There are elements of Macbeth in this political fable, in which the ghost of the child that Boris has had killed in order to seize the throne appears as an impostor. Adapting Pushkin's epic poem, Mussorgsky composed a meditation on the solitude of power, a populist drama in which the real protagonist is the Russian people with its burden of eternal suffering. Ivo Van Hove is no stranger to grand political frescos. This is his first production for the Paris Opera.

Brother and son, it was only yesterday that he came back from the army. Only his sister is at home, his mother is wandering somewhere as usual. But the man, who has come back, has changed completely.

"Oleg Ptitsyn Died", "Oleg Ptitsyn In Jail" - headlines in all the newspapers and magazines about the famous rock musician. Actually he is undergoing treatment in one of city hospitals. Kate, a teenage girl from the same hospital, which neglects all the doctors and even her own mother becomes his companion in misfortune. Oleg decides to help the girl to get well and love life.