This week, WHRO airs an opera that is at once a philosophical meditation on immortality, a legal thriller, and a psychological drama. “The Makropulos Affair” by Leoš Janáček is an intriguing 20th-century opera about a famous singer, Emilia Marty, who possesses astonishing knowledge of documents, people, and events that no one living should possibly know.
Emilia Marty is actually Elina Makropulos, born in 1575, the daughter of the physician to the Emperor Rudolf. In 1585, the Emperor commissioned him to find an elixir of eternal life, and the young Elina became the experimental guinea pig. She lives under different identities for over 300 years. But as she hunts down the formula to extend her life once again, she begins to grapple with the emptiness and isolation her existence has brought her, and to ask whether love, ambition, or art remain meaningful if life never ends.
The production stars soprano Aušrinė Stundytė, who gives a magnificently nuanced and deeply moving performance in this complex role. She is joined by tenor Sean Panikkar as Albert Gregor and bass-baritone Johan Reuter as Baron Jaroslav Prus.
The Royal Ballet and Opera's first-ever production of Janáček's “The Makropulos Affair”, directed by Katie Mitchell, has been widely praised for its psychological depth and for the intensity of Stundytė's performance. Jakub Hrusa, new Music Director of the Royal Ballet and Opera, leads the orchestra with precision, energy, and emotional insight, especially in the final scene, one of the highlights of the piece.
“The Makropulos Affair” by Leoš Janáček invites you to reflect on the nature of immortality, and the idea that human life is precious precisely because it is finite. Tune in to WHRO-FM 90.3, or listen online via our Media Player, this Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
