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Janáček’s The Makropulos Case
The Guardian
‘The final act of English National Opera's new production of Janacek's The Makropulos Case is harrowing but uplifting theatre, a brilliant staging of some of the greatest operatic music ever written. The production, directed by Christopher Alden, makes the stage feel like a mausoleum, with sheer, metallic surfaces and the harsh glare of strip-lights… Barker's performance is the dramatic heartbeat of the productions… But the real star is Sir Charles Mackerras: he is now in his 80s, yet he conducts a new edition of the score with the energy of a man possessed, confirming his status as the world's pre-eminent Janáček interpreter and producing a blistering performance from the ENO orchestra… Alden's direction and Charles Edwards' sets are alert to the psychological subtleties of the drama… And yet for all the stark simplicity of the stage pictures and the heartlessness of the characters, it's the humanity of Janacek's music that finally triumphs in this magnificent, insightful production.’ |