ACT 3: THE BLOSSOMING POET
Mira, an aspiring poet, boldly introduces herself to Serge at a resort for the elite, and their affair blossoms. Shocked by the show trial broadcasts, Lina starts to grasp darker aspects of life in Stalinist Russia, and begs Serge to move back to Paris. He answers that it is now too late. Lina meets Mira for the first time at the premiere of Serge's new Soviet opera, Semyon Kotko, and considers this to be another of his dalliances. The marriage crumbles beyond repair. Responding to Mira's suicide threat, Serge finally abandons the family.

Scene selections:

scene 3.1: Burns red (Kislovodsk resort, August 26, 1938) (combined audio 3.1 - 3.2)
Serge meets Mira at Kislovodsk, a resort for celebrities. Shostakovich teases Serge for being his usual flirtatious self.

scene 3.2: from a modest admirer (Moscow, fall, 1938) (combined audio 3.1 - 3.2)
Back home in Moscow a couple months later, Mira receives a photo and letter from Serge, calling himself her "modest admirer." Questioned by her father Abram, Mira admits to the love affair.

scene 3.3: bad poetry (Moscow, fall, 1938) (audio)
Lina asks Serge about Mira. He replies that Mira is "just" a young writer who will help him write a Soviet-style opera libretto.

scene 3.7 (second part): entreaties and advances (June, 1940) (audio)
In a series of letters which have replaced arguments face to face, Lina and Serge fight in earnest. Their marriage unravels as Serge's love for Mira deepens. Serge asks Lina for a reconciliation, giving her ten grapefruits, prohibitively difficult to obtain, as a peace offering.

scene 3.8: face to face: the premiere of Semyon Kotko (June 23, 1940) (audio)
Lina meets Mira for the first time at the premiere of Serge's new "socialist" opera Semyon Kotko. Lina realizes she will be forced to accept a love triangle if she wants to remain part of Serge's life.

scene 3.9 "No one is safe!" (June 23, 1940) (audio)
Lina throws a party after the premiere of Semyon Kotko, much to Serge's dismay, and they argue about Mira. Serge also expresses fear and confusion about the sudden arrest of his opera's initial director, Vsevolod Meyerhold, during the rehearsal process. (Only years later was it revealed that Meyerhold had been executed a few months after arrest.)

Recordings by soprano Helen Hassinger, mezzo-soprano Rebecca Printz, tenor Gregory Zavracky, baritone James Demler, and pianist Ketty Nez.

Photo: By Unknown - Livret de famille de Prokofiev, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9571573