premiere in 1934 and became an overnight sensation. Then it all but vanished after Stalin banned it from what was then the Soviet Union and he sent Shostakovich into a state of fear that he would be arrested. Now the Boston Symphony Orchestra brings the piece to Symphony Hall this week, before playing Carnegie Hall. In between rehearsals, I caught up with the BSO’s conductor Andris Nelsons, and their head of artistic planning, Tony Fogg, for a behind-the-scenes look at this hugely ambitious undertaking. From there we look at a reworking of the classic ballet Raymonda. Boston Ballet’s artistic director Mikko Nissinen joins me to talk through what it took to scale the grand ballet down to one act. And along the way, ahead of tomorrow’s Oscar nominations, GBH’s Haley Lerner takes us through the cameo appearances Greater Boston and its bookstores have made in some of the likely nominees.