For me, the most prominent themes within the opera were the representations of innocence and deception. In light of the chaos of wartime, the opera represents the tragedy of– and existence of– innocence and deception by focusing on the portrayal of desire. In addition, the opera also represents the unconventional relationship that unfolds between Liubasha, Grigory, and Martha.

In light of Martha’s beauty and innocence, she attracts the attention of Grigory Gryaznoi, who finds himself hyperaware of her unmarried status and becomes increasingly fond of her. In his attempts to win her affection, he calls upon witchcraft. Specifically, he is told to sprinkle powder in a drink and give it to her so she will submit to his advances and ultimately fall in love with him. Simultaneously, his mistress, Liubasha, becomes extremely jealous of Martha and plans ways to corrupt Grigory’s interest. Liubasha visits the same person that gave Grigory his powder and is given another powder that inflicts insanity and death to its subject.  Liubasha’s character serves to emphasize the opera’s themes of deception and jealousy by emphasizing her suspicions of Grigory’s unfaithfulness and her intent of harming Martha with the powder. Additionally, Liubasha cleverly finds ways to taint Grigory’s love for Martha by influencing others while remaining undetected– as is the case with the wrongful death of the German  by Grigory after being misled by Liubasha to believe the German was deceitful. Deception is significant in both Liubasha’s jealousy and Grigory’s desire for Martha, because it highlights Martha’s purity add beauty in contrast to themselves. Overall, I found the opera’s portrayal of desire and deception to be interesting. I think the ways in which the characters dealt with the events was also significant in highlighting the themes of desire and deception.