Makropulos Case, Apr 2012

[NOTE: This review was written in January 2021 as part of my 2010-2019 decade-in-review post.]

Richard, Karen, and I saw Janacek’s *The Makropulos Case* at the Met in April of 2012. I love the opera, I had seen it in Chicago in the 90s, it’s a fascinating mixture of legal drama, stagey glamour, and spiritual examination. At its center is the opera diva Emilia Marty, the perfect role for a soprano of a certain age (on her way down the mountain, as my friend Ethlouise would say). In Chicago the role was played by Catherine Malfitano, and at the Met it was Karita Mattila. There’s no point in doing this opera without a strong presence in the leading role, and both these singers are world-class stage animals. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing a tour de force performance, and Mattila was definitely having a night. The audience went insane at her bows.

Here's Mattila in a scene from the opera in San Francisco: