The Makropulos Case

ABOUT

Performed in the original Czech with Czech and English subtitles. The performance lasts about 2 hours 10 minutes, including one interval.

Immortality is a curse.

The Makropulos Affair is a logical continuation of Janáček´s work. After the philosophical topic of the life cycle in The Cunning Little Vixen, the composer turned the theme of whether immortality can bring people happiness, or whether human life is fulfilling precisely because of the unavoidability of the end. He was inspired by the play of the same name by Karel Čapek (1890 – 1938)about the desire for immortality but also about the infinite fatigue and horror to those whom death is denied. The main character is an opera singer, Emilia Marty, formerly Elina Makropulos, the daughter of the physician of Emperor Rudolf II. Thanks to the elixir of life she has lived for more than three hundred years. She gradually ceases to enjoy life and becomes exhausted, lonely and cynical. This mysterious femme fatale turns upside down the life of anyone she meets. Čapek’s absurd comedy is a mystery thriller that looks into the eccentric world of the opera diva, the decadent aristocracy and the superficial bourgeoisie.  Čapek was very sceptical when asked for permission to set the work to music. It may seem at first sight that he was correct – a story which takes place in an unattractive legal environment, bursting with dialogue and with a very complicated plot for which you almost need to hire a genealogy expert in order to follow the family relationships is not a typical theme for an opera piece, not even one written at the beginning of the 20th century. However, Janáček shortened the text and changed the end with the infallible feel of a playwright, just as he did with The Cunning Little Vixen. In the opera (unlike in the original play), another of Janáček´s series of great heroines, the unhappy Elina Makropulos, who was condemned to living for 300 years and changes into a heartless creature, dies in the end, reconciled both with herself and God. The Makropulos Affair was a great success at its premiere in 1928 and today is one of Janáček´s most frequently performed operas, especially abroad.

Janáček Opera Ensemble and Orchestra of the National Theatre Brno

Premiere: 21st November 2014, Janáček Theatre

Creative

Autor: Leoš Janáček

Libreto: Leoš Janáček

Hudební nastudování, dirigent: Marko Ivanović

Režie: David Radok

Scéna: Zuzana Ježková

Kostýmy: Zuzana Ježková

Světlený design: Petr Kozumplík

Sbormistr: Pavel Koňárek

Dramaturgie: Pavel Petráněk

Cast

Emilia Marty: Gitta-Maria Sjöberg, Annalena Persson - J.H., Linda Ballová - J.H.

Albert Gregor: Aleš Briscein - J.H.

Solicitátor Vítek: Petr Levíček

Kristina: Eva Svozilová - J.H.

Jaroslav Prus: Svatopluk Sem - J.H.

and others...